Recently, wildfire smoke darkened our skies in northern New York, making being outside unpleasant to downright unhealthy. We experienced what it’s like when something fundamental that we take for granted, such as clean air, isn’t available. Here in the North Country, far from big cities, we expect clean air; yet we were powerless to do anything about the air pollution we were suddenly suffering. Clean water is also fundamental to our well-being. We expect our waterways to be clean and healthy, but clean water is under threat from pollution.

Aquí presentamos una entrevista con Carlos Beas Torres de la Unión de Comunidades Indígenas de la Zona Nortel del Istmo de Tehuantepec (UCIZONI), una organización que ha resistido a CIIT desde su inicio, y que forma parte de la caravana “El Sur Resiste.”

The following is an interview with Carlos Beas Torres, a member of the Unión de Comunidades Indígenas de la Zona Nortel del Istmo de Tehuantepec (Union of Indigenous Communities from the North of the Isthmus or UCIZONIT), an organization that has resisted the CIIT since its conception and forms part of the “El Sur Resiste” (The South Resists) Caravan.

“Rivers keep us alive and keep so many other living beings alive.” With those words, Blake Lavia, the President of Talking Rivers, welcomed more than 30 North Country community members to a wide-ranging discussion on a revolutionary idea: the Rights of Rivers. Held at Clarkson University on Earth Day (April 22), the event showcased the local and global momentum behind the idea as well as some of the key challenges facing those who would like the Rights of Rivers to become law across the St. Lawrence River / Kaniatarowanénhne and Adirondack Watersheds.

“The younger generation is often framed as the ‘procrastinator.’ We are the ‘kids’ who only care about social media. Yet, in the face of the Climate Crisis, our generation is mobilizing to demand change. Here in the Haudenosaunee territory (the North Country), people of all ages believe in the ideas that the concept of Rights of Nature encompasses. We believe nature deserves further legal protection in the form of recognition as a living entity with legal standing. We want to preserve and prosper with our Mother Earth. This is why young people from the St. Lawrence River watershed are working together to organize an international symposium which will take place on March 22, International Water Day. During the North Country Rights of Nature Symposium, community members will join to discuss how best to protect the region’s waterways.”