Ep. 12 - The Great Peace with Serena Mendizabal

Highlighting The Great Peace Law, Indigenous grassroots organizer, Serena Mendizabal, discusses preserving and protecting indigenous wisdom and land rights.This week on The Four Sacred Gifts, Anita and Serena delve into:Serena’s experience growing up on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory and its deep cultural significanceThe story of The Great Law of Peace and Serena’s family title: It Touches the SkyIndigenous land defense and sovereignty conflicts with the Canadian government Supporting Indigenous people across the globe through understanding their protection of land and riversThe power of intergenerational storytelling and preserving ancestral indigenous wisdomResidential school survivors and maintaining peace through maintaining families and ceremoniesUplifting youth voices and Serena’s grassroots, community-driven changeFinding collective hope in cultural restoration, environmental protection, and access to ceremony Renewable energy sources as a path to healthiness in indigenous communities Sacred Earth: Serena’s work with getting solar power supplied to First Nations people “We’ve always been on these lands. We hold relationship to these lands. The lands govern us, we govern them, and that relationship surpasses settlers arriving here.” – Serena MendizabalAbout Serena Mendizabal, Cayuga Wolf Clan-Panamanian from Six Nations:Serena Medizabal (she/her) is a Cayuga Wolf Clan-Panamanian woman from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. Serena is a community-based researcher, grassroots organizer, and environmental advocate. Serena began her journey in climate justice and clean energy when she was 18 finding gaps in community consent for renewable energy projects and further explored what climate justice and a just transition can look like in a community of over 28,000 members. From then on, Serena has dedicated her life toIndigenous self-determination, climate justice, environmental health impacts, and clean energy transitions through studies, work, and extracurriculars. Serena is passionate about self-determined community development, action, and futures led by sovereign,healthy nations. Serena is the Director Manager at Sacred Earth Solar, Co-Chair at SevenGen National Indigenous Youth Energy Council, Climate Action Strategy Co-Lead at Protect the Tract, and Course Collaborator for Connecting for Climate Change Action, as well as Board of Director at Student Energy. Learn more HERE or on Instagram.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.