Chico State
The Institute for Sustainable Development is proud to present Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, Indigenous climate activist, hip-hop artist, author, and Youth Director of Earth Guardians to Chico State for a student and community Earth Month event.
We hope you can join us on Monday, April 16, 2018 from 3:00-5:00 pm at the Bell Memorial Union Auditorium.Seating starts at 2:00 pm. This show is free and open to the public with advanced registration. Click here to register for this event.
Earth Guardians Youth Director Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, (his first name pronounced ‘Shoe-Tez-Caht’) is a 17-year-old indigenous climate activist, hip-hop artist, author and powerful voice on the front lines of a global youth-led environmental movement. At the early age of six Xiuhtezcatl began speaking around the world, from the Rio +20 United Nations Summit in Rio de Janeiro, to addressing the General Assembly at the United Nations in New York city.
He has worked locally to get pesticides out of parks, coal ash contained, and moratoriums on fracking in his state and is currently a lead plaintiff in a youth-led lawsuit against the federal government for their failure to protect the atmosphere for future generations. Xiuhtezcatl has traveled across the nation and to many parts of the world educating his generation about the state of the planet they are inheriting.
His message has inspired youth to join the front lines to combat some of the greatest issues of their times that are impacting their communities and future. Earth Guardians has grown to hundreds of youth-led crews in over 30 countries. His work has been featured on PBS, Showtime, National Geographic, Rolling Stone, Upworthy, Aljazeera, The Guardian, Vogue, Bill Maher, The Daily Show, Skavlan, Q&A, AJ+, CNN, MSNBC, HBO, VICE, and many more.
In 2013, Xiuhtezcatl received the 2013 United States Community Service Award from President Obama, and was the youngest of 24 national change-makers chosen to serve on the President’s youth council. He is the 2015 recipient of the Peace First Prize, recipient of the 2015 Nickelodeon Halo Award, 2016 Captain Planet Award, the 2016 Children’s Climate Prize from Sweden, as well as the 2017 Univision Premio’s Ajente de Cambio Award.
Read an excerpt from Xiuhtezcatl’s book
We Rise: The Earth Guardians Guide to Building a Movement that Restores the Planet