Arctic Refuge Advocacy in Action: Gwich’in Women Speak, Ms. Miho Aida

Arctic Refuge Advocacy in Action: Gwich’in Women Speak

Lecture and Discussion

Speaker:  Ms. Miho Aida, Filmmaker and Advocate

Thursday, September 3, 2020

12:30pm to 1:30pm Pacific Time

Video Available

• https://youtu.be/Vr_EX7-iHf4

About the Topic

How do we engage people with advocacy work and inspire them to be part of environmental policy change for vulnerable people and the planet? In this presentation, Ms. Miho Aida will share how she has been using her voice as an advocate, filmmaker, and storyteller to engage people for action.

Ms. Aida will share her experiences in documenting the Arctic Indigenous Gwich’in nations’ fight to protect their sacred place from development on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. On Monday, August 17th,  the Trump administration finalized its plan to open up this sacred place to oil and gas development. She will address the current situations and what we can do to be part of this movement.

About the Speaker

Born and raised in Tokyo, Miho has lived her adult life in the US. She brings her lived experiences and practices from the East and the West to the work of Equity, Inclusion and Diversity in the outdoors. Her approach is rooted in cultivating self-care, love and awareness that is fundamental for both personal and collective transformation toward a more just society. Miho is an intersectional environmental educator, activist, scientist, filmmaker, and outdoor athlete who has been advocating for both the protection of most vulnerable people and the planet. She is the founder of environmental media project called “If She Can Do It, You Can Too: Empowering Women Through Outdoor Role Models.” By producing videos and films of dynamic outdoor women of color, Miho hopes those who identify as girls and women will have role models who look, sound and live like them so that they know what outdoor careers, adventures and leadership opportunities are possible. Her award-winning short film The Sacred Place Where Life Begins: Gwich’in Women Speak advocates for permanent protection of the Refuge’s coastal plain from the Gwich’in women’s perspective.

Suggested Reading

• Miho’s short film: THE SACRED PLACE WHERE LIFE BEGINS: GWICH’IN WOMEN SPEAK
  
   
• Trump Administration Finalizes Plan to Open Arctic Refuge to Drilling
  
   
• The Man Determined to Deliver Trump’s Alaskan Oil Promise
  
   
• Miho Aida Won’t Let the Outdoor Industry Off the Hook

What Can I Do?

• Join the mailing list and follow on social media the Arctic Refuge Defense Campaign—write letters, join protests as prompted—focusing pressure on Chevron and Bank of America—follow on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
  
   
• Make a donation to the Gwich’in Steering Committee
  
   
• Tell Bank of America—Arctic Drilling is Bad Business
  
   
• Action for Thursday, 9/10/20  Instagram Live Session - make sure to follow the main Sierra Club Instagram Page  this week to catch a Instagram live session this upcoming Thursday at 4 pm PT / 7 pm ET. We’ll have Bernadette Demientieff (executive director of Gwich’in Steering Committee) on to talk through campaign updates. We’ll be posting promotional materials about the Instagram Live later this week - we could definitely use your help getting the word out.
  
   
• Directing Actions at Chevron - You can take action today against Chevron via our Addup Page. Please share this page far and wide among your local networks. Our actions against Chevron will all take place on Twitter - if you don’t happen to have an account, find out how to set one up here. 

Questions

The Center for the Blue Economy is a research organization at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.  Our mission is to promote a sustainable ocean and coastal economy (the “Blue Economy”) through leadership in research, analysis, and education.  For questions contact: Rachel C. at cbe@miis.edu or visit centerfortheblueeconomy.org or call 831-647-4183 (must leave message and receive call back).