The panel “Rematriating the Land: Indigenous Sovereignty and the Land Back Movement” was held on Tuesday, June 24th, during the Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice: Path

The panel “Rematriating the Land: Indigenous Sovereignty and the Land Back Movement” was held on Tuesday, June 24th, during the Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice: Path to COP30 and Beyond hosted by Women’s Earth and Climate Network (WECAN), June 23-28, 2025.
PANELISTS:
Bryanna R. Brown (Inuit), Political Advisor, Land and Water Advocate, Indigenous Climate Action, Canada
 Janene Yazzie (Navajo/Dine’), Director of Policy & Advocacy, NDN Collective, Diné Bikéyah (Turtle Island)
 Taily Terena (Terena), Indigenous Rights and Climate Activist, Brazil
 Pluma Bárbara Moreno Torres (Jíbaro-Taino Nation), General Coordinator, Organización del Pueblo Indígena Can - Jíbaro de Boriké (CAN) and Centro de Apoyo Mutuo Jíbaro de Lares (CAMJi-Lares), Puerto Rico
Moderation and comments by Dr. Lyla June Johnston (Diné/Navajo & Tsétsêhéstâhese/Cheyenne), Indigenous Musician, Scholar, and Community Organizer, Turtle Island
Organized by the Women’s Earth and Climate Network (WECAN), the Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice: Path to COP30 and Beyond brought together over 125 grassroots and frontline women leaders in all their diversity, global advocates, thought leaders, and policymakers representing 50 countries from around the world. During 25 unique panels, speakers showcased a diverse array of visions, projects, policy frameworks, campaigns, and movement strategies with which we can accelerate a bold and transformative path to a healthy and just world.

We trek into the ancient old-growth forest where the trees reveal an ecological parable: A forest is a mightily interwoven community of diverse life that runs on symbiosis. With: Doctors Suzanne

We trek into the ancient old-growth forest where the trees reveal an ecological parable: A forest is a mightily interwoven community of diverse life that runs on symbiosis. With: Doctors Suzanne Simard and Teresa Ryan, ecologists whose work has helped reveal an elaborate tapestry of kinship, cooperation and mutual aid.


This is an episode of Nature’s Genius, a Bioneers podcast series exploring how the sentient symphony of life holds the solutions we need to balance human civilization with living systems. Visit the series page to learn more. (https://bioneers.org/natures-genius/)


Featuring


Dr. Sm’hayetsk Teresa Ryan is Gitlan, Tsm’syen. Indigenous Knowledge and Natural Science Lecturer at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Forestry, Forest & Conservation Sciences. As a fisheries/aquatic/forest ecologist, she is currently investigating relationships between salmon and healthy forests.


Dr. Suzanne Simard, Professor of Forest Ecology at the University of British Columbia and author of the bestselling, Finding the Mother Tree, is a highly influential, researcher on the frontier of plant communication and intelligence.


Resources


Forest Wisdom, Mother Trees and the Science of Community (https://bioneers.org/forest-wisdom/)  | Bioneers Podcast


Suzanne Simard – Dispatches From the Mother Trees (https://bioneers.org/suzanne-simard-dispatches-from-mother-trees-zstf2112/)  | Bioneers 2021 Keynote


Suzanne Simard – Dealing with Backlash Against Nature-Based Solutions to Climate Change (https://bioneers.org/suzanne-simard-backlash-against-nature-based-solutions-climate-change-zstf2404/)  | Bioneers 2024 Keynote


The Wood Wide Web: The Intelligent Underground Mycelial Network  (https://bioneers.org/the-wood-wide-web-the-intelligent-underground-mycelium-network/) | Bioneers interview with Suzanne Simard


Unraveling the Secrets of Salmon: An Indigenous Exploration of Forest Ecology and Nature’s Intelligence (https://bioneers.org/unraveling-the-secrets-of-salmon-an-indigenous-exploration-of-forest-ecology-ztrz2405/)  | Bioneers interview with Teresa Ryan


Teresa Ryan: How Trees Communicate (https://bioneers.org/teresa-ryan-bioneers-2017/)  | Bioneers 2017 Keynote


Deep Dive: Intelligence in Nature (https://bioneers.org/intelligence-in-nature-media-collection/)


Earthlings: Intelligence in Nature (https://bioneers.org/earthlings/)  | Bioneers Newsletter


Credits



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Executive Producer: Kenny Ausubel


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Written by: Cathy Edwards and Kenny Ausubel


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Produced by: Cathy Edwards


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Senior Producer and Station Relations: Stephanie Welch


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Host and Consulting Producer: Neil Harvey


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Program Engineer and Music Supervisor: Emily Harris


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Producer: Teo Grossman


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Graphic Designer: Megan Howe