Juana Leticia Ovalle Tum

Juanita, Maya Kiche/Kaqchikel from Guatemala, is a lawyer, notary and a founding member of the council of Ajq’ija’ Iq’ B’alam from Guatemala. She belongs to a network of Indigenous youth in Latin America and the Caribbean, specializing in the rights of Indigenous peoples. The network emphasizes the protection of sacred sites as well as the defense of land, territory and ancestral authority systems. They fight for their rights and the maintenance of ancestral knowledge. Additionally, via the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Environmental Funds (RedLac), Juanita and others empower indigenous youth to continue the fight. At Mesa, she wrote about the importance of ancestral practices of Indigenous peoples and their contribution to the climate change crisis.