Qjiel Giuliano Mikhl Zamora is an international Tentanda Via Scholar at York University pursuing Global Health. He strongly identifies with the indigenous groups of the Cagayan Valley in the Philippines, especially the Ibanag or the ‘River People’. Through intersecting the perspectives of indigenous people and policies on environmental health, Qjiel champions a rights-based approach in achieving planetary wellness. The threat of chemicals and plastics pollution may potentially harm the identity of tribes that have shared beliefs of the river as a living entity. These plastic particles further breakdown into microplastics are now inside our bloodstream which parallels back to why rivers are sacred because blood does the same to bring life all over the body. They can cross the blood-brain barrier, testicles, heart, lungs, and even the placenta. Qjiel has done lectures and TV appearances about microplastics globally to support knowledge translation of the plastics crises among different disciplines. He has appeared in the UNICEF Children’s Environmental Health Collaborative report on Generation Plastic where he shared about the indigenous connections of plastic pollution and health. Being a new settler to Canada, he is passionate about helping international students and newcomers navigating food initiatives so that they will not feel hungry in Toronto.
