This conversation was recorded over Zoom in the summer of 2023.
The Regina Folk Festival’s 2023 theme is Web of Life: Music and community in harmony with the Earth. This summer we will celebrate the natural world, and the musicians, people, and groups working to protect it, with the goal of encouraging greater engagement with environmental issues and combating climate dread. This panel will explore the question “how do we create a better world”?
Mother Earth Justice Advocates are based in Treaty 4 and are committed to pushing forward the endorsement, honour, and implementation of the Peoples Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth drafted in Cochabamba, Bolivia. As a result, MEJA is involved in education and action supporting this declaration and Indigenous Peoples rights that are being violated at the expense of Mother Earth. Indigenous Climate Action is an Indigenous-led organization guided by a diverse group of Indigenous knowledge keepers, water protectors and land defenders from communities and regions across the country. We believe that Indigenous Peoples’ rights and knowledge systems are critical to developing solutions to the climate crisis and achieving climate justice. Music Declares Emergency is a group of artists, music industry professionals, organizations and music fans that stand together to declare a climate and ecological emergency. We believe in the power of music to promote the cultural change needed to create a better future.
This panel discussion was by moderated by Amber Goodwyn, Artistic Director of the Regina Folk Festival. Thanks to SaskMusic for being a supporting partner for this discussion.
We invite panel attendees to review the following texts and websites:
Mother Earth Justice Advocates Regina Declaration for a Better World: https://issuu.com/nextyearcountry/doc...
Indigenous Climate Action website: https://www.indigenousclimateaction.c...
Music Declares Emergency’s declaration: https://www.musicdeclares.net/ca/en/
The David Suzuki Foundation’s Declaration of Interdependence: https://davidsuzuki.org/wp-content/up...