A new fellowship program is underway to give Indigenous women across Canada the opportunity to lead conservation efforts and capitalize on their longstanding role in land and water stewardship.
The First Nations Women Transforming Conservation Fellowship will be awarded to two women this year. It is designed to address the historical and ongoing underrepresentation of Indigenous women in environmental leadership.
“The system they work within isn’t always designed with their needs in mind. It’s often a patriarchal, colonial framework,” said Valérie Courtois, Executive Director of Indigenous Leadership Initiative, which partnered with Wildlife Conservation Society Canada on the project.
“But the reality is, Indigenous women have been the backbone of conservation in their communities.”
The program will provide training and mentorship to women currently working on conservation projects in Indigenous communities, with practical skills in political lobbying, scientific research and community-based conservation.
Courtois explains the recipients will be introduced to the broader conservation community, where they will work with environmental organizations. They will get to explore Indigenous-led conservation and traditional science-based conservation.
The fellowship will be fully remote, allowing the two women to be based anywhere, including remote northern regions and urban centres. Fellows receive full-time salaries, technology, internet access, and accommodations for young parents as well as a travel allowance.
"Many of the [current] women leaders have emerged without this kind of backing … without this kind of overt support and mentorship.
“The idea is to give people a very solid start, and then have it develop from there," said Justina Ray, President and Senior Scientist at Wildlife Conservation Society Canada.
Most Indigenous-led conservation initiatives and guardian programs they work with are run by women.
Among them is Gillian Staveley, a Kaska Dena woman and director at the Dena Kayeh Institute, who leads conservation and land management over a 40,000 square kilometre Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area in her community. Stephanie Thorassie is leading one of Canada’s largest conservation projects, to protect the Seal River, the world’s most important watershed.
Courtois says this fellowship addresses the gap between the acknowledged leadership of Indigenous women in their communities and their visibility in the broader conservation movement, and creates a model for Indigenous women’s leadership in environmental stewardship.
The curriculum also includes training in leadership development and community engagement, to make sure fellows learn to influence policy. “Advocacy is a special skill. Campaigning is a special skill,” Courtois said.
The initiative is built on the legacy of Cheryl Chetkiewicz, a Wildlife Conservation Society scientist who advocated for the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in conservation. Ray said Chetkiewicz was “way ahead of her time in terms of a non-Indigenous person at the front lines of conservation who recognized the importance of Indigenous leadership in conservation.”
The Aunties’ Circle, a support network for the fellows, will be a key component of the fellowship. The circle of women includes experienced mentors who will provide deep feedback and support throughout the year.
“Relationship is central to Indigenous communities — and it really should be central to all human beings — but that's something that has not been lost in Indigenous communities,” said Charlene Bearhead, Vice President of Learning and Reconciliation at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, who will be one of the “Aunties” in the program.
Bearhead says consistency is key in these relationships, not just stepping in during times of crisis. The group of nine Aunties are mostly Indigenous women with diverse expertise in leadership, research and conservation. They will be providing guidance, mentorship and support throughout the year long program. She says they are “available when these young women ask for it” and “not far away but not micromanaging them.”
“We’re also going to expose them to what it means to work for an Indigenous organization and what it looks like for us to then go into the halls of power in Ottawa or in provincial legislatures. I wish this opportunity had been available when I was starting out,” Courtois said.
The first cohort of fellows will be selected by April 11, 2025 and announced at the National Guardians Gathering in Victoria, B.C. in June 2025. As the program grows Courtois hopes it will become a game-changer for Indigenous women to take on leadership roles in the environmental sector. “Indigenous women have always been at the forefront, leading the way,” she says. “It’s time the world recognizes that.”