Events Archive
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Tuesday, October 7 @ 6:30 - 8:00
Brown County Central Library Auditorium - 515 Pine Street, Green Bay, WI 54301 Join Joshua for a screening of the PBS film “Does Nature Have Rights?” followed by discussion at the Brown County Public Library at 6:30 PM on October 7th. The 28-minute film asks the questions, “What if everybody lived with the understanding that if we harm nature, we’re harming ourselves?” and “Should nature truly have rights?” It will be followed by a discussion of the worldwide rights of nature movement, including possible local and state political action on these issues.
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Joshua Sustainability Coffee Hour
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Environmental Justice Task Force discussion focused on sustainability topics and is part of JOSHUA’s ongoing community engagement, likely serving as a casual, interactive hour for sharing ideas and discussing environmental stewardship.
The Task Force and other local environmental organizations will be taking turns sharing our work Tuesday, September 16th, 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Kavarna Coffeehouse, 143 N Broadway, Green Bay, WI |
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Sovereign Nations of Virginia Conference
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Sovereign Nations of Virginia announces their 2025 program, which will feature presentations and discussions on important topics in Indigenous conservation and environmental stewardship. Nationally renowned speakers will address the Rights of Nature movement. Additional topics include conservation easements that work for tribes, the development of an Indigenous Guardians Network, and Indigenous land management practices. A printed program will be available for in-person attendees and a PDF version will be posted on the conference website.
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July 20 - 25 2025 - NYU London Campus, London
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The third installment of the Global Course on More-Than-Human Rights, which will take place in London (United Kingdom) from July 20th – July 25th, 2025 on the NYU London campus.
More-than-human (MOTH) rights is a quickly evolving field, one that draws on perspectives, insights, and ideas from law, science, Indigenous knowledge, philosophy, and the arts to advance legal actions, strategies, and research to protect the diversity, richness, and well-being of the more-than-human world. The Global Course on More-Than-Human Rights is an intensive five-day course designed to impart students with the essential elements of rights of nature / more-than-human rights law and contemporary practices and thinking associated with the MOTH paradigm. |
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Join the Brothertown Indian Nation June 16,17.18
The Ceremony and Walk begins 6 am at the Columbia County Park
N 10340 Calumet Harbor Road, Malone, WI 53409
The Ceremony and Walk begins 6 am at the Columbia County Park
N 10340 Calumet Harbor Road, Malone, WI 53409
2025 Lake Winnebago Water Walk
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The 2025 Lake Winnebago Water Walk, organized by the Brothertown Indian Nation, is an annual event that began in 2015 to pray for and heal the waters of Lake Winnebago. The walk typically takes about three days to complete and involves a ceremonial journey around the lake, emphasizing the spiritual and cultural connection to the water. The event is part of broader efforts by the Brothertown community and other tribal nations to care for the lake, which holds significant cultural importance and is considered "international waters" by multiple tribes.
The Water Walk serves as a collaborative and spiritual ceremony, involving prayers and ceremonies at the lake, aiming to promote healing and awareness of water quality and environmental stewardship. This event is also linked to ongoing projects like the Lake Winnebago InterTribal Connectivity Project, which focuses on water quality and wild rice revitalization in the lake area. The Brothertown Indian Nation continues to advocate for federal recognition while maintaining cultural traditions such as the Water Walk.
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Juneteenth Event: Rights of Nature - Film and Discussion
Tuesday, June 10 @ 6:00-8:00 PM
Appleton Public Library - 200 N Appleton Street Appleton WI 54911
Mary Beth Nienhaus Community Meeting Room C
Format: Film screening followed by a community discussion
Mary Beth Nienhaus Community Meeting Room C
Format: Film screening followed by a community discussion
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The featured film, “Does Nature Have Rights?”, is a PBS documentary that explores the global movement to recognize legal rights for nature—such as rivers, forests, and ecosystems—drawing on examples from Ecuador, New Zealand, and the United States. The film discusses how indigenous perspectives and recent legal reforms have begun to shift the way societies view and protect the natural world, advocating for nature to be recognized as a legal entity with its own rights.
The discussion following the film will provide an opportunity for attendees to engage with these ideas, reflect on their implications for local and global environmental protection, and consider how the Rights of Nature movement could influence future legal and ethical frameworks. This in-person event is open to the general public and is part of ongoing efforts by local organizations, including the Fox Valley group for Rights of Nature–Wisconsin and co-sponsors, to raise awareness about the legal and ethical concept of granting rights to natural entities.
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Sunday, May 18 2025 @ 10 AM - Northern Waters Casino Resort, Watersmeet, MI
Protect the Porkies presentation
Everyone is welcome to join us for a meal and presentation. Our guest speakers are Tom Grotewohl, Anahkwet/Guy Reiter, Charlotte Loonsfoot, and Tori Solis.
The Protect the Porkies campaign began in June 2023, when a petition was launched asking people to sign on to oppose the development of the proposed Copperwood Mine, a Canadian company’s plan to mine underground near Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and Lake Superior.
Everyone is welcome to join us for a meal and presentation. Our guest speakers are Tom Grotewohl, Anahkwet/Guy Reiter, Charlotte Loonsfoot, and Tori Solis.
The Protect the Porkies campaign began in June 2023, when a petition was launched asking people to sign on to oppose the development of the proposed Copperwood Mine, a Canadian company’s plan to mine underground near Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and Lake Superior.
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This session is part of ongoing efforts to raise awareness and mobilize opposition to the proposed Copperwood Mine project, which would be located near the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (the Porkies). The project has drawn significant local and statewide opposition due to concerns about environmental risks, threats to Lake Superior, and impacts on outdoor recreation and Indigenous treaty rights.
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Bioneers is excited to announce the dates for our next gathering will be March 27-29, 2025. We're pleased to be returning to the East Bay and invite you to save the date and join us for the 36th Annual Bioneers Conference.
Rights of Nature Series
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January 29 to February 26, 2025 (every Wednesday) at 6:30-8:00 pm, via Zoom Register: Rights of Nature Series
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Rights of Nature is an approach to environmental justice that WISDOM has embraced. It has a spiritual dimension, which is heavily influenced by Native American spirituality and the understanding that all of life is interrelated and has inherent worth. It also has a legal dimension, in which we believe the natural world should have the right to be protected from harm and have the right to have wrongs remedied. The Rights of Nature team will be hosting a 5-Week Zoom training about the Rights of Nature movement. The training will include the following 5 sessions:
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From Law on the Books to Law in Action
Calling all lifelong learners interested in #RightsofNature!
The Centre For Law & the Environment at the Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia is excited to announce a free, interactive, online learning event - the 2024 Green Rights & Warrior Lawyers Virtual Academy, featuring Ecuadorian lawyer Hugo Echeverría and Executive Director Mari Margil, both of the Center for Democratic & Environmental Rights (CDER).
“Rights of Nature: From Law on the Books to Law in Action.”
The Centre For Law & the Environment at the Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia is excited to announce a free, interactive, online learning event - the 2024 Green Rights & Warrior Lawyers Virtual Academy, featuring Ecuadorian lawyer Hugo Echeverría and Executive Director Mari Margil, both of the Center for Democratic & Environmental Rights (CDER).
“Rights of Nature: From Law on the Books to Law in Action.”
Other presenters and workshops leaders include Colombian-Canadian rights of nature advocate Yenny Vega Cárdenas of the International Observatory on Nature’s Rights; Innu land guardian, writer, and poet Rita Mestokosho; and More Than Human Life Project team members from The Earth Rights Research & Action (TERRA) Clinic at the NYU Law School Center for Human Rights & Global Justice.
Participants will also prepare for and conduct a virtual rights of nature “mock trial.”
How can you use law to fight for nature’s rights and transform humanity’s relationships with other beings and the planet? Find out by participating in this 2-day, innovative, interactive, intensive, online learning experience as courageous “Warrior Lawyers,” Indigenous legal knowledge holders and other inspiring leaders share their stories of advancing “Green Rights” through (or sometimes despite) law. You will learn about the global rights of nature movement, explore rights of nature laws on paper and in action, discover strategies for enforcing nature’s rights, and participate in a rights of nature mock trial.
This innovative learning program mobilizes the power of stories to bring issues of environmental rights and justice to life and inspire you to act.
This innovative learning program mobilizes the power of stories to bring issues of environmental rights and justice to life and inspire you to act.
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In October, Mari Margil and Thomas Linzey of the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights (CDER) will lead a four-week training titled - The Rights of Nature: Drafting, Adopting, and Enforcing Rights of Nature Laws in Cities, Towns, and Counties - hosted by the Bioneers Learning online program.
Participants will learn about the “rights of nature” movement in the United States and globally; prepare them to engage in their own communities to develop, adopt, and enforce local rights of nature laws; and address frequently asked questions. The course will also include an overview of how indigenous communities are adopting and enforcing rights of nature laws. We will feature guest presenters, including key organizers in Ecuador and tribal attorneys in the U.S. This course will run from October 3 - 24, 2024, with classes taking place on Thursdays from 11 am - 12:30 pm (PT). Classes will be held via Zoom, and recordings of each class will be available for registrants not able to attend a class here and there. |
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Live Online Course with Thomas Linzey & Mari Margil
REGISTER NOW
REGISTER NOW
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This year’s 50th Oneida Pow Wow will feature hundreds of Indigenous dancers from tribal nations around the continent — Turtle Island — competing for prize money in front of thousands of spectators.
The three-day event starting June 28 on the Oneida Reservation, just west of Green Bay, is expected to draw about 10,000 visitors. |
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Support clean, healthy lakes with Clean Lakes Alliance’s 12th Annual Loop the Lake Bike Ride, presented by Lake Ridge Bank. It’s an at-your-own-pace bike ride around Lake Monona on Saturday, June 15th that raises funds to protect and preserve Greater Madison’s lakes. Make a day of it while you enjoy entertaining and educational activities at many parks along the route.
Cyclists of all ages and abilities navigate the scenic 13.8-mile loop around Lake Monona.
Saturday, June 15th Starting & ending at Olbrich Park (3527 Atwood Avenue, Madison) Course open 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. (optional group start at 9 a.m.) $45 per in-person rider, kids 10 and under ride free with a paid adult Get a group to ride – purchase 6 adult registrations for the group rate of $200 |
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From the Maumee to the Cuyahoga, the works in Exist, Flourish, Evolve come together to share the histories of our water, demonstrate the interconnectedness of ourselves and our natural world, and remind us, as Dr. Vandana Shiva states, “nature is not out there; we are a part of it.”
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32nd Annual Sturgeon Feast and Pow Wow
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The Menominee sturgeon feast and celebration dates back centuries before Europeans arrived.
The Menominee called Keshena Falls (Nama’o skiwamit) or the place where sturgeon come home. In the spring of the year, the Menominee waited for the sturgeon to migrate into their rivers and streams where they were harvested with spears in great abundance. The Menominee relied upon the sturgeon to supplement their diet along with other fish, wild game, wild rice and maple sugar. Sturgeon was also used for medicinal purposes. The return of the sturgeon each spring meant the Menominee could replenish their food supply, which was close to depletion after long winter months. The celebration that followed the harvest included tobacco offerings, songs, and the ancient Menominee fish dance (mimicking the movement of the spawning sturgeon going up river) was performed honoring the return of the fish and a feast thanking the creator for allowing the sturgeons to return to their traditional spawning grounds at Keshena Falls and for replenishing their food supplies after a long winter. 
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.From Crisis to Recovery: Health Challenges and Community Rights
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Thursday, April 4, 2024 11:00 AM 2:00 PM
East Palestine OH
Bowen-Thompson Student Union, Lenhart Grand Ballroom
East Palestine OH
Bowen-Thompson Student Union, Lenhart Grand Ballroom
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CDER’s Senior Legal Counsel, Thomas Linzey is presenting as a keynote speaker at the Symposium.
He is widely recognized as the founder of the contemporary community rights movement which has resulted in the adoption of several hundred laws across the U.S. and world that protect the environment and public health. He will join public health experts Dr. Wes Vins, Laura Fauss, and Dr. Getchen Nickell, at the event. The Symposium will be offered free of charge and will be offered in person and live stream. Lunch is free for registered in-person attendees, with registration required by March 15, 2024. To register for this event and for more information, please visit here. |
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30 November to 12 December 2023 Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). |
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Saturday, October 28, 2023 - All-day
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE: Opening prayers and drumming at site of the ore body, speakers with history of the mine fight, a celebration WALK from former mine site to Mole Lake Reservation, mini-powwow at the Potawatomi Community Center and an evening feast to end the day. |
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Milwaukee County Rights of Nature Resolution Signing Ceremony
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Come honor and celebrate the painstaking work and relentless dedication of so many to make this day materialize. Please plan on being there and SHARE this historic happening.
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Supporting the "rights of nature" movement across waterways and bodies of water in Milwaukee County for protection and ensuring human activities do not interfere with nature and its ability to be healthy, robust, and resilient.
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Milwaukee City Executive will sign historic first Rights of Nature
resolution in Wisconsin.
Ceremony for the River to follow
resolution in Wisconsin.
Ceremony for the River to follow
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October 7, 2023, 1pm to October 8, 5pm Central Wisconsin Convention & Expo Center 10101 Market Street A20, Rothschild, WI Promoting education, awareness, respect and appreciation for Indigenous Peoples of Wisconsin.
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Monday, September 4, 2023
9:00am - 2:00pm Start from either St. Ignace or Mackinaw City (directions) Event Website All roads lead to the Annual Labor Day Mackinaw Bridge walk. Water protectors will be converging on the Bridge to highlight the need to protect International Waters, including all the Great Lakes.
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National Gathering - Come Listen to the Water - 2 events
Saturday, September 2, 2023
12:00pm - 9:00pm 200 Wachtel Ave, Petoskey, MI 49770 (directions) Petoskey Waterfront Event Website Come help us celebrate the Water and our connection to it. We strive to provide a memorable experience through, eclectic music, art, food, and of course, you, the attendees.
This is our 5th year and we wish to welcome you to this free, family friendly event brought to you by our sponsors, volunteers, committee, awesome musical talent and of course our relative, niibi (water). |
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Saturday, August 26, 2023
9:30am - 3:00pm S14 W28167 Madison St • Waukesha 53188 (directions) Retzer Nature Center 262-896-8007 Event Website The 2023 Sustainability Fair is a gathering of organizations and businesses to inform and engage the citizens of Waukesha County
about environmental sustainability. |
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August 13, 2023
6 pm -8 pm South Shore Park, Milwaukee www.milwaukeewatercommons.orgw.milwaukeewatercommons.org/ FREE and ALL are welcome - Join Milwaukee Water Commons for our 9th Annual We Are Water celebration!
We Are Water connects hundreds of Milwaukeeans in the celebration of our common waters. We gather on the shores of lake Michigan to share and honor our community’s history, cultural diversity and talent. |
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Celebrating the Diverse cultural and Ethnic Heritage of individuals in Waukesha and neighboring Counties.
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Contestants and spectators from across the nation and Canada gather each year to enjoy the finest in dance competition and in live singing and drumming. Many anticipate rekindling existing friendships and creating new ones as the Menominee Contest Pow-wow offers an opportunity to network with others. Each vendor will offer a diverse array of merchandise inspired by Native American artwork, beadwork and apparel. Satisfy your taste buds and indulge in a variety of traditional Native American and contemporary cuisine.
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Memorial Day Weekend May 27-29, 2023
Wise Women Gathering Place 1641 Commanche Ave., Suite H, Green Bay, WI The Indigenous-led Creation Water Walk will begin at Menekaunee Harbor Park in Marinette, Michigan, at sunrise on May 27th, and proceed over three days, walking south along the western shores of Green Bay. The Creation Water Walk will end along the banks of the Fox River, at the Neville Museum on May 29th. This Water Walk acknowledges all of the Tribal Nations of Wisconsin and honors the memory and teachings of Grandmother Josephine Mandamin-ba, known as “The Water Walker.”
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Thursday, April 27, 2023 @ 9:00 AM to 3 PM
Wisconsin Masonic Center 301 Wisconsin Ave Madison, WI 53703 We will be spending the day hearing from speakers, meeting with legislators and networking with community members from all across the state hoping to make Wisconsin a state for all of us to thrive in. Registration includes a boxed lunch at Wisconsin Masonic Center.
Zoom training will be available to help us be more informed on the critical issues, learn/practice how to ‘tell our story’, and prepare for the day.
1.- Thursday March 9 @ 6:30 pm: Telling your story 2.- Thursday March 23 @ 6:30pm Working with Legislators |
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April 22, 2023 @ 10 AM
10th Street Park Wausau, WI 10 multi cultural and environmental organization teams will plant 10 trees in this small, treeless city Park. A talking circle will follow. Come and celebrate with us. |
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April 20, 2023 @ 4:00 PM
Architecture and Urban Planning Marcus Commons – UWM Campus – 2131 E Hartford Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53211 “Tribal Community Planning: A Ho-Chunk Nation Perspective and Lessons for Practitioners” presentation by Bill Quackenbush, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer at the Ho-Chunk Nation of WI.
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In-person and Virtual Event
The UN Water Conference will be the stage of the upcoming side event “Rights of Nature: The missing connection to enhance and implement the SDGs on Water” on Friday, March 24, 2023, at 3.30 PM (EDT). The event will explore the Rights of Nature framework as a powerful legal, non-anthropocentric, holistic tool for water restoration and protection, and how it can complement the global goals and objectives of restoration and protection of water ecosystems. |
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