Crystal Lameman, a member of the Beaver Lake Cree First Nation, Canada, feels a powerful responsibility to speak out against the exploitation of oil sands on her people’s land. Crystal’s advocacy efforts have succeeded in holding the Canadian federal government responsible for lands usurped by the oil and tar sands industry. The Beaver Lake Cree Nation has filed a statement of claim taking the Government of Canada to court for over 17,000 treaty violations and have been granted a trial, establishing an important precedent for First Nations communities in Canada. Photo credit: Nobel Women’s Initiative
