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Activists Around the World: Autumn Peltier · Stuff Mom Never Told You

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie and Samantha and welcome to Stephane.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Never told your production of iHeart Radio pre sam you
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: did an episode about Wikipedia pages and how there was
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  Speaker 1: a huge campaign in doing more of the women non
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  Speaker 1: binary people who were making history who were not included
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  Speaker 1: in all of these things. Right, Yes, we did. It
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: was I think Bridget's final one of her final episodes
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  Speaker 1: before she she left. Uh. And it was really really
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  Speaker 1: interesting because there's just so much lack, like the numbers
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: were at the time, and I'm sure still are very
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  Speaker 1: very discerning about how many women in non binary folks
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  Speaker 1: had Wikipedia pages, which for a lot of people is
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  Speaker 1: the place you go to for like a quick you know, information,
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  Speaker 1: kind of a photograph of what's happened in our history.
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  Speaker 1: And even the pages that did have like women scientists,
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  Speaker 1: for example, would be like very short, like not much
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  Speaker 1: detail at all. Uh. And like, yeah, the people behind
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  Speaker 1: updating that a lot of them women having these kind
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  Speaker 1: of like codeathons or wikiathons. What are they called Wikipedia thons?
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  Speaker 1: You know what I mean? Which I love, I do love,
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  Speaker 1: but yeah, it's not great right um. As in fact,
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  Speaker 1: I just saw a report and I wanted to talk
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  Speaker 1: about this real quick because the person we are talking
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  Speaker 1: about for activists around the world today, Yeah, this is
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  Speaker 1: how we're doing the activists around the world as a
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  Speaker 1: Wikipedia page, which has been rare the more we do
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  Speaker 1: a deep dive and some of these amazing people who
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  Speaker 1: are doing sch amazing work. Um, and yeah, you're right, absolutely,
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  Speaker 1: that's this is Wikipedia is one of the first things
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  Speaker 1: that pop up, as in fact, on Google it's almost
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  Speaker 1: like a side page. And I don't know what you
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  Speaker 1: call that. Someone tell me shows the piece of that
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  Speaker 1: bio from Wikipedia. Um. And as in fact, this article
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  Speaker 1: from Washington those who credits just Weighed as one of
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  Speaker 1: those who have been working on updating Wikipedia to include
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  Speaker 1: more women's scientists since twenty seventeen. Think she's done over
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  Speaker 1: like one thousand, seven hundred fifty pages since then. But
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  Speaker 1: they say that about two billion people a month go
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  Speaker 1: to Wikipedia seeking information. That is a whole bunch. Yeah. Um.
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  Speaker 1: And the percentage of women especially, so this one was
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  Speaker 1: specific to England. So yeah, just nineteen of the English
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  Speaker 1: Wikipedia biographies are of women. So I'm assuming someone tell
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  Speaker 1: me if I'm wrong that they're beaning like English speaking
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  Speaker 1: or the English language. And this is according to Wicked
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  Speaker 1: Project Women and Read, which is actually a dedicated a
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  Speaker 1: group addressing the gender gap for Wikipedia. So I found
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  Speaker 1: that fascinating. I feel like we should go ahead, um
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  Speaker 1: and put that at the top because I'm really glad
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  Speaker 1: who we're talking about is included, and she's so significantly young.
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  Speaker 1: So I'm I'm excited to see how they continue build
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  Speaker 1: up because even today, as I was looking at, her
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  Speaker 1: page is not updated. There's a couple of more accolades
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  Speaker 1: that she's gotten since then that hasn't been updated on
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  Speaker 1: this page. I guess I could do that. I'm not
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  Speaker 1: really subotic about that, but I mean that's that's the
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  Speaker 1: conversation that we should be having, is that, Yeah, this
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  Speaker 1: has been an ongoing thing, and thank god for people
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  Speaker 1: I know you are a part of this, who have
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  Speaker 1: made this a huge project to make sure women are
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  Speaker 1: being talked about, that non binary people are being seen,
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  Speaker 1: that the marginalized community are being put down as a
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  Speaker 1: part of history as it's being made. Um, but it's
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  Speaker 1: still significantly less. So I found that interesting. I think
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  Speaker 1: we should go back to revisit it because those numbers
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  Speaker 1: are so low in M so low. Yeah, So today
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  Speaker 1: again we are talking about those who were featured, who
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  Speaker 1: is as in fact that her great aunt is to
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  Speaker 1: thank God. But we are talking about um Autumn pelch
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  Speaker 1: Uh and just aside, note this month in the US
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  Speaker 1: as Native American Heritage Month, and we wanted to celebrate
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  Speaker 1: the amazing activists. Of course, if you've been listening, if
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: you've listened to this segment, you know we love and
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  Speaker 1: we absolutely find it important that we continue to talk
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  Speaker 1: about the work of the indigenous and the First nations
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  Speaker 1: as they have continued to do so. They've always done so,
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  Speaker 1: and so we want to make sure that you know, no,
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  Speaker 1: we're not doing it just for this month, but it
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  Speaker 1: is the specific month as what we should say. And yes,
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  Speaker 1: and one of those amazing activists is eighteen year old
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  Speaker 1: Autumn Pelcha. She has been an activist most of her
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  Speaker 1: life since eight years old, UM and so and has
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  Speaker 1: only gotten more vocal about the knees of her people
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  Speaker 1: and for the entire environment in the world. Um Pela
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  Speaker 1: grew up in the and I'm so sorry if I'm
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  Speaker 1: between these names. I've tried to look them up. Um
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  Speaker 1: So if I get this this wrong, let me know
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  Speaker 1: what I believe is week wam Kong First Nation in Ontario, Canada.
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  Speaker 1: And you can say that activism and protecting the land
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  Speaker 1: is in her blood. Yes, she has followed closely in
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  Speaker 1: the it steps of our great aunt Josephine Mondamin, who
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  Speaker 1: yes has an Wikipedia page you should also check out,
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  Speaker 1: who was an activist for clean water and was the
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  Speaker 1: past chief water protector for the Odd Nation of Act
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  Speaker 1: Nation and a grandmother of the First Nation, an elder
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  Speaker 1: and the founding member of the Water Protector's movement. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: and as a side note, Man Damon started the water
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  Speaker 1: walk movement in two thousand three when she became concerned
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  Speaker 1: over the polluting around to Lake Superior and around Lake
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  Speaker 1: Superior rivers in there that area, and she walked to
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  Speaker 1: symbolize real growth and renewal of the earth. And she
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  Speaker 1: walked around seventeen thousand miles or two hundred kilometers. When
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  Speaker 1: asked about how pell Chaise and Mandamen encouraged her in
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  Speaker 1: her journey, she said, my great anti Josephine was the
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  Speaker 1: original water protector who walked the shores of all the
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  Speaker 1: great lakes. Before she passed, she told me that while
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  Speaker 1: people will point and deter you from the work, you
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  Speaker 1: have to just keep going, and that is exactly what
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  Speaker 1: she is doing right um pell Chase understanding of nature
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  Speaker 1: and water has been a way of life for her.
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  Speaker 1: When addressing the issue of the importance of water, she says, quote,
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  Speaker 1: in our culture, we look at water as a living
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  Speaker 1: being and we're taught to respect it as if it's
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  Speaker 1: a human. It's the life blood of Mother Earth. Water
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  Speaker 1: gives all life. We all live in water for nine months.
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  Speaker 1: It's the only reason we're here. Without water, there's no life.
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  Speaker 1: And that's a sentiment that she's grown up with and
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  Speaker 1: lives by. When discovering that many people had gotten without
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  Speaker 1: clean water, she sought to change that. At the age
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  Speaker 1: of twelve, she boldly faced Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and
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  Speaker 1: challenged him to follow through on his past promises of
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  Speaker 1: protecting the water, saying, quote, I'm very unhappy with the
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  Speaker 1: choices you made and broken promises to my people. And
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  Speaker 1: when he replied, he understood and made more promises, and
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  Speaker 1: she vowed to hold him accountable. And by the way,
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  Speaker 1: she was originally told to just give him the gift,
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  Speaker 1: which was a traditional water bundle, um and not to
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  Speaker 1: say anything. But she couldn't hold back and she refused
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  Speaker 1: to be quiet, which I love. And yeah, she has
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  Speaker 1: gone beyond just Canada. She travels and addresses international organizations
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  Speaker 1: about you know, being accountable and protecting and giving access
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  Speaker 1: to drinkable clean water. Since confronting the Prime Minister, Pelga
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  Speaker 1: has spoke in front of the UN General Assembly as
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  Speaker 1: well as speaking at the United Nations Secretary General's Climate
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  Speaker 1: Action Summit, World Economic Forum, and the Children's Climate Conference
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  Speaker 1: in Sweden. And with her platform, not only is she
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  Speaker 1: spreading information um and seeking critical change to get access
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  Speaker 1: to clean water for everybody, but she has used it
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  Speaker 1: as well to encourage other use to be a part
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  Speaker 1: of advocacy. When asked in an interview about being so young,
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  Speaker 1: she said, you wouldn't generally think a kid or a
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  Speaker 1: young person would speak up about world issues or political issues.
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  Speaker 1: That's why it's so much more powerful, because that's how
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  Speaker 1: you know something is wrong. And she's given advice for
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  Speaker 1: the as young activists. My advice for youth is that
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  Speaker 1: anyone can do this work. Everyone has a voice, Everyone
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  Speaker 1: has a grandparent who survived so we could be here
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  Speaker 1: and continue to stand for our people, our waters, our
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  Speaker 1: lands are rights. You must want it and actually do it.
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  Speaker 1: It's scary at first, but once you think about the
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  Speaker 1: planet and the waters, your heart brings you to another
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  Speaker 1: place where the ancestors blood runs through your veins and
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  Speaker 1: all you know is survival. Today's youth are driving the
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  Speaker 1: largest movement of voices across so many platforms as everything
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  Speaker 1: is so accessible. The more we continue to speak, the
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  Speaker 1: closer we get to be heard. When we stand together
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  Speaker 1: as one, we are one voice in one nation. And
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  Speaker 1: by the way, yeah, she is continued to become a
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  Speaker 1: leader obviously, as in fact, she was named after her
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  Speaker 1: great aunt's death, the new chief water Commissioner for the
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  Speaker 1: Honest Snowbak Nation and she currently still holds that position.
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  Speaker 1: So she's leader of protecting the water in that area, um,
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  Speaker 1: which is an amazing position at eighteen years old. And
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  Speaker 1: she got that when she was I believe the teen.
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  Speaker 1: So she has been doing I think that from what
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  Speaker 1: I've seen that nation proud um and being a representation
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  Speaker 1: and a leader in that and yeah, and with that,
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  Speaker 1: she's using her leadership and her voice as she's released
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  Speaker 1: a movie produced by the Indigenous Content Group of Seeing
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  Speaker 1: Red Six Nations, The Water Walker, which was featured on
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  Speaker 1: HBO Canada has received several awards. She's collaborated with organizations
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  Speaker 1: around Canada to continue to speak about the issue of
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  Speaker 1: access to clean water, and in three a children's book
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  Speaker 1: titled Autumn Pelcha Water Warrior is expected to be released.
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  Speaker 1: So doing some things. Yes, oh, we should add that
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: to our book club. We've never done a children's books.
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: We need to add children's books. You were correct. We've
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: done some y A novels, but not not full on
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  Speaker 1: children's books. We should yeah, yeah, uh. And of course
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  Speaker 1: her work has brought many accolades and deserved recognition, such
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  Speaker 1: as the Sovereign Medal of Exceptional Volunteerism in March seventeen,
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  Speaker 1: Ottawa Riverkeeper Award in BBC when hundred women uh and
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  Speaker 1: nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize, three times Young
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  Speaker 1: Leader Award from the Ontario Municipal Social Services Association Award
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  Speaker 1: in twenty nineteen, and this year Pilch was recognized by
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  Speaker 1: the Royal Rhodes University with a Doctor of Laws on
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  Speaker 1: a Risk Causa for her commitment to creating a better future.
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  Speaker 1: And that's in a quote. I hope I didn't put that.
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  Speaker 1: She's won somebody awards that it's got me on. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: and that's the only one. Yeah. These aren't at all
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  Speaker 1: her only accolades and honors. Uh. And we know she
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  Speaker 1: continues to do her amazing work. It's such amazing work.
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  Speaker 1: There will be many more to come and we will
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: look forward to maybe revisiting this in the share Yes.
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: Um well as always, listeners, if you have anybody we
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: should shout out in this segment, please let us know.
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: You can email us at step Media, mom Stuff at
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: iHeart media dot com. You can find us on Twitter
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: at mom Stuff podcast or on Instagram at stuff I've
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: Never Told You. Thanks as always to our super producer
• 10:58
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• 11:02
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• 11:06
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