Canada’s National Observer’s Conversations series returns as host Linda Solomon Wood is joined by Dene trailblazer Ethel Blondin-Andrew, the first Indigenous woman elected to the House of Commons and to serve in federal cabinet.

In the first subscriber-exclusive Conversations event of 2021, they’ll unpack how Indigenous-led conservation and stewardship across the country are creating jobs, strengthening food security, and inspiring youth—all while helping Canada hit its climate and biodiversity commitments.

Register to join the conversation here.

Blondin-Andrew, who in 1988 became the first Indigenous woman elected to parliament, summarized the importance of building Indigenous power during a 2019 United Nations panel on Indigenous leadership: "It's a matter of life or death. It's a matter of being able to keep your voice." 

Blondin-Andrew has always kept hers. After being sent to a residential school in 1959, she fled to live in a “tent town” with other runaways from the school. Nearly 30 years later, in her first speech to the House of Commons, she spoke her Dene language while providing her own interpreter.

After 17 years as an MP, she chaired Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated, a Dene and Métis land claims organization. Now, as Senior Leader with the Indigenous Leadership Initiative, she’s committed to the values that she brought to Parliament 32 years ago: Indigenous sovereignty, leadership, and cultural responsibility on the land.

As self-governance conflicts continue to intersect with climate and conservation issues, the situation in Canada’s north grows more dire each year. On Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. ET, join Linda Solomon Wood for an in-depth look at Indigenous stewardship on their land as the climate crisis closes in.