In this brief, Eriel Deranger identifies the critical nature of the climate emergency amidst the dangerous exclusion of Indigenous peoples from environmental decision-making being made by colonial governments. Deranger asks, what does a climate plan look like without consideration of Indigenous rights and what should they look like from [an Indigenous] perspective?
It is becoming clearer that COVID-19, and future pandemics, are tied to climate change. How can we prevent that impending reality? This Brief imagines our current moment as transformational for climate policy, our notions of economic development, and reconciliation.
Since the Fall of 2018, the Indigenous Land Stewardship Circle has been organizing to protect a number of sacred sites in and around what is now the City of Toronto. Among their campaigns is the effort to manage High Park responsibly. As part of their campaign, they have issued this Call to Action, republished here.
This brief is a response to a previous Yellowhead brief on decolonizing clean energy. It outlines the Indigenous participation and leadership in the BC clean energy sector where First Nations are involved in true partnerships with government, serving as a model for other clean energy partnerships involving First Nations.
As provinces and territories work to develop policies to promote clean energy, they will also need to come to terms with the fact that climate change and renewable energy are fundamentally Indigenous rights issues. While Indigenous peoples could play a key role in Canada’s transition to a low carbon economy, a recent review of 57 provincial and territorial energy programs and policies show that Indigenous inclusion in such programs is severely lacking.
As we move through another colonial election year at the federal level, there is one arena that challenges most politicians: climate change and what we do about it. While the core tenets of the Green New Deal outline the dramatic change required to tackle this crisis, we must proceed with caution. In its ongoing creation, the GND coalition needs to ensure the inclusion and consent of Indigenous and racialized communities.
Based in the Faculty of Arts at Toronto Metropolitan University.