Media advisory – Indigenous Leadership Initiative to Host the Indigenous Village at COP15 December 9 – 11, 2022

Press Release

November 29, 2022

Ottawa: November 29, 2022: The Indigenous Leadership Initiative will host an Indigenous Village within the Green Zone of COP15. The village will showcase the stewardship of Indigenous Peoples from the region, Canada, and around the world, and it will offer an Indigenized gathering space for Indigenous participants to COP15.

The village will include the installation of several Indigenous structures. An Innu shaputuan will offer a hundred-foot-long heated conference space that can accommodate 120 people, along with a stage, screen, and podium. A longhouse will be assembled in the style of the Confederate Nations such as the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee, and others. A teepee, often used by the Cree, Innu, Atikamekw, and other Algonquin-speaking Nations, will be built. And an Innu matutushan—commonly known as a sweat lodge—will be made using pine branches.

Cultural displays, Indigenous arts, and traditional food demonstrations will take place alongside the structures.

Location: Along the Prom. du Vieux-Port, across from the Grand Quai du Port de Montréal.

Timing: The village will be active from December 9 through December 11, with programs starting at 9:00 AM ET and running throughout the day.

Access: Journalists are welcome to attend all programming. However, during the opening and closing ceremonies, no recording or filming will be permitted.

Interpretation: Most events will be in English, and interpretation in French and Spanish will be available for programming inside the shaputuan.

Programs Celebrating Indigenous-led Conservation and Stewardship

The Indigenous Leadership Initiative has worked with partners to convene panels and conversations. Over the course of the three days, events inside the shaputuan include but are not limited to:

• Celebration of Indigenous Guardians and the launch of the First Nations National Guardians Network
• Fireside chat on Indigenous-led conservation as a pathway to Indigenous Nationhood
• Panel on Canada as a leader in emerging models of Indigenous conservation and stewardship
• Panel on key advancements by Indigenous Peoples around the globe
• Film premiere of Guardians of Our Future and discussion of global Indigenous-led stewardship
• Discussion on the need for global recognition of Indigenous rights as a response to climate and biodiversity crises
• Panel on Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas as a path to protecting 30% of lands by 2030
• Spotlight on Indigenous Guardians programs within Quebec

Media contacts:

Sean Durkan: sean.sda.inc@rogers.com (613-851-2151)

Jenn Wesanko: jenn@jennwesanko.com (604-347-5988)

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