Stories, Seeds, and Sanctuary: Indigenous-Led Pathways of Resistance and Resilience

Indigenous communities face intersecting systems of environmental, cultural, and social domination, and resisting these systems requires knowledge, creativity, and community-centered strategies. In Trinidad and Tobago, my work as an Indigenous Author, Storyteller, and Climate Educator demonstrates how storytelling, theatre, and educational engagement can operate as powerful forms of resistance. Through my character Redzi the Clown, I connect with children and communities to cultivate climate literacy, cultural preservation, and social empowerment, embedding critical lessons about resilience and collective responsibility in imaginative, participatory ways. Simultaneously, our NGO The Foundation for Heritage Preservation & Legacy Creation implements practical interventions that resist ecological degradation and cultural erasure. These initiatives include the conservation of critically endangered turtles and tortoises sacred to Indigenous heritage, the promotion of seed sovereignty through the operation of an heirloom seeds bank, companion planting practices rooted in ancestral knowledge, and the rehabilitation of non-releasable wildlife to restore ecological and cultural balance. These efforts illustrate how Indigenous-led environmental stewardship functions not only as conservation but as a form of resistance against extractive and colonial practices that threaten both ecosystems and communities. By situating creative activism and community-based conservation as interconnected tools of liberation, this work demonstrates how multidisciplinary approaches foster resilience, solidarity, and empowerment. Storytelling, theatre, and environmental education act as mechanisms for raising consciousness, transmitting Indigenous knowledge, and cultivating a sense of shared responsibility for social and ecological justice. This presentation contributes to emerging global conversations in resistance studies by highlighting the transformative potential of culture, knowledge, and ecological stewardship in challenging systems of domination. It underscores that resistance is not only oppositional but generative: it creates spaces for education, empowerment, and the sustained flourishing of both human and non-human communities.