Indigenous land protector, fashion model and filmmaker Quannah ChasingHorse used her platform at the seventh annual Hollywood Climate Summit to sound the alarm over proposed oil and gas lease sales in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, calling for immediate action to protect sacred lands and support Indigenous communities leading the fight against climate change.
The summit, held June 3 at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater, brought together entertainment and media professionals, storytellers, executives, artists, scientists and advocates to explore how storytelling can shape public understanding of the climate crisis.
During the inaugural Hollywood Climate Summit Leadership Recognition Ceremony, ChasingHorse received the Amplifier Award and used her acceptance remarks to focus attention on the Arctic Refuge and the communities that call it home.
“We talk and we talk and we talk, but right now is the time for action,” ChasingHorse said. “It’s not just my people that are being directly impacted — it’s everybody, because everybody’s future is at stake.”
Her comments highlighted concerns over upcoming lease sales on lands considered sacred by Indigenous peoples in Alaska and underscored the role Native communities play on the front lines of climate advocacy and environmental stewardship.
ChasingHorse also participated in the “Story Sovereignty: Filmmaker Spotlight” session, which featured Indigenous creatives shaping climate narratives through film and media. The discussion included her work as co-director of the forthcoming documentary Beautiful Resistance, which explores Indigenous resilience and environmental justice.
The Hollywood Climate Summit is the flagship annual conference of Context Collaborative, a nonprofit organization that works to elevate climate issues through storytelling across film, television, gaming and other forms of popular culture. This year’s opening day featured speakers including actor Melissa Navia of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, astronaut-in-training and Operation Period founder Manju Bangalore, former NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman, producer Lisa Joy, writer Alison Tatlock, actress Milana Vayntrub and actress-activist Richa Moorjani.
For ChasingHorse, however, the message was clear: conversations alone are no longer enough. With the future of the Arctic Refuge once again at stake, she urged audiences to move beyond awareness and take meaningful action in support of Indigenous communities and the protection of their ancestral lands.
