Mariam is a Tuareg from Timbuktu in Mali. She received traditional Tuareg education and has a multidisciplinary background in medical, humanitarian, and education sciences. For more than 20 years, as a member of Tin Hinan, a nomadic women association in Sahel, she advocates for Indigenous Peoples rights.

As former chair of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples, she built strong connections with Indigenous Peoples, member states, United Nations, academics, and other partners.

Mariam is one of the six co-principal investigators of the Arramat Project, a Co-chair of a UNESCO chair Collaboration for Indigenous-Led Biodiversity Conservation, Health and Well-being, President of the Association Tinhinan, Chair of the Board of Directors at Land is Life, and an Adjunct Professor at la Faculté de droit civil de l’Université d’Ottawa, where she teaches “Les ordres juridiques autochtones et le droit international”.