Named to list of 100 influential women worldwide
LONDON, UK – Island water advocate Autumn Peltier has recently been named as one of the BBC’s top 100 inspiring and influential women for 2019, earning the title of the only person in this year’s selection who is listed as Canadian.
BBC’s ‘100 Women’ project began in 2013 and has celebrated some of the world’s brightest female role models and trailbreakers. It began after a 2012 gang rape incident in South Delhi, India, when BBC controller Liliane Landor and editor Fiona Crack decided that women’s issues needed more attention.
The following year, they launched the series as a way to combat the under-representation of women in the media. Its coverage lasted for one month and featured interviews and profiles of the featured women.
This year’s list emerged on October 16, 2019. Alongside Autumn are people with auspicious claims to fame from an anti-mafia politician to human rights activists, scientists, athletes and a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Autumn began water advocacy at the age of eight. Her late great aunt Josephine Mandamin was a water walker who served as her mentor and a source of inspiration.
In June of 2019, Autumn was sworn in as the chief water commissioner for the Anishinabek Nation. The 15-year-old has since spoken at the United Nations and travelled far and wide to advocate for the protection of clean water.
Autumn’s name appears on this year’s 100 Women list alongside other young women who have dedicated themselves to environmental activism. These include Jamie Margolin, a 17-year-old climate change activist from Seattle who started Zero Hour, a climate change movement, as well as 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg who has made headlines recently for her climate advocacy around the world.
The Expositor reached out several times to Autumn’s family for comment, but did not receive a response by press time Monday.
