Keynote Speakers

Honouring the Spirit of Water: The Importance of Women’s Voices in Water Protection

Presenters: Taylor Galvin, Shaylee Cook (Brokenhead), Kakeka Thundersky (Winnipeg/Poplar River), Jory Thomas (Metis/Winnipeg), Jordan Thorsteinson (Sagkeeng/Winnipeg).

Overview:

As part of this keynote address, Taylor Galvin will engage four youth water protectors in a panel dialogue including Shaylee Cook (Brokenhead), Kakeka Thundersky (Winnipeg/Poplar River), Jory Thomas (Metis/Winnipeg), and Jordan Thorsteinson (Sagkeeng/Winnipeg).  

This keynote challenges the framing of water management while centering Indigenous knowledge systems and the visionary leadership of young Indigenous women. The session will explore what a water-honoring future looks like: one that listens to land defenders, water protectors, elders, land-users, and youth while building the movements of tomorrow. Panelists will share their personal relationships with water, and help set the conference tone by modeling collaborative, generational knowledge-sharing and uplifts the very voices that will lead our collective water future.

Speaker Bio:

Taylor Galvin Ozaawi Mashkode Bizhiki (Brown Buffalo) is a proud Anishinaabe woman from Brokenhead Ojibway Nation and a member of the Sturgeon Clan. A graduate student at the University of Manitoba, Taylor’s Master’s thesis explores Lake Sturgeon conservation through Indigenous science, storytelling, and community-based knowledge. Taylor serves as the Brokenhead Wetland Ecological Reserve Chair and is the community coordinator for an Indigenous-led environmental monitoring project in Tataskweyak Cree Nation. A lifelong student of many Elders and Knowledge Keepers across Manitoba, Taylor walks in both worlds, using western and Indigenous sciences to guide her work in land guardianship, ceremony, and environmental protection.

Listening to Water: Indigenous Knowledge, Youth Leadership, and the Future of Stewardship in a Changing Climate

Presenter: Justin R. Langan

Overview:

This keynote will explore water not as a resource to be managed, but as a living relative that holds memory, identity, and responsibility. Grounded in Indigenous knowledge systems and lived experience, the session will examine how relationships with water have shaped communities over generations and how these relationships should guide our responses to current climate challenges.

Drawing from his work with Indigenous youth in rural, northern, and Arctic-connected communities, Justin’s keynote will highlight how young people are leading in water stewardship, climate resilience, and systems change. Their contributions often remain under-recognized in mainstream policy and decision-making spaces.

The keynote will bridge perspectives between Indigenous and Western knowledge systems, between generations, and between local experience and global climate discussions.

Speaker Bio:

Justin R. Langan is a Métis youth leader from Manitoba and the Executive Director of O’KANATA, a nonprofit organization that empowers Indigenous youth through education, cultural revitalization, and sustainability. His work brings together Indigenous knowledge, digital innovation, and community-based climate action, with a focus on rural, northern, and underrepresented communities. Justin has led initiatives in eco-literacy, youth employment, and digital storytelling, and has shared his work at international forums including the World Economic Forum, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and Arctic policy dialogues. His work centres on creating pathways for Indigenous youth to lead in shaping more equitable and sustainable futures.