Severn Cullis-Suzuki

Did you know?

As a child, Severn and friends started the Environmental Children’s Organization, culminating in a speech to the United Nations at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 when she was only 12!

About Severn

Severn Cullis-Suzuki is an activist for diversity in the natural world and in human society. From a young age, she has spoken widely about intergenerational justice, the need for ethics in our economics, and respect and recognition of Indigenous rights and title. Rooted on the west coast of Canada, she is part of the global movement to shift our human path toward sustainability and survival.

Severn lives on Haida Gwaii with her family where they are learning the critically endangered Xaayda kil (Skidegate dialect of the Haida language) from elders. She is currently a Vanier Scholar pursuing a PhD at the University of British Columbia, conducting research on Indigenous language revitalization. She holds a B.Sc. in Biology from Yale University and an M.Sc. in Ethnoecology from the University of Victoria.

Severn hosted Aboriginal Peoples Television Network’s Samaqan: Water Stories and was a founding board member of the Haida Gwaii Higher Education Society. She is a member of the Earth Charter International Council and, after serving on the David Suzuki Foundation board for 13 years, Severn is currently an honorary board member.

We have forgotten our most ancient and tested survival strategy — to act with the future in mind.