Larissa Crawford

I’m Métis-Jamaican (Afro-Indigenous), and I pass my ancestry on to my 4 year old daughter, Zyra. I’m a published Indigenous and anti-racist researcher and policy advisor, restorative conflict mediator, award-winning ribbon skirt artist, and serial fellow. I founded Future Ancestors Services, a youth-led professional services social enterprise that works with clients and community partners to advance climate justice and anti-racism. We have over 200 clients globally, are launching our + $35K grant fund next year, and leverage Indigenized and decolonized ways of doing business. Through training, speaking, research, and consulting services I most regularly bring anti-racism, climate justice, disability justice, and decolonization knowledge to governance, energy, health, non-profit, and the outdoors sectors. I do this with a 4-day work week and an annual workload cycle that changes with the seasons. I’m 26 and am thankful I had the opportunities to work and study internationally before the COVID-19 pandemic. Experiences such as starting a library in Kpandai District, Ghana at 16; studying in Harbin, China; studying and volunteering in Istanbul, Turkey; and working throughout Latin America and Asia, have all contributed to my deep appreciation for existing as a global citizen. This appreciation has informed the several international and domestic policy roles I’ve had before founding Future Ancestors Services. (I have a chronic pain disability and am recovering from a severe brain injury, so if you meet me and my energy is low, or I forget and mix up words, it’s because I’m managing a lot of pain!)

Land-Based Healing and Learning, Healthy Relationships to Time and Work, Diversifying the Outdoors

#LandBack is possible, and needed, within our lifetime. Indigenous land defenders block 25% of Canada and USA’s combined carbon emissions per year. Indigenous leadership enshrined with collaboration, policy, and resource allocation can and will globally usher in the just and sustainable futures our next generations are owed.

Pistol squats. I can do them anywhere, on nearly anything, in any shoe.