Climate in Crisis Keynote: Nikki Sanchez

Nikki Sanchez is a Pipil and Irish/Scottish academic, Indigenous media maker and environmental educator.

She holds a masters degree in Indigenous Governance and is currently completing her Ph.D. on emerging visual media technology as it relates to Indigenous ontology for climate change mitigation strategies.

Nikki was selected as one of HATCH 100’s change makers for 2021 and is a regular panelist on CBC’s the Early Edition. Nikki was the former David Suzuki Foundation’s “Queen of Green” where her work centered on environmental journalism, social media and digital media creation to provide sustainable solutions for a healthy planet, as well as content creation to bring more racial and gender inclusivity into the environmental movement.

As an Indigenous media maker, Nikki’s most recent project is the 8-part documentary VICELAND series RISE focused on global Indigenous resurgence. RISE was debuted at Sundance in February 2017 and has received global critical acclaim, recently winning “best documentary” at the Canadian screen awards.

A TEDx speaker, her most recent presentation is entitled “Decolonization is for Everyone.”

She has been a wilderness guide and environmental educator in the Nuu-chah-nulth territory of Clayoquot Sound for over 10 years, where she was mentored by Nuu-chah-nulth elders Tsahsiits and Qaamina Sam.

She is the creator and director of “Decolonize Together” a collective of Indigenous and black women who offer decolonial and anti-racismworkshops and curriculum creation. Decolonize Together has been teaching and facilitating decolonization and anti-oppression training for universities, school boards, corporations, and NGOs for the past five years.

Nikki is a guest contributor for DavidSuzuki.Org, The Hundreds, Last Real Indians, Intercontinental Cry, Loose Lips Magazine, and ROAR Magazine. She is on the BC Women’s Foundation Youth Council, as well as a board member for Sierra Club of BC, Load Bow and Photographer’s Without Borders.

In 2020, she released her first book, Spirits of the Coast: Orcas in Science, Art and History, which has been a bestseller ever since.