in the role of interim director, helping to build the strategic direction of the organization, before becoming the organization’s first Executive Director in August 2017. A member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Deranger has has worked for many years and with countless projects and collaborations to challenge fossil fuel development and champion the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. ​Eriel has previously worked with the Indigenous Environmental Network, Rainforest Action Network, Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, and with her home Nation the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. She is a wife and mother of two.

During the training, Eriel shared stories and analysis of the landscape of tar sands extraction in Canada, and how Indigenous peoples are taking action to oppose these projectsand protect their lands and communities. Eriel spoke to the importance and strength of the leadership of Indigenous women (including within the Indigenous Climate Action organization!) – all despite the brutal and escalating violence against the land and women, including the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Resources to learn more and support Indigenous Climate Action and Eriel’s work:

Tara Houska, Anishinaabe of Couchiching First Nation, is a tribal attorney based in Washington, D.C., the National Campaigns Director of Honor the Earth, and a former advisor on Native American affairs to Bernie Sanders. She advocates on behalf of tribal nations at the local and federal levels on a range of issues impacting indigenous peoples. She is a co-founder of Not Your Mascots, a non-profit committed to educating the public