Indigenous peoples and their respective First Nations are on the frontlines of Mother Earth struggling and resisting against violent forms of colonialism including nefarious manifestations of ecocides, democides, genocides, and the full dominant spectrum of “cides”. With over 77 Indigenous nations on the coastline of Te Ika a Maui, the north island of Aotearoa (New Zealand) and 67% of those territories are marine territories, today’s guest discusses a variety of issues including Maori acts of resistance, cultural traditions, being good ancestors, decolonization and reindigenization, and how and why colonial violence perpetrated against Mother Earth are intrinsically crimes committed against Indigenous peoples and their respective First Nations. Today’s guest participated in a panel titled “Climate Change – Getting on Board?” on April 21st, 2021 at the Strengthening the Circle: A Native Non-profit Leadership Program which thematically focused on the Rights of Mother Earth. The panelist facilitator is Tia Oros Peters, Shiwi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples and event organizers are Generation Indigenous Ways, Seventh Generation Fund, Artemisia Associates, Wolfstar Productions, and Hopa Mountain. Guests: Tina Ngata is a mother of two from the East Coast of Te Ika a Maui, the north island of Aotearoa (New Zealand) and is a Project Researcher Specialist, Institute of Environmental Science and Research in New Zealand (Aotearoa). Ngata’s work involves advocacy for environmental, Indigenous, and human rights. This includes local, national and international initiatives that highlight the role of settler colonialism in issues such as climate change and waste pollution and promote Indigenous conservation as best practice for a globally sustainable future.
