WILD12 Schedule

Pre-Congress Events

Friday – Sunday, 23 – 25 August

Sweden’s Big 5: Photography display by Staffan Widstrand, National Geographic Explorer and a Sony Imaging Ambassador

Youth Workshop hosted by CoalitionWILD & #NatureForAll

SUNDAY, 25 AUGUST – Official Opening

(Fine Arts Theater, The Monument)

Opening Ceremony begins at 6:00 PM with addresses from Host and Organizer, WILD12 Host, keynote speakers, and cultural performances.

MONDAY, 26 AUGUST – Plenary Day 1

(Fine Arts Theater, The Monument)

Ceremony, Prayer, & Story
Arvol Looking Horse, Rick Two Dog, Maidi Andersson (TBC)

Regional Indigenous Wilderness Conservation

a. Saving the Planet with Indigenous Knowledge: Professor Daniel Wildcat, Haskell Indian Nations University

b. Wilderness as a Contested Concept: To be announced

c. Inhabited Wilderness: Ben Bobowski, Superintendent, NPS Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve

d. Native Science and Sovereignty: Dr. Greg Cajeta, Native American Educator; Artist; Scholar of Herbalism and Holistic Health

e. Living with Bison: Tatewin Means, Executive Director, Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation

f. Lakota relationship with nature: Professor Victor Douville, Lakota Studies, Sinte Gleska University

Global Indigenous and Local Community Wilderness Conservation

a. Panel – Relationship between achieving Global Biodiversity Framework spatial targets and expanding Indigenous land tenure

a. Andrea Carmen, Executive Director of the Internation Indian Treaty Council

b. Nonette Royo, Executive Director, The Tenure Facility

c. Lucy Mulenkei, Executive Director, Indigenous Information Network and Co-chair, International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity

d. Stephen Woodley, Former Science Chair, World Commission of Protected Areas

e. Swati Hingorani, IUCN, Global Coordinator 30×30 Initiative

f. To be announced

b. African community-led conservation: Nombe Ganame, Field Director, local community-led Mali Elephant Project

c. Biodiversity and Indigenous Sovereignty: Chief Tashka Yawanawa, Chief of the Yawanawa people

d. National governments and land back: To be announced

e. Indigenous Traditional Culture is Conservation: To be announced

f. Environmental Protection & Human Health: Global Perspective: Anpo Jensen, Program Manager of Ecology and Research, Honor the Earth

g. What the Creator Intended: Sarah James, Artic Village Spokesperson and Activist, Goldman Environmental Prize Winner

h. Cultural Performance: Hoop Dancers

– Indigenous-Only Assembly – Grand Entry, Songs and Dance – a place for Indigenous groups to gather, converse, present gifts, song and dance.

– All Delegate Reception

TUESDAY, 27 AUGUST – Plenary Day 2

Ceremony, Prayer, & Story
Henry Quick Bear, Richard Moves Camp, Ilarion Merculieff

Resource Mobilization for Wilderness and Indigenous Stewards
(6 speakers, 20 minutes each with 5 min MC transition between each)

• Panel – Resource Mobilization for Wilderness and Indigenous Peoples & Local Communities

⚬ Yen Parico, Director of CoalitionWILD

⚬ Ralph Chami, Co-Founder of Blue Green Future

⚬ Ramson Karmushu, Field and Research Coordinator, Indigenous Movement for Peace and Transformation in Northern Kenya

⚬ Sinclair Vincent, Director of Sustainable Development Innovation, VERRA

⚬ Chip Barber, Director, Natural Resources Governance & Policy, World Resource Institute

• IUCN Indigenous-led Greenlist site: Pedro Gamboa Moquillaza

• Data Sovereignty and Just Compensation for ITEK: James Rattling Leaf, Principle, Wolakota Lab, LLC and Co-Founder, Group on Earth Observations Indigenous Alliance

• Lakota Women and All Our Relations: Velma Kills Back, Educator

• Extinction Rituals: Patricio Robles Gil, Visual Artist

Cultural Performance: Leave Some for the Honey Badger by Michael Charton, South Africa

Stewarding the Wild Commons: Oceans, Polar Regions, and the Sovereign Wild

• Ocean Wilderness: Cristina Mittermeier, NatGeo Explorer and Founder of Sea Legacy

• Hope Spots: Sylvia Earle, Founder of Mission Blue

• Panel – Stewarding our Oceans and Polar Regions

⚬ Cristina Mittermeier, NatGeo Explorer and Founder of Sea Legacy

⚬ Kevin Chang, Executive Director of KUA

⚬ Cormac Cullinan, Founder of EnAct; Director of Cullinan and Associates; Co-founder of Antarctica Alliance

⚬ Maidi Andersson, Sami reindeer herder and board member, SSR

• African Sacred Sites as a Category of Protected Areas: Youth Perspective on Wilderness Looking Forward: Aiita Apamaku, Wildlife Biologist; NatGeo Explorer; Darwin200 Leader; Co-Founder of NatureWILD

• Prayer and wild voices: Claude Two Elk, Chair of the Sicangu Lakota Treaty Council

Tuesday Evening
Monarch Photo Display: Jaime Rojo, NatGeo Explorer; 2024 winner, World Press Photo
Public Indigenous People & Conservation Assembly (all delegates invited)

WEDNESDAY, 28 AUGUST – Tour Day

Tour to Wind Cave: more details to come soon

THURSDAY, 29 AUGUST – Convention Of Delegates

On these days, delegates meet in concurrent and working sessions to share information, problem-solve, and build unity across cultural, and political boundaries.

Global Forum, Concurrent Sessions: schedule to be released by organizers in July

• Symposium-Global Gathering Of Knowledge, Wisdom, And Ways Of Knowing

• Oceti Sakowin Oyate Track

• Indigenous Global Track

• Contact sessions over working group products

• Films and Panels

FRIDAY, 30 AUGUST – Convention of Delegates

Global Forum, Concurrent Sessions: schedule to be released by organizers in July

• Symposium-Global Gathering Of Knowledge, Wisdom, And Ways Of Knowing

• Oceti Sakowin Oyate Track

• Indigenous Global Track

• Contact sessions over working group products

• Films and Panels

Friday Evening
Indigenous & Conservation Film Festival

SATURDAY, 31 AUGUST – General Assembly and Closing Ceremony

On the final day, delegates reconvene to vote on/adopt WILD12’s resolutions and set the global wilderness conservation agenda for the next 4-5 years. Morning and afternoon — final outcomes, resolution adoptions, closing speakers and cultural events.

ONGOING THROUGHOUT CONGRESS

• Poster presentations in concourses

• Cultural art featured in concourses

• Art Alley murals (downtown Rapid City)

• Exhibition – Expo of commercial, NGO, governmental, artistic, educational, artisanal initiatives. Display areas booths are available for rental, learn more here

• Memorial Park demonstrations (immediately adjacent to The Monument)

Symposium – Concurrent Sessions with oral presentations, panel and round-table discussions, poster sessions, and other platforms for storytelling and sharing ideas. Contributions that address terrestrial and marine wilderness topics (for instance, management and stewardship, collaborative governance, biodiversity conservation, human-wildlife interactions, climate change) within the following themes:

• Indigenous perspectives, ways of knowing, and wilderness meanings

• Humanities, arts, creativity, and environmental philosophy

• Justice, accountability, Indigenous sovereignty, and restored rights

• Campaigns, Youth led-coalitions, community conservation, and citizen science

• Connecting, restoring, expanding, and rewilding landscapes

• Opportunities and challenges of green finance, public-private partnerships, and tourism

• Ecological benefits, cultural meanings, physical/mental health, and intrinsic values

• Applications of technology and data science

If specific invitations are required for a delegate or invitee to use for visa, travel or other purposes, they can be requested from info@wild.org. In the subject line please enter “Request for invitation.” Include in the email your name, the gender with which you identify with, age, address, organization/community affiliation, passport number, and nationality.