Indigenous women set to reemerge as desperately needed leaders of the environmental movement

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. - Sept. 18, 2020 - PRLog -- As part of its initiative to shed light on the history of women's rights, the museum at Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz, New York will be hosting events, both live and via live stream, this Saturday, September 19^th, from 4 to 6 PM, to highlight the important role that Indigenous women play within their families and communities for thousands of years.  Attendees will be treated to a live-streamed presentation by Heather Bruegl, the Cultural Affairs Director for the Stockbridge-Munsee Community of Mohican Indians focusing on how Native women throughout history have broken down barriers to become soldiers, doctors, politicians, and activists.

Meanwhile, micro indie publisher First Run Books has released another in a series of You Tube episodes narrated by the "Captain" (a character in the Cli-Fi novel 20/20 by B Shawn Clark) calling attention to the heroism shown by indigenous women in the face of existential threats to their way of life, and the matriarchal structure that has been a central feature of many North American indigenous communities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE5XRauG760&t=18s



This particular episode also sheds more light on Calusa, one of the central characters in 20/20, a mysterious woman thought to be an ancestor of a long-extinct First Nation who goes on to lead storm-ravaged communities on a path to adapt to the devastating effects of climate change using the ways and means indigenous peoples have known about and practiced for centuries before the European invaders sought to destroy them.
"As we as a nation and as a people learn to confront what the damage we have done to the environment means to us and future generations, we must also turn to the leaders of the indigenous peoples, women especially, who we sought to vanquish, to learn what they have known for centuries about how to have a healthy relationship with Mother Earth, but which we for some reason either would not or could not understand," said Clark.

Attendees at the Huguenot Street event can register HERE and are invited to participate in follow-up virtual sessions, taking place at various times throughout the week of September 21st. These sessions will allow participants to have more intimate conversations with  speakers, tribal representatives, and activists working to preserve Indigenous land, rights, and culture.  Those wishing to view more episodes featuring the Captain from 20/20 can do so by visiting the author's You Tube Channel @ B Shawn Clark.