WECAN AT UNPFII 2026
In solidarity with Indigenous partners and colleagues, WECAN participates in the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) held every April. This year we will be on the ground from April 20-22 for the 25th session of the UNPFII, meeting under the theme, "Ensuring Indigenous Peoples’ health, including in the context of conflict."
The UNPFII is a vital international forum for Indigenous women facing various violations, including the destruction of their territories, and the effects these egregious actions have on communities, water, forests, and the global climate. Within this context, Indigenous women are advocating for an end to multiple forms of violence while demonstrating critical solutions for protecting water, land, and communities. The forum and parallel events are a key opportunity to have their voices, responses, and solutions heard by the public, media, and government representatives.
This year we are excited to share that Patricia Gualinga (Kichwa) has been appointed as a member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues for a multi-year term that began in January 2026. Patricia will represent Indigenous Peoples of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean as part of the UNPFII. Patricia is the WECAN Coordinator in Ecuador, where she leads the Indigenous Women of the Ecuadorian Amazon Reforestation and Forest Protection Project, which is part of WECAN's Women for Forests Program. We are honored to work with Patricia, and excited to support her leadership and advocacy as part of the UNPFII!
During the UNPFII, WECAN will be engaging in several activities, please find more details down below.
WECAN Events at the UNPFII
In-Person Event: Indigenous Women Resisting Extraction
and Building a Just Transition
Indigenous women are leading the way to stop extraction and build a healthy and just future! Please join WECAN for an impactful event, where Indigenous women leaders will come together to highlight the urgent challenges facing communities and territories, while offering vital paths forward founded in Indigenous rights, women’s leadership, Traditional Knowledge systems, Indigenous Just Transitions, and collective action.
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Speakers will share updates on current campaigns defending Indigenous territories from extraction, discuss the impacts of colonization, fossil fuels, mining, and climate disruption, showcase powerful community projects for Just Transition and climate resilience, and offer strategies based on rights, traditional knowledge, and sovereignty.
This event is part of the 25th session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), and will emphasize the critical need to recognize and uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples, which is essential to protecting their lands, cultures, and our planet. Indigenous leadership and knowledge systems are essential to cultivating long-standing egalitarian governance frameworks for current and future generations!
Confirmed Speakers, with more to be announced, include:
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Aeisatu Bouba (Mbororo), Founder and Executive Director, Cameroon Indigenous Women Forum (CAIWOF), Cameroon
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Ambassador Leonor Zalabata Torres (Arhuaco), Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations, Colombia
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Andrea Cuji Mancilla (Kichwa), Kichwa Native Peoples of Sarayaku Secretary, Jallinga Foundation Organizational Support, Amazonian Women Defenders of the Jungle Collective, WECAN Project Lead, Ecuador
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Casey Camp-Horinek (Ponca Nation), Ponca Nation Environmental Ambassador and WECAN Board Member and Project Coordinator, Turtle Island/USA
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Great-Grandmother Mary Lyons (Leech Lake Ojibwe), Ojibwe Elder, Author, Women of Wellbriety, International, United Nations Observer on Women/Indigenous Issues, Turtle Island/USA
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Jackeline Odicio (Kakataibo), Kakataibo Women's Federation from Peruvian Amazon, Peru
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Janene Yazzie (Diné), Director of Global Programmes, The Woven Project, Turtle Island
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Josefina Tunki (Shuar), Shuar Indigenous woman leader from Ecuadorian Amazon and President of TICCA Consortium, Ecuador
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Julia Horinek (Ponca), Co-Founder of 4 Winds Intertribal Coalition, Plains Organizer with Movement Rights and WECAN Project Coordinator, Turtle Island/USA
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Patricia Gualinga (Kichwa), Member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, WECAN Coordinator in Ecuador, Spokeswoman for Mujeres Amazonicas, Ecuador
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Moderated by Osprey Orielle Lake, Founder and Executive Director of the Women's Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), USA
Collaborative & Partner Events at the UNPFII
GARN Indigenous Council: Indigenous Cosmologies
Guiding the Rights of Nature in Practice
Monday, April 20
5:00 - 7:00 PM EDT
New York, New York
Join the Indigenous Council of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN) for a special gathering during the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), centering Indigenous voices and wisdom in advancing the Rights of Nature. English-Spanish interpretation available.
Earth Day To Reclamation Day: Indigenous Health, Land, & Cultural Sovereignty - Pathways To Collective Well-Being
Wednesday, April 22
5:30 to 8:30 PM EDT
The People's Forum - 320 W 37th St, New York, NY 10018
Register here to participate.
SEMILLA WARUNKWA, in collaboration with iINDIGENOUS and BLIS Collective, will convene a dialogue that explores the deep relationship between Indigenous health, land stewardship, and cultural sovereignty.
This event will bring together organizers connected to BLIS Collective’s Reclamation Day: A Reunion of Hope alongside Indigenous changemakers to examine how culture and storytelling can serve as powerful strategies for reclaiming truth, repairing harm, and reimagining shared futures.
Grounded in the understanding that the health of Indigenous Peoples is inseparable from the health of land, water, and territory, the conversation will connect global Indigenous advocacy with community-based movements for environmental justice and cultural renewal.
