Janet Martinez

Janet Martinez is the co-founder/vice executive director of Comunidades Indígenas en Liderazgo (CIELO) an Indigenous woman-led organization that works with indigenous migrant communities in Los Angeles. CIELO organizes to assure racial justice for indigenous migrant communities. She is a Bene Xogsho (Zapotec) born in Los Angeles. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Gender and Women’s Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, with a thesis on indigenous migrants in the U.S. court system.

Aside from her direct activism, Martinez has engaged on issues facing indigenous migrant communities through her writing; she has published articles on topics including new approaches to gendered leadership in indigenous communities, and the challenges facing youths in Indigenous migrant communities. Her work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Ozy, Vogue, and Telesur. Currently, she is a host on the podcast Tu’un Dali, a podcast for and by indigenous people.