This past April, the Mtis Nation held the first Youth Summit on Climate Change, highlighting and celebrating just how strong Mtis activism still is. I was invited there to speak on a panel about how storytelling is, and has always been, an important tool for mitigating climate change and healing nature.

At the summit, I was surrounded by brilliant Mtis and First Nations youth activists from across Turtle Island, also known as North America. I felt immersed in the powerful energy of young minds gathering to collaborate, learn, and tell stories that reinforce our commitment to the environment.

If you live south of the Canada-U.S. border, its entirely possible that you have not heard of the Mtis peoples . Any time Ive spoken this term after moving from Canada to New York City, Ive been met with confused expressions, whether Im talking to Natives or non-Natives.