Raised in the Otomi-Toltec Indigenous community in Mexico and now living in the United States, Xiye Bastida carries two worlds into every room she enters – and uses that vantage point to name what others won't.
At President Biden's 2021 Leaders Summit, speaking alongside heads of state, she identified colonial, extractive, market-driven systems as the root causes of the climate crisis, and described the “sacrifice zones” that pay the price for Western prosperity. Her message was unambiguous: the era of fossil fuels is over – stop repeating talking points and implement the solutions that already exist. Through the Re-Earth Initiative she builds intersectional climate solutions rooted in Indigenous knowledge and intergenerational solidarity.
Achievements
- Co-founded the Re-Earth Initiative for intersectional, Indigenous-rooted climate action
- Addressed world leaders at the 2021 Leaders Summit on Climate
- Named colonialism and extraction as root causes of the crisis on the world stage
- Bridges Indigenous wisdom and the global youth climate movement
In Planet vs. Patriarchy: Girls are leading the sustainable revolution.