Having her first memories of the indigenous town of Powakka in Suriname, Ikihie grew up surrounded by the stories and spiritual practices of her community. Yet from a young age, she noticed something unsettling: many indigenous youths were no longer learning about the land and leaving their villages. At the same time, mining and deforestation were encroaching on indigenous territories, damaging ecosystems and eroding ways of life. Food, clean water, and medicinal plants are becoming increasingly scarce. “Suriname is the only country on the South American mainland that does not legally recognize the collective land rights of its indigenous population.” says Ikihie.

This reality shaped Ikihie’s conviction that climate justice must be rooted in land rights. A green transition, she believes, cannot come at the cost of communities losing their land or living with pollution from mining critical minerals such as bauxite as well as gold and oil (Suriname’s main extractive industries). As she puts it, “the struggle for land is also a struggle for who we are.”

This is why Ikihie founded the Keyholders of a Sustainable Environment (KHOSE) Foundation. Through Roots of Justice, she launched the Back to the Roots – Spiritual Bonding campaign. The initiative reconnects indigenous youth with ancestral knowledge through intergenerational workshops, where elders share wisdom about medicinal plants and healing practices via storytelling, while also discussing the impacts of mining and deforestation.

“In doing so, we are not only saving their culture,” Ikihie explains, “but also preparing young people to become champions of climate justice.” KHOSE trains youth to know their rights, build leadership skills to stand up for their communities, while encouraging entrepreneurship through traditional crafts. So far, the campaign has directly engaged 62 indigenous participants and reached thousands more through community meetings and social media, inspiring a new generation to fight for their cultural land rights and their future.