Earth Guardians Indigenous Youth Initiative Training (July 2-6 or October 9-13, 2026) — Application Form

The Earth Guardians Indigenous Youth Initiative is calling on Indigenous youth leaders (aged 18-30) from the Mid-Atlantic region (VA, DC, MD, DE, PA, WV) to join us for a weeklong training and retreat, to co-create the future of the Indigenous youth-led climate justice movement in our region. Applicants can choose between two sessions: Summer (July 2-6) or Fall (October 9-13); the curriculum is the same for both sessions.  Both dates straddle three-day weekends--if your work or school schedule is still a barrier, please reach out and let us know. This is a rolling application and acceptance letters are sent on a first come first serve basis. The application for our summer session closes June 1, 2026. 

This is a transformative program designed for emerging Indigenous youth leaders to amplify our voices, strengthen our leadership and mentorship skills, and provide practical tools to take action on some of the world’s most pressing issues—locally and globally. Participants will explore the deep connections between environmental justice and cultural revitalization, while uplifting traditional knowledge as a core solution to the climate crisis. This training supports Indigenous youth who want to build community-based organizing groups (Earth Guardian Crews), launch climate justice campaigns or projects, and harness media and storytelling to reclaim narratives and drive change.

During the training, you will:

• Learn to use non-violent direct action and strategic organizing, Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), and media & storytelling to organize within your communities.
  
• Build deep relationships with Indigenous peers and mentors organizing around climate justice in our region.
  
• Develop a campaign or project related to climate justice to implement in your community, to workshop during daily experiential classes.
  
• Form an Earth Guardians Crew in your community to receive up to $1,000 in project funding after the training and ongoing support and mentorship to implement the campaign or project you ideate now, refine through the training, and apply after. 

This is a three-part training:

1. A virtual pre-training meetup

2. A 4-day in-person gathering at Roots to Sky Sanctuary in Western Maryland

3. Ongoing post-training mentorship and community organizing work

We have space for only 20 participants, so this is a competitive application process. If accepted, all expenses are covered, including travel, lodging, meals, and training materials.

Eligibility:

Applicants must primarily reside in one of the following states: Virginia, Washington DC, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia

Applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 30 at the time of the training

Applicants must identify as Indigenous. This program grew out of the resistance at Standing Rock during the NoDAPL movement, and we center the lineage of North American Indian tribal nations organizing on the frontlines to protect our homelands, while also recognizing and building with international Indigenous communities in diaspora that are our relatives and comrades in this work.

Roots to Sky Sanctuary is a healing space and cultural center that supports the spiritual, cultural, and psychological sovereignty of BIPOC communities. Located on 125 acres of forests, fields, and springs in the Backbone Mountain Range of Western Maryland, it provides a nurturing environment for food and plant medicine cultivation, trauma healing, and Indigenous cultural revitalization. This region was historically a migratory and dwelling space for Cherokee, Haudenosaunee, Lenape, Massawomeck, and other Monongahela Culture Indigenous peoples.

Dates: July 2-6 & October 9-13, 2026 

Heather Milton-Lightening
Heather is a lifelong Indigenous organizer with over 20 years of experience in environmental justice and youth empowerment. A co-founder of the Native Youth Movement, she has led campaigns through the Indigenous Environmental Network and trained youth in nonviolent direct action, climate organizing, and Indigenous sovereignty. She now supports communities through training and consultation while completing her Master’s in Indigenous Just Transition at York University.

Teena Pugliese
Teena is a filmmaker, performance artist, and activist using media to heal, educate, and reclaim Indigenous narratives. She mentors youth in storytelling and digital activism and was inspired by Myron Dewey's work with Digital Smoke Signals. Her work spans documentary, satire, and fiction, rooted in intergenerational knowledge-sharing and land-based storytelling. Learn more at lightmachinearts.com.

Program Director and Point of Contact:

Sebi Medina-Tayac is a citizen of the Piscataway Indian Nation, and a farmer and community organizer based on his tribal homelands in Maryland. He serves as the Director of the Indigenous Youth Initiative for Earth Guardians, and leads food sovereignty, cultural education, and healing justice projects with two intertribal community organizations in the Washington DC area: Nekamaco and Capital Native Nations. His professional background includes grassroots climate justice campaigns, impact storytelling, and purpose-driven hospitality.

For more information or questions, please contact: sebi@earthguardians.org

We are honored and excited to grow together with you. Please fill out the application form below so we can learn more about the work you’re doing and how this training can support your path forward.

Learn more about Earth Guardians, a revolutionary environmental nonprofit that provides youth with the resources and training needed to create climate justice-driven solutions that make a real difference locally, nationally, and internationally. : www.earthguardians.org/indigenous-youth-leadership-initiative