Russell Wesley

In a community reachable only by plane or an increasingly unreliable ice road, Chief Russell Wesley has become a national voice on the lived realities of climate change. Over 40 years, he has held senior roles across federal and provincial ministries, authored the first Shared Territory Protocol, and negotiated Ontario’s first Indigenous-led Impact Assessment. Under his leadership, Cat Lake First Nation has fought—and won—court battles against mining permits, while building forward-looking initiatives like a forest biomass partnership with Finnish experts and a tree nursery training project. Wesley’s approach blends ancestral teachings with bold, modern advocacy, proving that Indigenous leadership is not just protecting lands and waters but actively shaping how Canada understands development, justice, and sustainability.