Across Appalachia and the Gulf South, Indigenous women have long led movements to protect land, water, and community—often in the face of environmental destruction, cultural erasure, and climate injustice.

This intimate fireside chat centers rematriation—a framework for climate justice rooted in returning land to Indigenous stewardship, reviving matrilineal governance, and restoring cultural and ceremonial relationships with Mother Earth.

Speakers will share stories that connect land back movements, food sovereignty initiatives, and sacred site protections to the global struggle for climate justice.

During this session we will:

• Learn how rematriation serves as both a climate solution and a pathway for healing & cultural revival.
  

• Engage directly with Indigenous women leaders and youth shaping regional climate justice strategies.
  

• Experience living cultural practices that restore balance between people and planet.
  

• Build solidarity across Appalachia, the Southeast, and the Gulf South in the fight for land, water, and the future of generations to come.

Our lands are not sacrifice zones. Our rivers are not property. Our laws are sacred.