AP: I feel that my most inspiring moment was an accidental moment. It was in 2016 when I was invited to gift Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a water bundle, a ceremonial copper bowl. I had many questions about this gifting. When I came face-to-face with him something came over me, and I just told him I was very unhappy with the broken promises he made to my people. Then all I could say after that was ‘pipeline’ [a reference to Trudeau’s support for pipeline projects around Alberta’s oil sands]. After that my real advocacy began, and my journey began. That moment gained national attention, and I was proud to stand up for my people and the youth.

TV: What do you consider the biggest threat to humanity and the climate?

AP: What I see as the biggest threat to climate change is human beings and what my auntie called human negligence. It’s all about making the choice to change and to be part of change and caring for the planet. We have the ability to help Mother Earth before it gets worse, and we need to work together as united nations, as we all need water.

Zanagee Artis, 19, Clinton, Connecticut

Zanagee Artis

Zanagee Artis cofounded the youth-led volunteer climate organization Zero Hour in 2017. Artis is proud that from its inception, Zero Hour has named colonialism, capitalism, racism, and patriarchy as the core causes of the climate crisis. Zero Hour, he explains, “has built a movement around addressing the issue of climate change as a systematic injustice to marginalized peoples around the world.” Artis says his priority is creating policy solutions at every level — for cities, states, and global frameworks like the Paris accord.

TV: Are there any particular climate causes you’re passionate about?

ZA: I am especially passionate about addressing environmental injustice in Arctic communities, and researching methods of adaptation, government aid, and cultural preservation in these regions where change is happening faster than anywhere else in the world. This is an issue that I have delved into deeply academically, and I am eager to begin doing activist work related to addressing the potential impacts of Arctic shipping (and the current impacts of drilling), indigenous land sovereignty, and adaptation measures for Arctic communities because they are on the front lines of the climate crisis. More work needs to be done for communities like theirs who are facing immediate changes to where they call home.

Thomas Lopez, 24, Standing Rock, North Dakota

Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Thomas Lopez is Otomi, Diné, Apache, and Lakota. His family has for centuries lived across the Great Plains, Southwest, and parts of what is now Mexico, and protecting the environment has been an integral part of their history. “In a sense it’s our birthright,” explains Lopez, who is a Two-Spirit member of the International Indigenous Youth Council (IIYC). In 2017, Lopez spent three months at Standing Rock, fighting to defend the Cannonball and Missouri rivers against construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.