India Logan-Riley
India is a young Maori activist who works in many different areas across the multiple communities she is a part of. India has been conducting her activism in the climate justice space, incorporating kōrero on tino rangatiratanga and indigenous solidarity.
Currently she is working under Te ara Whatu, the first indigenous youth delegation from Aotearoa - committed to bringing the wealth and learnings from this experience back to Aotearoa and fighting for climate justice.
India has the joy and privilege of engaging with the UN Climate Talks process since attending the negotiations in Paris in 2015. Since then she has attended as a part of the Pacific team in the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change, and as a team member of Te Ara Whatu’s inaugural delegation to COP in 2017.
Knowing that her home and family will be underwater in her lifetime and witnessing the stress of this on her community, drives India to be deeply connected to the survival of her community and culture through her activism work. For her this gives a whole new lens to Māori land and water theft, asking once again,” How do we connect to a land that is no longer there?”
“It is the mātauranga of our tīpuna, our rich legacy of activism and the passion of our rangatahi that will ensure the wellbeing of our communities for future generations.”
She holds a background in archaeology and anthropology which has allowed her to work in spaces focusing on pre-colonial history, cultural sovereignty and taonga care.
Take a look at her social media pages to find inspiration to how you can see yourself doing the same work as her.