rolling stone 2017
RollingStone Feature – Environmental Activist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez: A Teen on the Front Lines
The change that we need is not going to come from a politician, .. it’s going to come from something that’s always been the driver of change – people power, power of young people
A lot of people are under the impression that because they built the pipeline and shut down the prayer camps and evacuated the Water Protectors, it means we lost. What happened at Standing Rock was unprecedented. We’ve never seen mobilization that big from indigenous communities worldwide: people coming together to defend indigenous rights; Black Lives Matter standing in solidarity. It was a very connected movement, but it was about protecting children, land, clean water, people standing in solidarity with their brothers and sisters.
I’m beyond stoked to release this record, simply because it’s a massive step for me in the world of music. It’s an opening up to the world about who I am and what it is that I’m fighting for in a way that I never have before.
Challenge the status quo, change the face of activism, and confront climate change head on with the ultimate blueprint for taking action. My new book, We Rise, is now available for pre-order. #WeRise
“I love what he does, his message and how everything he does has positivity behind it,” Martinez says. “He’s a really amazing storyteller.”
We have a claim that the atmosphere is a very important resource that doesn’t belong to anyone, but it affects every human being on the planet. And our government has a very important responsibility to uphold our constitutional rights, as well as our right to have the atmosphere, which they are failing to do because of their action to create climate change, their inaction to regulate it, and to mitigate it.”
dec 2016 – talk at bioneers
9 min – thinking climate change as a environmental problem.. when it’s a human problem.. if you look at how a natural system responds to crisis.. the roots will stay strong.. if forest burns down.. grows back.. but if human destroyed by crisis… it takes just as many resources to rebuild…
11 min – we can’t resonate with the environment because we’re not connected to the earth anymore
13 min – regardless of whatever.. we’re all indigenous to this earth… biggest problem.. disconnection .. from selves (suicide, depression, pills, ..); from one another (racism, hatred, violence, war, ..); disconnected to our food; our planet …. we no longer see the earth as our home.. it’s a resource... something we can take from
16 min – solution… the intergenerational movement that needs to be created is more important than anything… because.. the tech/innovation/creativity of young people… and… remember knowledge of our ancestors.. need to give back.. the balance between new and that that has come before…
18 min – what happened to the solutions.. we have the power to create change.. our voices are more powerful than any corp industry.. any govt.. we have to remember that..
jan 2017 – time to wake up
aug 2016 – via fb share
My sister Shailene Woodley standing with frontline communities to protect their land and water from the Dakota Access pipeline! Stay strong -prayers out!
Kid Warrior: The Xiuhtezcatl Martinez Story
how much reach i got just by being silent – (his brother on silent protest)
the biggest challenge we face is shifting human consciousness.. not saving the planet..becase the planet doesn’t need saving .. we do
people say we’re the future… we’re not going to wait until then. we’re going to do something now..
Xiuhtezcatl [“Shu-TEZ-caht”] is a 12 year old (now 14) Change Agent. He has been speaking at environmental events since he was six years old and has organized over 50 gatherings, rallies and conferences to raise awareness about the state of the planet his generation will be inheriting, inspiring youth to take positive action to protect the environment. (via vimeo link below)
from site linked to graphic above:
Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, from Boulder, Colorado, came into the world through the Aztec culture on his father’s side, and an environmental activist on his mother’s side.
His deep connection with the Earth inspired him to be a voice for her at a young age, giving his first speech at a climate change rally when he was six.
Xiuhtezcatl is the youth voice for the Earth Guardians, a non-profit environmental group for youth, following in the footsteps of his older sisters.
Xiuhtezcatl has worked with Boulder City Council Officials, County Commissioners, Senators, Congressmen and woman and collaborated with over 50 environmental organizations.
He and a team of youth are demanding that the government develop a climate recovery plan to ensure a sustainable future for his generation and those to come.
In May, 2012, he and a delegation of five youth went to Washington DC to meet with representatives from all three branches of government, expressing their concerns and working to garner the support for climate change efforts. Over 80 members of Congress and the Congressional Progressive Caucus publicly supported the youth delegation and their work to ensure a healthy future, despite the fossil fuels industry’s efforts to place their own profits first.
Xiuhtezcatl was the youngest, and called by the media globally one of the most inspired speakers at the Rio+20 United Nations Summit in Rio Brazil 2012. He spoke on UN panels and at many of the UN side events.
Xiuhtezcatl’s story was featured in a short film Documentary by Peter Gabriel‘s organization Witness, and it won 2012 Best Environmental Film Documentary of the Year.
Xiuhtezcatl continues to inspire youth and adults alike, encouraging people everywhere to become more aware and educated, and to work together to face the threats to our environment, our atmosphere and our future. He is a living example of one of his favorite hero’s Mahatma Gandhi and reflects the change that he wants to see in the world.
At Evergreen Middle School near Denver, Colorado, young members of Earth Guardians made a presentation and sang a rap which has infuriated local parents and brought angry threats upon the school and the youth. Some are calling it “liberal indoctrination” others calling it “censorship,” the school has apologized, and what started out as a simple presentation by 13-year-old Xiuhtezcatl and his 9-year-old brother Itzcuauhtl has turned into a national story.
“There’s an Indian word, ‘Tekoa,’ which is used for ‘village’ or ‘territory.’ But a better translation is ‘way of being,’” said Levi Moises, 25, a youth leader for the Earth Guardian’s in Brazil. “For indigenous people here, the connection to the place where they live is in itself a major achievement. But modern society does not accept this, and always requires that the space be commodified, tamed, or changed to the fullest. In short, we remain pillaged. Our territory (and resources) are stolen by the state and sold to entrepreneurs.”
Until we realize that we are one people, we are all connected, and we all depend on each other and the Earth for the survival of humanity, we will continue down this path of separation and disconnect. We must reconnect with our indigenous roots because no matter where we are from, or who we are, we are ALL indigenous to somewhere.
The face of our future is a 16-year-old boy calling us to action against climate change for the sake of your children and grandchildren
Xiuhtezcatl Tonatiuh (pronounced Shoe-tez-kaht Ton-ah-tee)
Xiuhtezcatl exudes, “The combination of both generations can create a better world for the future where we can balance ways of life that existed in the past, but also taking advantage of technology and creating societies that are less destructive to the planet but can continue to move forward into the future.”
eagle and condor ness
There was never really a defining moment because being born into that culture taught me that being with nature was just a way of life. Since I could walk, I was learning traditional dances. Since I could speak I was learning our languages and our songs. All of that revolved around prayer and ceremony for the elements that give us life. That shaped the deep connection that I have with the natural world, and I am apart of it just by being on the Earth.
It’s easy to fall into hopelessness because when we look at crises that face the world, it’s incredibly overwhelming.
I see a general disconnection with human beings to problems that matter.
We need to focus on long term solutions
It’s not just about one person, it’s not just about me, it’s about inspiring leaders all over the world to make change.
I just watched Leonardo DiCaprio’s new documentary Before the Floods, and he said that the ice sheet in the Northern Hemisphere will be gone by 2040.
I truly believe that with the right steps humanity can be trained to fall back in love with the Earth through music, art, culture, nature—these are all aspects of what it means to be human. I think falling back in love with our humanity is what it will take for the human race to understand that we are in danger of going extinct because of our consumption and the destructive relationship we have with the planet.
I think living in this country it is very easy to be blind to the world, because we *have everything we want, we are so privileged in this country where it is easy to detach ourselves from the problems that are affecting other parts of the world.