Conversations With the Earth is a global indigenous-led multimedia initiative that is amplifying indigenous voices in the global discourse on climate change and enhancing local capacity for action. CWE conveys local accounts of the impacts of climate change on indigenous communities, stories of the unintended consequences of imposed mitigation efforts on local livelihoods, and examples of traditional knowledge and its value in developing appropriate responses to climate change. CWE is a way of listening closely to traditional stewards of the Earth in order to formulate a viable global response to the challenges of climate change.

The documentary follows Yuri Vella, a Forest Nenets writer and social activist who lives in West Siberia. He left his village ten years ago to lead the life of a reindeer herder in the taiga. The unique little world he created there was meant to protect him from the alcoholism and unemployment that sadly poses a serious threat to the indigenous peoples of Siberia. To give his grandchildren a proper education in their natural environment and teach them reindeer herding skills, he established an elementary school in his winter camp. Unfortunately, Yuri Vella's world is but an oasis of traditional lifestyle in one of the largest oil-producing regions of Russia.