Environmental and climate justice takes center stage this week with two free virtual events. The first, this weekend, is the inaugural Environmental Justice Pathways Summit, sponsored by Beyond Toxics and the Eugene-Springfield branch of the NAACP and held in conjunction with the University of Oregon’s Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples Lecture. The summit’s goal, organizers say, is to create “a collaborative network and policy guidelines dedicated to environmental justice in the state of Oregon.” Keynote speakers for the two-day event are Sheila Watt Cloutier, a Canadian Inuit activist (pictured), and Mustafa Santiago Ali of the National Wildlife Federation. On April 14, the Oregon Community Rights Network (ORCRN) will host Protecting Mother Earth: The history and possibilities as experienced by Native Americans. The webinar’s speakers include Dina Gilio-Whitaker of the Colville Confederated Tribes, Elliott Moffett of the Nez Perce Tribe and Joseph C. Scott of the Confederated Tribe of Siletz. 

The Environmental Justice Pathways Summit starts at 10 am on both Friday, April 9, and Saturday, April 10.  Registration is at BeyondToxics.org. ORCRN’s “Protecting Mother Earth” webinar is 6 pm April 14. RSVP to reserve a Zoom link at Info@ORCRN.org.