Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak Attends COP15 for the Convention on Biological Diversity in Montréal

OTTAWA, ON, Dec. 5, 2022 /CNW/ - Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak / Women of the Métis Nation (LFMO) is excited to send their very own delegation of young Métis women and knowledge keepers to COP15 in Montréal, Quebec as part of the United Nations' Environmental Programme's (UNEP) Convention on Biological Diversity.

Partnering with the Métis National Council (MNC), LFMO is co-hosting a panel on Métis leadership in protecting nature through one of the many side events taking place at COP15. This panel will give future leaders the chance to connect with knowledge keepers and Indigenous peoples from around the world on their rights and abilities to protect Mother Earth.

Grandmother Kathy Boston will open the session with her own teachings about the relationship that Métis women have and have always had with the land, skies, and waters, as well as with all beings who inhabit our earth. "It's our duty to pass these teachings onto the next generation of caretakers," says President Melanie Omeniho of LFMO." We are borrowing this earth from our descendants and Mother Earth is counting on us."

LFMO and MNC both agree that climate change and biodiversity loss are threatening the Métis ways of life across the Motherland, impacting traditional Métis practices such as harvesting food and medicines, hunting small game and netting fish. Both organizations will continue to prioritize this work and to make space for Métis leadership and knowledge systems at these tables.

LFMO speaks as the national and international voice for the Women of the Métis Nation across the Métis Motherland, spanning Ontario westward to British Columbia. Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak aims to consult, promote, and represent the personal, spiritual, social, cultural, political, and economic interests and aspirations of Women and gender diverse people.

SOURCE Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak

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