First Nations women are at the forefront of conservation and stewardship. This fellowship aims to support leaders by expanding their professional experiences within the conservation movement.
Together with the Indigenous Leadership Initiative (ILI), Wildlife Conservation Society Canada is offering two one-year fellowships to support First Nations women leaders in conservation.
The First Nations Women Transforming Conservation Fellowship recognizes the critical leadership of Indigenous women in renewing, mobilizing, and sharing knowledge pivotal to the conservation of healthy lands and waters, and aims to create spaces where these leaders can build relationships, find mentorship, enhance their impact, and experience learning opportunities that align with their values.
This unique fellowship opportunity also aims to celebrate and continue the legacy of Dr. Cheryl-Lesley Chetkiewicz, WCS Canada’s Director of Indigenous Communities and Conservation. Cheryl dreamed of creating more opportunities to support Indigenous women in conservation. Her insight, leadership, and empathy have guided the design of this program.
The program will:
Draw on the expertise of both ILI and WCS Canada, including advocacy, policy, and western scientific research.
Be shaped around participants’ interests and strengths.
Explore a range of concepts, from Indigenous-led conservation as an expression of Nationhood to the role of western and Indigenous science in conservation policy.
Provide opportunities for fellows to learn more about public policy, government relations, research design, communications, land use planning, and other elements of advancing Indigenous-led conservation and stewardship.
Offer experiential learning, from creating a video with the Land Needs Guardians’ storytellers project to participating in hide camp or on-the-land language programs.
To help steer the program and offer dedicated guidance to fellows, ILI and WCS Canada have convened an Aunties’ Circle of mostly Indigenous women with deep experience in leadership, research, conservation, and stewardship.
Applications are now closed, but stay tuned for more information about future cohorts.
Interested in helping us sustain this initiative? Your donation will help empower Indigenous women leaders in conservation for years to come.
The ideal candidates will be:
Five primary learning goals are woven through the program via workshops, field experiences, camps and mentor-guided opportunities.
Throughout the fellowship, fellows will explore how to align learning opportunities with their own goals and learning needs.
Fellows will receive:
Fellows will receive a stipend, via a contract from an organization based on reserve, and also have eligible expenses for work-related travel covered.
Participants will be expected to work approximately 15 days a month. This is a nearly full time opportunity, and if candidates have an existing work commitment, an agreement with their current employer will be necessary to ensure all obligations can be fulfilled.
Fellows will work remotely, with occasional travel for meetings and gatherings.
Indigenous women carry the knowledge and traditions that are central to our relationships with lands and waters, safeguarding them for our people and future generations.
Colonialism and paternalistic policies have restricted where women belong. To continue to flourish, Indigenous women leaders need spaces where they can build relationships, find mentorship, and experience learning opportunities that align with their values. This fellowship is designed to offer those supports and resources.
Leaders from the ILI and WCS Canada, as well as the Aunties Circle, will make the selection based on a set of criteria. The selection process includes two phases, with screening interviews planned for July. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to participate in final interviews in August and asked to provide community testimonials from an Elder, leader, or mentor.
We hope to select the two inaugural fellows in late August, negotiate agreements in September, and make a public announcement in early October.
