Canada

/Tag: Canada

 

28 11, 2022

On Vancouver Island, Land Back Looks Like Going Home | Atmos

2024-08-26T11:32:41-04:00Tags: |

Tsastilqualus Ambers Umbas is reclaiming her people’s land. Umbas belongs to the Ma’amtagila First Nation and has taken up residence in Hiladi, located in British Vancouver, Canada, a region within her ancestral lands which has never been ceded to the Canadian government. The home which she currently resides in was built in 2019 and is known as Little Big House and is meant to emulate the style of a Kwakwaka’wakw house. While Umbas resided in Matriarch Camp, as it is known, alone at first, a recently finished bunkhouse will allow for other residents to live in Hiladi. This reclamation contributes to the global Land Back movement which seeks to return lands to Indigenous communities. In this case, living in Hiladi is the beginning of the Ma’amtagila obtaining their rights to their lands. By going to court with the Canadian government, the Ma’amtagila hope to gain independence from the Tlowitsis First Nation. These Nations were joined together when most of the Ma’amtagila left their territory to go to Turnour Island, where the Tlowitsis traditionally inhabited. Umbas has big dreams for Matriarch Camp and envisions more residents, a garden, and celebration existing on these lands.

27 06, 2022

How Defeating Keystone XL Built A Bolder, Savvier Climate Movement

2023-02-02T16:24:35-05:00Tags: , |

Over ten years of resistance against the Canadian tar sands and the Keystone XL pipeline has reinvigorated the greater climate movement through coordinated strategies of direct action and coalition building. The Keystone XL resistance gained traction in 2006 following the advocacy of three women from the Deranger clan of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in Alberta in partnership with the Indigenous Environmental Network. The Tar Sands Action sparked new waves of civil disobedience that became common tactics in direct actions to follow. From Maggie Gorry leading a Tar Sands Blockade in northern Texas to Joye Braun fighting for Indigenous sovereignty on her home lands of the Cheyenne River Sioux Nation in South Dakota, these grassroots direct actions were essential to the successful fight against Keystone XL. 

1 12, 2021

Lax Kw’alaams Woman Crashes Trudeau LNG Press Conference

2021-12-13T21:13:22-05:00Tags: |

Prime Minister Trudeau’s administration held a press conference in which Premier Christy Clark announced the approval of the Pacific Northwest Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project. Premier Clark was praising the project for promoting clean energy and being of low cost when Christine Smith-Martin, of the Lax Kw’alaams, interrupted the conference to ask a very pressing question: “what about our salmon?” Smith-Martin then elaborated, saying that the environmental impact of the project was not being addressed by conference speakers, nor had indigenous communities been consulted in a meaningful way prior to the decision. Minister Catherine Mckenna, in turn, said that the impact on salmon has been assessed and there should not be significant effects. Smith-Martin was not convinced, and she insisted this project must be opposed. Salmon is vital to indigenous communities, and it must be treated as such. Video credit: Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition

13 09, 2021

WWF-Canada’s Megan Leslie Wants To ‘Decolonize’ the Environmental Movement

2021-12-13T21:02:06-05:00Tags: |

Megan Leslie, the recently instated president of World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF-Canada), insists that, going forward, environmental conservation efforts should include the perspectives and desires of indigenous peoples. Towards that end, WWF-Canada has partnered with Gitga’at First Nation, at their behest, to preserve marine life in British Columbia. Additionally, WWF-Canada has been working with remote Arctic communities such as the Nunawat people to promote their use of renewable energy as opposed to diesel fuel. As for the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion plans, Leslie says her organization prefers not to engage in specific infrastructure battles, though they consider investment in fossil fuel infrastructure the wrong step. Photo Credit: Alex Tétreault

4 05, 2021

Finding the Mother Tree

2023-03-29T13:34:11-04:00Tags: |

Willow Defebaugh and Suzanne Simard discuss Simard’s new book “Finding the Mother Tree”. Simard’s book weaves together her personal story and scientific journey and findings. Simard scientifically proves that forests are interconnected communities, communicating and supporting one another through an intricate root and fungal system. Mother trees, the oldest trees, are integral to these communities by sharing energy and passing wisdom to the younger trees. Her research challenges the Western idea of competition in nature. Rather, both competition and cooperation exist together in these complex communities. Simard’s research supports knowledge long-held by Indigenous Peoples: that we are all connected, we are all one. Simard looked to the spirituality of the forests to try to understand their complexity. Photo credit: Colin Dodgson/Atmos

13 04, 2021

Women Speak Out Against Criminalization Of Land Defenders, Water Protectors

2021-04-13T17:28:07-04:00Tags: |

This article highlights the issue of unjust criminalisation and disproportionate state violence against indigenous women water and land protectors. While indigenous people constitute about 4% of Canada’s population, they represent 27% of the incarcerated population in 2018. According to the Canada’s Correctional Investigator Indigenous, women constituted 37% of all women behind bars and 50% of all maximum security inmates in 2017. Mi’kmaw lawyer and academic Pam Palmater evokes the targeting and criminalisation of Indigenous women by Canadian state authorities as historically rooted in a colonising strategy, since they bear children who will carry on the culture and language of their nations. Pamela says that indigenous women’s perseverance and leadership should not be lost in the conversation and concludes that ‘even though Indigenous women have always been targeted, both in the law directly and indirectly, they continue to stand up for the land and for their children despite knowing what’s coming’. Photo Credit: Amber Bernard/APTN

9 08, 2018

Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Expansion Oil Pipeline Is Threatening Indigenous Peoples’ Land

2018-10-12T17:35:48-04:00Tags: |

Kayah George a young indigenous water protector has been fighting the destruction of her homeland. Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Expansion Pipeline runs from Alberta to West Coast of Canada to Tsleil-Waututh Nation of United States of America. The pipeline poses a threat to coastal cities as well as wildlife due to the high chances of an oil spill. Unfortunately, the Canadian government continues to support this destructive project despite the ramifications to local communities. Despite this, 19-year old Kayah continues to fight and build a peaceful movement to protect her home. . Photo Credit: Emma Cassidy

24 07, 2018

A Mohawk Midwife’s Birth Stories

2018-12-19T17:40:15-05:00Tags: |

Katsi Cook, founder of the first school of Indigenous midwifery, traces the trajectory of her life and explains how the traditional knowledge of Indigenous communities is helping to conserve  moral values and the environment. Her interest in environmental health was inspired by her experience delivering babies as a midwife, when a mother asked a simple question: “Is it safe to breastfeed?” Her research led to the first human health study at a superfund site, which revealed that Mohawk indigenous women are disproportionately affected by the nearby industrialization of the Great Lakes basin. Their breastmilk has been contaminated with harmful chemicals that in turn impacts their offspring. Cook shares the stories of her ancestors which are helpful for her to empower her fellow women. Photo Credit: Yes Magazine

27 06, 2018

Kill Patriarchy, Save The Womb 

2023-04-16T16:33:49-04:00Tags: |

Indigenous women are pushing back against the feminine hygiene industry which uses shame and embarrassment marketing tactics to enforce narratives regarding menstrual bleeding to perpetuate the use of harmful disposable pads and tampons. The blog highlights that the chemicals in disposable products are toxic to people and the environment. It presents many reusable and healthy options such as menstrual cups and cloth pads, noting also Indigenous use of Cliff Rose, Cattail, and Moss in healthful relationship with the Earth and moon blood. The Indigenous Goddess Gang reports that not only do these products not contain harsh chemicals, they also allow you to track bodily changes, save money, and greatly reduce the waste and pollution associated with disposables. Image credit: Orlando Begaye AKA Treeman

1 06, 2018

Music And Climate Change

2020-09-23T21:06:48-04:00Tags: |

Tanya Kalmanovitch, musician and New England Conservatory professor, grew up in the early industrial mining days of Canada’s Athabasca Oil Sands, which has since grown into one of the world’s largest industrial projects. For many years, Kalmanovitch used music as an escape from the oil and gas baron reality of homelife in Fort McMurray. However, when clashes over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline made national front-page news, Kalmanovitch realized it was time to turn her music into an instrument for change. She began bringing stories of Fort McMurray together, speaking to Indigenous elders, activists, engineers, oil patch workers, and members of her own family. From the stories she gathered, including her own, she created the Tar Sands Songbook, weaving oil, climate, and music into one. Photo credit: Tanya Kalmanovitch

18 05, 2018

Women Leaders Come Together To Fight Climate Change

2019-04-13T16:10:40-04:00Tags: |

Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna hosted the Climate Leaders’ Summit, gathering fearless women from all over the world, including representatives from the public, private, academic, and civil society sectors working to create  solutions to the climate crisis. The summit’s main focus was on women’s leadership, working to ensure female participation in climate policymaking, environmental science, and engineering, and technological innovation. Photo Credit: UN Environment

21 03, 2018

13-Year-Old Advocate Autumn Peltier is Devoted to Protecting the World’s Water

2023-11-28T16:35:57-05:00Tags: |

This video clip highlights thirteen-year old indigenous water activist, Autumn Peltier, of the Anishinabek Nation. She discusses what being a water advocate means to her and what her dreams of water accessibility look like in the future. To Autumn, being an advocate for the Earth’s water means raising awareness about the topic and bringing attention to why water needs to be protected. She hopes for a world in which everyone, in every place, can drink their own water and have widespread access to clean drinking water. Through her work, she honors her Great Aunt Josephine, a water advocate as well. Autumn describes one of her most memorable moments thus far in her advocacy being her time at the Assembly of First Nations in 2016, when she met Justin Trudeau and told him about her dissatisfaction with his decisions. Autumn emphasizes how her work is not for awards or recognition, but rather her passion to protect water and Mother Earth. Photo Credit: Twitter/@ChiefsofOntario

21 03, 2018

Women Are At The Front Lines Of The Fight Against The Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline

2018-07-16T14:31:42-04:00Tags: |

The expansion of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline would triple the oil pumped from Northern Alberta through British Columbia to oil refineries in California, with 36 oil spills expected in a 50 year lifetime. Women are on the front of the fight against this pipeline. From Kayah George, of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation in Vancouver who uses storytelling to inspire action against this project which would destroy her homeland inlet which represents her community’s oldest ancestor; to Mary Lovell who has helped organise the Pull It Together campaign to raise funds for First Nations that are legally challenging the pipeline, raising over $600,000 in 2 years alone. And Kanahus Manuel, a Secwepeme woman who is leading the Tiny House Warriors: Our Land is Home movement. 10 solar powered homes solar block the pipeline route, half of which runs through un-surrendered Secwepeme territory. On March 10th Indigenous leaders led 10,000 local supporters on Coast Salish Territory in Vancouver to challenge this destructive project, declaring the pipeline will not be built. Photo credit: Jason Redmond/ AFP/ Getty Images.

20 03, 2018

10,000 People Protested A Proposed Kinder Morgan Pipeline

2018-07-16T14:29:34-04:00Tags: |

In this article, Indigenous youth activist, Ocean Hyland, a member of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation in British Columbia, shares her experience protesting the Kinder Morgan oil pipeline with 10,000 people. In the resistance project, “Kwekwecnewtxw: Protect the Inlet,” Indigenous land defenders and allies built a watch house to mark the threat and sit as a physical symbol of opposition. She describes how community, identity, and solidarity are central to sustaining her Indigenous culture, and how fossil fuel divestment and clean energy investment will help realize equitable futures for the people and the land. Photo credit: Nancy Bleck

14 02, 2018

The Indigenous Climate Action Women Fighting For Mother Earth

2019-01-21T21:33:46-05:00Tags: |

Ta’ah is an elder indigenous to the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, or what has been known as Canada. With her team of six women, she has been working vigorously for climate justice and indigenous sovereignty with the award-winning organization Indigenous Climate Action (ICA). ICA empowers indigenous communities across Canada to strengthen the solutions that already exist in different nations, from tiny houses to building partnerships. Eriel Tchekwie Deranger, the organization’s executive director and founder, has seen her native homeland of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation struggle due to tar sands and other harmful extraction. Because their communities has experienced so much cultural and environmental devastation, they look to the next generation for hope. Indigenous activist Kanahus Manuel says that indigenous people already practice sustainability, and calls on everybody to cease the destruction of the environment. Photo Credit: Lauren Marina

13 02, 2018

Cord Blood, Blood And Hair Tests Show Mercury Exposure In Grassy Narrows

2020-10-05T20:34:41-04:00Tags: |

Decades after a paper mill in Northern Ontario dumped 10 ton of mercury into an Ontario river, residents of Grassy Narrows First Nation and Wabaseemoong (Whitedog) First Nation are only beginning to get answers. From 1970 to 1992, Health Canada collected umbilical blood and hair samples from the communities that were potentially exposed to the harmful substance. The results, however, have remained closed in boxes until only recently. Now, residents such as Chrissy Swain and Alana Pahpasy are finally getting the results, only to find out that they’ve been living with dangerously high mercury levels for years. Despite the fact that a Mercury Disability Board was set up, it has been criticized as inadequate and has turned the majority of applicants away. It is suspected that the high levels are now impacting the next generation of these communities. The health impacts of mercury poisoning include heart problems, learning disabilities, and motor skills deficits. Women and other members of the community are speaking out against the government, outraged at this wrongful neglect. Photo credit: David Sone/Earthroots

27 12, 2017

Women’s Declaration Against Kinder Morgan Man Camps

2017-12-27T18:03:27-05:00Tags: |

Representatives of the Secwepemc Nation composed and delivered a Historic 'Women’s Declaration Against Kinder Morgan Man Camps' to the CEO of Kinder Morgan in Vancouver, Canada in Winter of 2017. The Declaration, which had been signed by over 2,800 international organizations and individuals, attests that the Secwepemc people never have and never will give their free, prior and informed consent to oil extraction in their territories, and specifically to the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline Project and the Kinder Morgan Man Camps. Speaking out as Indigenous women, the Declaration authors describe how women have borne the brunt of the impacts of colonial resource extraction. They speak to the horrors of the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) - and how this intensifying attack has risen in connection with growth of oil extraction economies in Indigenous territories. In response, they present the movement for land protection being led by the women of the Tiny House Warriors. Photo credit: Secwepemcul’ecw Assembly/Linda Roy of Irevaphotography

26 11, 2017

Buffy Sainte-Marie: “Protest Songs Spell Out Problems. Activist Songs Spell Out Solutions”

2017-12-26T16:08:40-05:00Tags: |

Buffy Sainte-Marie is a Cree singer-songwriter, activist, and First Nations Indigenous woman living in Canada. Her work as a musician, especially from her new album Medicine Songs, reflects the struggles of Indigenous peoples who have been massacred and had their lands stolen. Since the Sainte-Marie has used her music to bring the the voice and issues of Native tribes into pop culture and in the music industry. Photo credit: Matt Barnes

26 11, 2017

New Economy Trailblazer: Melina Laboucan-Massimo

2017-12-26T15:46:49-05:00Tags: |

Melina Laboucan-Massimo, member of the Lubicon Cree First Nation and leader of Lubicon Solar grew up in Little Buffalo, Alberta, a witness to the damaging impacts of the tar sands oil industry on the land and her community, including the observation that people in her community were trapped into cycles of working for the very companies undermining their health and futures. Her experiences inspired her to begin to envision a post-oil economy for her community and Indigenous peoples across the region, founding the community-run Pîtâpan Solar site and Lubicon Solar project. Photo Credit: Melina Laboucan Massimo

24 11, 2017

Here’s How The All-Woman Chief And Council Of The Saik’uz First Nation Is Changing The Way Leadership Works

2020-09-03T01:21:41-04:00Tags: |

Early 2017 was marked as an auspicious year for Saik'uz First Nation which selected five women – Priscilla Mueller, Jasmine Thomas, Marlene Quaw, Allison Johnny and Chief Jackie Thomas to lead the tribe. The council of five women identified four key areas to work – governance + finance, environmental stewardship, socio-cultural issues, and education + employment. Jasmine Thomas, the youngest member of council was inspired to lead after Chief Thomas's success against the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline. Her work helped lead to the Tsilhqot'in Land Ruling, which now requires the government and companies to work with First Nations in order to develop natural resources, rather than going around them. Photo Credit: Andrew Kurjata/CBC

17 11, 2017

Challenging Canada’s Climate And Feminist Credentials

2018-10-11T18:25:11-04:00Tags: |

In this article, Canadian youth delegates Tina Yeonju Oh and Jennifer Deol confront the Canadian government’s hypocritical stance on gender parity in international climate change negotiations. Despite public-facing support for women’s empowerment, Canadian leadership failed to stand in solidarity with Indigenous and grassroots women behind closed doors at COP 23. Canada was unwilling to embed binding language on just transition in the Gender Action Plan, along with other countries with deep ties to the fossil fuel industry, including the United States, New Zealand, and Australia. International leaders’ empty rhetoric on gender equity obstructs pathways to community resilience and self-determination for marginalized and vulnerable populations. Photo credit: National Observer

15 11, 2017

‘Red Flag’ Raised: Study Finds Possible Fracking Risk To Pregnant BC Women

2018-02-15T12:22:14-05:00Tags: |

Researchers at the Université of Montréal have found muconic acid levels in urine samples of women within close proximity of fracking sites in Northeastern British Columbia, Canada to be 3.5 times higher than amounts found in the general population. Benzene, which has been associated with reduced birth weight and increased risk of childhood leukemia and birth defects, is a contaminant that is often emitted while extracting waste gas from oil and gas sites. Nearly half of the participants tested were Indigenous, and the study concluded that muconic acid levels found in these women were 2.3 times higher than in the non-Indigenous participants and six times higher than levels found in the general population. While more research is needed to determine the source of the benzene, results are consistent with other studies on the impacts of fracking on women.  Photo credit: Ecoflight

3 11, 2017

Solar Panels And Indigenous Sisterhood

2017-11-12T17:07:16-05:00Tags: |

Indigenous women from across Canada refuse to wait for the Canadian government or courts to determine their own fate and the future of their children. And thus, a small but potent contingent of self-determining woman are uniting to provide solutions to climate change in the form of tiny homes, solar panels, and activism. This sisterhood forms at a time when fossil fuel companies, the Canadian government, and Indigenous rights are battling over the legality and ethics of the controversial Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline. Many women’s voices are represented in this story by the National Observer, including Melina Laboucan-Massimo (Indigenous rights educator and founder of Lubicon Solar), Anushka Azadi, Karissa Glenda, Kanahus Manuel (Secwepenc Indigenous rights advocate, birth worker, and one of the primary tiny homes warriors), Cedar George-Parker (Tsleil-Waututh Nation), and Anushka Azadi. Photo credit: National Observer

20 10, 2017

One Woman’s Plan To Give Back: ‘The Land Needs To Be Returned To Indigenous Peoples’

2018-08-24T17:34:03-04:00Tags: |

In a CBC Radio interview, Janice Keil discusses her efforts to repatriate 100 acres of land to Alderville First Nation in Ontario, Canada. Gord Downie and Buffy Saint Marie have been a source of inspiration for Keil, particularly in light of the 2017 Canada 150 celebrations. After hearing Downie speak, she says, she felt ashamed to celebrate and has since vowed to do everything she can to help with Reconciliation efforts. The process of passing on the deed has not been easy given that this has rarely – if ever - been done. Keil hopes that her actions will set an example for fellow Canadians as well as the Ontario Land Trust Alliance and that more land will be repatriated. While some in her community have dismissed her as naïve, she maintains that at the heart of Reconciliation is the land that white settlers stole from Indigenous communities. Photo Credit: Janice Keil

29 09, 2017

Indigenous Communities Being Left Behind In Canada’s Green Revolution

2017-11-12T18:07:31-05:00Tags: |

Heather Milton-Lightening is an Indigenous woman leader from Pasqua First Nation in Saskatchewan, who is trying to raise awareness among Indigenous communities of climate change and the lack of a just transition to a green economy, through her activity with Indigenous Climate Action. She says that when communities are facing many other pressing problems, such as poverty, they are less involved in the transition to clean energy. Photo credit: Brandi Morin/CBC

26 09, 2017

Our Territory Is Not A Sacrifice Zone: Tsleil-Waututh Councillor Charlene Aleck

2017-10-26T17:31:04-04:00Tags: |

Charlene Alek, the granddaughter of Chief Dan George and an elected Councilor for the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, explains the disastrous consequences of the Kinder Morgan pipeline project in Canada. While Prime Minister Trudeau announces that he would approve the pipeline as he considers it safe, officials in Washington State have expressed serious concerns about Canada’s inability to respond to a potential spill. Photo credit: Pull Together

26 09, 2017

First Nation Builds Ten Tiny Homes To Block Trans Mountain Pipeline

2017-10-26T14:10:25-04:00Tags: |

The Secwepemc First Nation constructed roughly ten micro-homes along a section of the proposed route of the Trans Mountain pipeline in British Columbia. The First Nation has declared formal opposition to the project, which would ship 900,000 barrels of crude oil (or tar sands) a day through Secwepemc territory. This article in VICE features an interview with Kanahus Manuel, the woman Indigenous leader who spearheaded the direct-action project called Tiny House Warriors to protest the tar sands pipeline proposed by Houston-based oil giant, Kinder Morgan. Photo credit: Ian Willms

26 09, 2017

10 Things You Always Wanted To Ask An Indigenous Land Defender

2017-10-26T14:08:46-04:00Tags: |

Kanahus Manuel, a determined woman Indigenous leader, is leading her First Nation’s movement to fight a dirty tar sands pipeline expansion. If built, the pipeline would bisect the Secwepemc First Nation’s territory in British Columbia and threaten their livelihood, water and the Earth’s climate. This blog, published by Greenpeace, includes testimony from Manuel about her personal and cultural motivations to fight the fossil fuel industry, the risks she faces specifically as a woman in doing so, and how she came to form the group, Tiny House Warriors (THW). THW have been constructing tiny homes in the path of Kinder Morgan’s proposed Trans Mountain pipeline to protest its expansion. Photo credit: Ian Willms/Greenpeace

4 09, 2017

Erica Violet Lee: The Student Who Challenges Indigenous Stereotypes And Advocates For Change

2017-09-04T21:59:46-04:00Tags: |

Lee identifies as a Nēhiyaw Philosopher Queen and Indigenous Feminist. Her interests lie with anti-poverty advocacy, Indigenous rights, sovereignty, colonialism and how this history has shaped Canadian institutions. During her interview she mentions that Canadian university classrooms are frequently hostile spaces for Indigenous students citing the pervasive racism, colonialism, and patriarchy in lectures, readings, and assignments. Lee draws inspiration from women such as Rinnelle Harper, an Indigenous Winnipeg teen who survived a vicious attack and who is now bravely speaking out on missing and murdered Indigenous women. As a feminist, Lee believes that the way Indigenous women sex workers are viewed in our society needs to be challenged. Conversations about sex work should rest on an acknowledgment of the colonial history of the places these discussions are happening and she calls for a more open dialogue. Photo credit: Jacqueline Li

1 09, 2017

Tzeporah Berman: Pipelines, Politics And Polarization – Where Do We Go From Here?

2017-11-01T03:53:31-04:00Tags: |

Tzeporah Berman, a Canadian woman environment leader and author, argues that the construction of pipelines, such as the Energy East Pipeline, is contrary to the commitments Canada made in Alberta Climate Plan and the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. She urges Canada's elected officials to be honest: locking in emissions by building more fossil fuel infrastructure is not the way to a renewable energy future. Photo credit: Kris Krug

7 08, 2017

Indigenous Climate Action Welcomes Eriel Tchekwie Deranger As Executive Director

2017-12-07T18:44:29-05:00Tags: |

Canada’s only Indigenous-led climate justice organization, Indigenous Climate Action, has named as its Executive Director Indigenous woman leader, Eriel Tchekwie Deranger of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. Eriel has spent many years working with environmental organizations, and front-line Indigenous water protectors and land defenders across her region and around the world. She is an advocate with the United Nations Indigenous Peoples Caucus, and has proven to be a vital leader both on the streets and in the halls of international conferences and meetings. With her leadership, the organization will look forward to produce a Indigenous Knowledge Climate Change Toolkit, and deepening community engagement and movement building for Indigenous led climate action in Canada. Photo credit: Indigenous Climate Action

3 08, 2017

A Trailblazing Entrepreneur Is Opening A Zero-Waste Grocery Store In Ottawa

2017-11-01T23:36:18-04:00Tags: |

After learning that a zero waste lifestyle really is possible, former French teacher Valerie Leloup started Ottawa’s first zero waste grocery store. Leloup is joining a wave of female leaders that are focused on eliminating harmful levels of waste by providing 250 food and non-food products in bulk, compostable, reusable or unpackaged form at Nu Grocery Inc. The proposition is a sustainable alternative to the 1984 pounds of waste each Canadian household produces every year. Photo credit: Alex Tétreault

1 08, 2017

Kahontakwas Diane Longboat: “The Good Mind Will Transform The World”

2017-11-01T04:09:18-04:00Tags: |

Kahontakwas, Diane Longboat is from the Mohawk Nation, Turtle Clan at Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, Canada shares her thoughts on spiritual activism, peace building, and the importance of Indigenous women’s leadership in healing communities and the Earth. Photo credit: Diane Longboat

1 08, 2017

Confronting the Gender Gap In Canada’s Green Transition

2017-11-01T01:34:05-04:00Tags: |

Women constitute a very small section of the energy sector in Canada. Though this presents a challenge, it also represents an opportunity to train and recruit women and minorities to the green economy. As Canada is transiting from fossil fuels to a green economy, it needs a substantial policy that covers the gender gap and supports a healthy work-life balance. Photo credit: The Leap

15 07, 2017

David Suzuki Foundation Appoints First Indigenous Research Fellow

2017-10-25T22:51:08-04:00Tags: |

Cree leader Melina Laboucan-Massimo has dedicated her life to protecting Indigenous communities in Canada. Over the past ten years, she has fought against fossil fuel infrastructure and implemented renewable energy projects with Greenpeace Canada and the Indigenous Environmental Network. Now, as the David Suzuki Foundation’s first Indigenous Knowledge and Climate Change fellow, she directs research on potential Indigenous-led climate solutions. Photo credit: David Suzuki Foundation

15 07, 2017

A Canadian City Is Putting Warning Labels On Gas Pumps

2018-02-15T12:27:28-05:00Tags: |

Youth activist Emily Kelsall is at the forefront of the launch of a new program to place warning labels on all gas pumps in the Canadian town of North Vancouver. In collaboration with the climate action group Our Horizon, Kelsall has worked tirelessly to convince her local city council and mayor of the necessity of using this platform to connect with people and showcase the impact of fossil fuel use on climate change and the acceleration of environmental devastation. Photo Credit: Andrea Crossan

13 06, 2017

“A Transformative Vision”: Naomi Klein on Platforms for Racial, Health & Climate Justice Under Trump

2020-10-23T22:41:01-04:00Tags: |

In this interview, Canadian journalist, columnist and best-selling author Naomi Klein talks about the broad lines of the Leap Manifesto – Caring for the Earth and One Another. The success of neoliberalism, she argues, is based on the fallacy it is the only viable economic system; that no matter how bad its policies, the alternative would be worse. However, the Leap Manifesto in Canada expresses the transformative vision stemming from the courage to step forward and envision a different kind of economy in which everyone is provided with quality healthcare and education. The manifesto, endorsed by 220 grassroots and NGO organisations, thrives on utopian imagination and advocates for a transition towards progressive trade policy, which includes broader issues on alternatives to fossil fuel, solidarity with refugees, racial justice and indigenous rights. Klein asserts that the bold people’s platforms emerging from grassroots social movements will lead politicians to follow suit.

31 05, 2017

Inuit Mother Jailed After Protesting Dam At Muskrat Falls

2017-09-03T20:39:00-04:00Tags: |

Beatrice Hunter is many things at once: mother, grandmother and unapologetic land protector from the Indigenous Inuit community of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Canada. Last fall, Hunter joined dozens of local land protectors in occupying the construction site of a highly controversial dam on Muskrat Falls, which holds immense cultural, economic and spiritual value for her people. Hunter now faces one criminal charge and two civil charges, and has defiantly refused to stay away from the Falls despite law enforcement's demands. In speaking out about the series of events, Hunter emphasizes that her people’s identities and livelihoods are deeply interconnected with the Falls, as well as the injustice of continued exploitation by settler-colonialism. Photo credit: Facebook

16 05, 2017

This Montrealer Is Taking Back The Most Important Link In The Food Chain: The Seed

2017-11-13T19:18:24-05:00Tags: |

In a world where half the global seed market is controlled by only three corporations, Jane Rabinowicz, a motivated game changer, is fighting for seed sovereignty and biodiversity. Using her grandparents and the lives they led as an inspiration, she is fighting in her home of Montreal to give small farmers more control over their crops.

26 04, 2017

Toronto General Hospital Nurse’s Plastic Collection Transformed Into Mural

2017-10-26T00:04:28-04:00Tags: |

Tilda Shalof is turning 28 years of collected medical waste into sentimental art murals that illustrate the medical care world and patient’s stories. As an Intensive Care Unit nurse at Toronto General Hospital, Shalof has always viewed the plastic caps and waste from syringe coverings and other medical implements as meaningful colorful bits connected to caring for the ill, and never as garbage. Each of the around 100 sterilized pieces she’s been collecting every day have been reused to create a stunning and powerful four-by-nine feet medical art piece made of 10,000 plastic pieces. Photo credit: Steve Russell/Toronto Star

1 04, 2017

Photographer Acacia Johnson Documents Life In The Arctic, The Inuit And The Impact Of Climate Change

2017-10-25T22:40:08-04:00Tags: |

In breathtaking photographs, Acacia Johnson takes us through the wonders of life in the Arctic by documenting Inuit women, their culture and everyday lives, as well as showing the impact of climate change in the Canadian North on the livelihoods of not just its people, but also its animals and landscape. Melting Arctic sea ice is endangering many species whose lives depend on the cold temperatures of a bygone era. Photo credit: Acacia Johnson

26 03, 2017

A History Of Women’s Rights In Toronto

2017-10-26T23:32:55-04:00Tags: |

Over the last three months, women in Toronto, Canada have taken to the streets in support of women’s rights and gender equality. Originally spawning from the changing economic and social conditions facilitated by industrialization in the 19th century, women in Toronto have a longstanding tradition of advocating for gender equality across Canada. From Dr. Emily Stowe fighting for a space for women in education and politics with the Toronto Women’s Literary Club, to Indigenous women fighting longstanding racial and gender discrimination with the establishment of the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto, this article profiles the progress and resiliency of Canadian women’s rights defenders over time. Photo credit: blogTO

26 03, 2017

From Coast To Coast And North To South, Indigenous Women Are On The Rise

2017-10-26T17:06:01-04:00Tags: |

This list of 13 inspirational Indigenous women from Canada celebrates International Women's Day and the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women around the globe. For example, Maatalii Okalik (Inuit Nunagat) is president of the National Inuit Youth Council, while Helen Oro (Nehiyaw Iskwe) is a mother and founder of her own accessories brand, Helen Oro Designs and Nikki Fraser (Secwepemc) is the youth representative for the Native Women's Association of Canada. Read on to learn about the transformative work of Kakeka Thundersky (Anishinaabe), Lianne Charlie (Tagé Cho Hudän), Nigit'stil Norbert (Gwichya Gwich'in), Eriel Deranger (Denesuline), Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs (Kanien'kehaka), Silpa Suarak (Inuk), Amanda LeBlanc (Wolastoq Nation), Killa Atencio (Mi'kmaq), Riley Yesno (Anishinaabekwe) and Jenna Burke (Mi'kmaq). Photo credit: Lianne Charlie

25 03, 2017

Historical Ban On Potlach Ceremony Has Lingering Effects On Indigenous Women

2017-10-01T16:24:13-04:00Tags: |

The effects of a ban on a traditional First Nations ceremony that dates back to the 19th century are still being felt today. Sylvia McAdam (Saysewahum) traces how the potlatch ban is responsible for current patriarchal culture, arguing that men would steal away to the bush to practice the ceremonies while women would be left in their homes, policed by overseers by the government. This led to the exclusion of women from ceremonies and eroded their social status. Photo credit: Barefoots World  

24 03, 2017

Aboriginal Women’s Traditional Knowledge

2017-09-06T23:01:24-04:00Tags: |

A report on Canada’s Aboriginal women discusses how Indigenous people’s close relationships and dependence on the land comes from their understanding that their lives and livelihoods are dependent upon the environment. The discussion includes resources associated with aboriginal livelihoods, health and well-being, and encourages the government to ensure proper consultation and involvement of aboriginal peoples before action. Photo credit: Native Women’s Association of Canada  

6 02, 2017

Ink Woman Sheila Watt-Cloutier: Revisiting The Right To Be Cold

2017-09-22T22:28:46-04:00Tags: |

Sheila Watt-Cloutier’s The Right to Be Cold is the feminist book we need to weather the climate crisis. Speaking from her experience as an Inuk woman growing up in Nunavik, Watt-Cloutier guides the reader through the culture and wisdom of northern people. Watt-Cloutier humanizes the north. It’s not just a place of polar bears and seals, but where a complex Inuit hunter-gatherer culture thrives in close relationship with the land and ice. Photo credit: Ms. Magazine

4 01, 2017

Melina Laboucan-Massimo: Violence Against The Earth Is Violence Against Women

2017-09-22T10:20:12-04:00Tags: |

At the REDx Talks, Indigenous woman Melina Laboucan-Massimo explains the gendered perception of nature as female. Any violence towards the Earth inherently is a violence against women, whom in turn become the most vulnerable people to climate change issues. She explains how Indigenous peoples must heal from trauma instilled by colonialism. She finishes the talk by reflecting on how her community adopted solar panels as a way to promote energy autonomy. Photo credit: REDx Talks  

2 01, 2017

Six Women, Three Nations

2018-03-02T20:01:15-05:00Tags: |

As part of the “Circle of Voices” digital research project, exploring cultural revitalisation, Louise Watson conducted biographical interviews in Odanak and Riviére du Loup, Quebec, with 6 young Indigenous women from Atikamekw, Abenaki and Wolastoqiyik/Maliseet Nations. The women discuss the experience of being an Indigenous woman in the 21st century, affirming themselves as strong and resilient young women who are proud of their origins. Despite challenges, such as discrimination and isolation, these women are working to keep their cultures alive. From Ivanie Aubin Malo who holds workshops in First Nations traditional dance  - to Jessica Ann Watso, who is involved with Québec Native Women Inc., coordinating projects on the inclusion of LGBTQI+/ Bi spiritual people and exploring her connection to the land through fishing, hunting and establishing a traditional community garden for students. Photo credit: Circle Of Voices

1 01, 2017

Meet The Saik’uz Women, Canada

2017-10-25T23:02:05-04:00Tags: |

Chief Jackie of the Saik’uz First Nation turned away Enbridge after a thorough research on scientific and social impacts of the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline with the help of the law in 2006. However, aware of the persistence of the company on carrying out the construction of the pipeline, Jackie and her cousin Geraldine created the Yinka Dene Alliance, an alliance of First Nations in the British Columbia region. The Alliance worked on several fronts with 160 First Nations representatives to publish the first Save the Fraser Declaration that banned tar sand pipelines through Fraser River watershed. The women also lobbied to gain support from other financial institutions, interacted with UN and EU officials, and spearheaded the civil disobedience action. Photo credit: Nobel Women’s Initiative

25 11, 2016

Meet Canada’s Accidental Activist

2017-07-16T13:37:15-04:00Tags: |

Helen Knott is Dane Zaa and Nehiyawak from the Prophet River First Nation in British Colombia, and a budding poet. Her piece Your Eyes They Curve Around Me draws attention to her people’s traditional relationship with the land and water, as well as experiences of colonization and violence against women. She now travels across Canada to speak in major cities about the climate justice and elimination of resource extraction, as well as Indigenous land rights. Photo credit: Nobelwomen

1 09, 2016

Exploring How And Why Trees ‘Talk’ To Each Other

2018-07-13T17:03:50-04:00Tags: |

Ecologist Suzanne Simard brings a feminine lens to her research on forest communication networks, recognizing the limits of traditional scientific frameworks and emphasizing holistic ecosystems thinking. Using phrases like “forest wisdom” and “mother trees,” she elucidates how trees communicate with each other by sending nutrients via below-ground fungal networks. She is also exploring how these cooperative systems respond to environmental threats, such as climate change, pine beetle attacks, and clear-cutting. Her research will inform Canadian forest renewal practices with a focus resilience and regeneration. Photo credit: Yale Environment 360

29 08, 2016

Six Nations Woman’s “Earthship” Is Radically Sustainable

2017-10-29T01:00:21-04:00Tags: |

First Nations woman Ohwehhoh (Flower) Doxtador is challenging unsustainable city living with her very own “earthship” —an alternative, low-cost, off-the-grid solar home constructed from a combination of upcycled and natural materials. The home produces its own solar electricity, utilizes natural and recycled materials for heating and cooling, and recycles rainwater. The structure shelters Ohwehhoh, her daughter and her five grandchildren. Photo credit: Jess Tribe

11 07, 2016

Water Song: Indigenous Women And Water

2023-04-16T15:28:48-04:00Tags: |

For Indigenous Peoples in Canada, water is a living thing and a spiritual entity with life-giving forces. Indigenous women have a strong relationship with water and traditionally have been considered its caretakers and protectors. Unsurprisingly, these women have often been referred to as “Keepers of the Water” or “Carriers of the Water.” Colonial institutions and tools have fragmented this relationship, creating disconnects between the land and Indigenous Peoples and, thus, the role of women in water governance. But Indigenous women are resilient, strong and are reasserting their role in local, regional, and national governance systems and dialogues. They are leading efforts to rebuild spiritual and cultural connections with water in their communities and are leading efforts across Canada to protect water. Indigenous women played a key role in developing a framework to support the engagement and re-empowering of Indigenous women in water governance in Canada. Already, the implementation of this framework is supporting Indigenous women to reassert their traditional roles and engaging more women in water stewardship activities. 

1 06, 2016

Ecologist Suzanne Simard On How Trees Talk to Each Other

2023-03-19T08:12:12-04:00Tags: |

In this video, ecologist Suzanne Simard discusses the complex yet resilient systems that make up Earth’s diverse forests. Simard grew up in the forests of British Columbia, Canada, where she became enthralled with the old-growth trees which led her to become a forestry scientist. She soon realized her work in forestry was benefitting the unsustainable forest harvesting industry in Canada and conflicted with her values. She returned to school and authored groundbreaking research that proved there is a below-ground communications network between different species of trees that strengthens resilience to climate change and other disturbances. This network is a cooperative language shared between the trees rather than a competitive force as some scientists previously stated. Simard aims to spread this knowledge far and wide in order to change the unsustainable forestry practices in Canada and across the globe by advocating for protection of old-growth forests, diversity of species, and local-led forest protection. 

18 05, 2016

First Nations Women Sing Watersong At Town Hall Event Against Energy East Project

2017-07-12T19:56:35-04:00Tags: |

Women from the Nipissing and North Bay First Nations are singing Water Songs to raise awareness about the TransCanada Corporation’s proposed Energy East pipeline project, which would dangerously convert old pipelines to transport new oil sands and threaten watersheds along its route from Alberta to New Brunswick. Photo credit: Anishinabek News

16 05, 2016

Women Walk To Raise Awareness About Water Project In Nova Scotia

2017-07-12T19:48:37-04:00Tags: |

For over seven years, the women of the Mi’Kmaq Nation have united annually to walk for ten days along the Shubenacadie River. With these river walks, they raise awareness about a natural gas pipeline project proposed by Alton Gas, which would threaten sacred local rivers, ecosystems and Indigenous communities. Photo credit: APTN National News

15 04, 2016

Q & A With Maatalii Okalik Of The National Inuit Youth Council

2018-02-15T13:07:32-05:00Tags: |

As the president of the National Inuit Youth Council, Maatalii Okalik is a voice for young Inuit people. She has advocated for Inuit perspectives at the United Nations COP21 climate conference in 2015, and in April 2016 she won the Outstanding Young Woman Award from Qulliit Nunavut Status of Women Council for her strong leadership. Here she shares her take on Inuit culture, highlights the importance of the strong female role models in her life, and some of the challenges facing Inuit women due to climate change. Photo Credit: Jessica Finn/Canadian Geographic

26 02, 2016

Wikwemikong’s Josephine Mandamin Honoured For Conservation Excellence

2017-07-17T15:23:05-04:00Tags: |

Josephine Mandamin, a Canadian First Nation elder of the Wikwemikong people, has spent years taking action to protect her Native culture while building awareness about the detrimental impacts of pollution, fracking and water privatization. Since 2003, she has been a leader of the Sacred Water Walks, walking the shorelines of the Great Lakes to raise awareness about the impact of oil pollution on water. Photo credit: Edge of Change, Yes magazine

26 12, 2015

Urban Farms: The New Frontier For Female Farmers

2017-10-26T00:38:28-04:00Tags: |

Research shows that women are increasingly trading in their desk jobs for urban farming in North America. The new trend departs from rural farming, where notably less women own farm property than men. Only 27 percent of women are rural farmers in Canada, and in the United States it’s less than that. However, today’s urban female farmers are challenging the the North American tradition of women as farmer’s wives, bypassing the gendered property barrier by growing micro-greens in their urban homes. Twenty-nine-year-old Vanessa Hanel’s Calgary based project Micro YYC focuses on basement-farmed greens nourished by grow lights, planted in seed trays and stored on industry shelves. Pea shoots, red cabbage, alfalfa, chervil, mustard greens are just some of the products she harvests and sells at the local urban Calgary Farmer’s Market each week. Photo credit: Imelda Raby

12 12, 2015

Vancouver Teen Ta’Kaiya Blaney’s Voice Captures The World’s Attention

2017-07-17T16:15:26-04:00Tags: |

14-year-old singer Ta’Kaiya Blaney has spoken at a United Nations panel in New York and sang at the Paris Climate Talks in 2015. Blaney, who is a Youth Ambassador for non-profit organization Native Children’s Survival and grew up in the Silammon First Nation, Vancouver, Canada, speaks out against the political silencing of her people and the impacts of fossil fuel extraction on Indigenous life. Photo credit: Daryl Dyke/The Globe and Mail

26 10, 2015

Senowa Mize-Fox Speaks At An Anti-Fracked Gas Pipeline Demonstration

2017-10-12T18:27:48-04:00Tags: |

In this speech, Senowa Mize-Fox outlines the necessity to prevent further environmental degradation to an already fragile environment as a result of colonization as part of this demonstration at Vermont Gas. She advocates for a just transition to renewable energy, at the Paris climate talks and beyond, as a member of the Vermont Workers Center, United Electrical Local 203, and the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance. Photo credit: Jamie Moorby

11 09, 2015

Woman-Led Solar Project Powers Indigenous Community

2017-10-22T00:18:16-04:00Tags: |

Indigenous activist Melina Laboucan leads the Lubicon Lake First Nation’s renewable energy efforts in western Canada. She is directing the development of a large-scale solar installation on Indigenous land in hopes of powering the local health center, reducing health risks from fossil fuels, and signaling the tribe’s commitment to sustainable, non-extractive energy. Photo credit: Greenpeace

27 08, 2015

Lubicon Cree Woman Advocates For Her People, Against Tar Sands

2017-07-17T17:00:09-04:00Tags: |

35-year-old Melina Laboucan-Massimo, a member of the Lubicon Cree, one of Canada’s First Nations, was raised on the land like her parents and grandparents: hunting moose and drying the meat, using local plants as medicines, spending summers deep in the boreal forests and muskeg swamps and winters in a village with no running water. But her community’s traditional lifestyle is under threat from oil development in the nearby Alberta tar sands. Laboucan-Massimo travels around the world to speak about the threats to her of life, while raising awareness about violence against women and Indigenous people, including discussing the social problems that arise in oil extraction communities. Photo credit: Greenpeace

23 06, 2015

Canada’s Tar Sands Aren’t Just Oil Fields. They’re Sacred Lands For My People 

2023-04-16T16:23:48-04:00Tags: |

Eriel Tchekwie Deranger, a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), discusses the impacts of oil sands on her community’s lands and the need for moratoriums to stop oil sands expansion. The ACFN has faced public criticism due to their opposition to oil sand expansion because of the economic benefits the industry provides to First Nations communities. Deranger notes these positive aspects, yet emphasizes the harm oil sands leave on the surrounding environment and communities, as well as the damage caused to treaty agreements and Indigenous rights within Canada. Furthermore, insufficient industry regulation has led to a failure in environmental protection and Indigenous rights while the expansion of oil sands into important ecological regions continues in Northern Alberta. Deranger also highlights the importance of including Indigenous perspectives on protecting the earth and the sacred for the preservation of the future. In 2012, the ACFN called for a moratorium on the development of the Firebag River, Alberta, knowing the potential impacts it could have on their relationships to the oil sands industry. Yet, the ACFN hopes it will create a new pathway forward for respecting lands and waterways, as well as Indigenous rights as promised through treaties within Canada and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Photo Credit: David Levene

19 04, 2015

Marilyn Baptiste Recognised For Inspiration Work Defending Her Native Land

2017-06-20T21:19:39-04:00Tags: |

Marilyn Baptiste, from the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation, led her community’s struggle to stop the construction of one of the largest proposed gold and copper mines in British Columbia, which would have destroyed the land, air, watershed, and a lake central to the spiritual identity and livelihood of the Xeni Gwet’in people. Photo credit: ici.radio-canada.ca

1 01, 2015

Marilyn Baptiste, 2015 Goldman Prize Recipient

2017-10-16T18:09:27-04:00Tags: |

As chief of the Xeni Gwet’in (Tsilhqot’in) First Nation, Marilyn Baptiste led her people’s charge against the open-pit gold and copper mine that was proposed to be built on her ancestral land. In response, Baptiste convened her community to prepare a report about how the mine would harmfully disrupt the Xeni Gwet’in connection to the water and land, including nearby Fish Lake. Though the Canadian government denied Taseko Mines Limited the permit to construct the mine in 2011, the company started moving in construction equipment, which Baptiste resisted with her body and her organization First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining (FNWARM). The mine finally rejected, Baptiste is now working to protect the area as Disqox Tribal Park. Photo credit: Goldman Environmental Prize

22 09, 2014

Naomi Klein: The Climate Crisis Is a Crisis Of Capitalism

2017-07-17T17:51:11-04:00Tags: |

Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. Climate Change, describes global warming as both a crisis and an opportunity. She believes it is wrong to think of our economy without considering the future of our planet. Photo credit: Christopher Wahl

24 07, 2014

Study Shows Link Between Extractive Industries, Domestic Abuse

2017-10-31T19:19:12-04:00Tags: |

New research suggests that resource extraction industries are linked with an increase in domestic and sexual violence against women. The Ending Violence Association of British Columbia (EVA BC) explains that factors such as a largely transient and male work force, increases in drug and other substance usage, and income disparity between sexes associated with such industries contribute to an increase in violence against women. In response, EVA BC is working to produce new training protocol aimed at incoming employees involved in resource extraction. Photo credit: Deborah Baic/The Globe and Mail

30 04, 2014

Embodying Self-Determination: Resisting Violence Beyond The Gender Binary

2017-10-30T20:19:49-04:00Tags: |

In this talk, Dr. Sarah Hunt, Assistant Professor in the First Nations and Indigenous Studies Program at the University of British Columbia, argues that the erasure of trans and Two-Spirit people is a form of violence which is directly connected to colonialism. She suggests practices of decolonization to advance Indigenous gender-based narratives and make them more inclusive. Photo credit: Social Justice Institute UBC

30 10, 2013

Lee Maracle: Connection Between Violence Against the Earth And Violence Against Women

2017-10-30T20:15:03-04:00Tags: |

In this talk, writer, activist and performer Lee Maracle, from the Stó:l? Nation in what is now known as British Columbia, analyses the direct correlation between violence against the earth and violence against women. She explains that we must act against violence as it is among our responsibilities towards First Nations. Photo credit: Intercontinental Cry

1 08, 2013

Keepers Of The Water: Anishinaabe And Métis Women’s Knowledge In Kenora, Ontario

2017-10-31T13:20:11-04:00Tags: |

Natasha Szach’s Master’s thesis documents the wealth of knowledge Anishinaabe and Métis Indigenous women possess regarding water and water governance. Her work explores the ways in which their vital knowledge is a useful tool of resistance against the commodification of water in Kenora, Ontario, and reaffirms the necessity of maintaining the commons for all.

26 10, 2012

Decolonizing Together With Harsha Walla

2017-10-26T16:09:01-04:00Tags: |

Harsha Walla, a South Asian activist based in Vancouver, Coast Salish territories, writes about how allies should think of moving beyond solidarity with Indigenous communities in favor of a practice of decolonization. She stresses how using this framework can help organizers and advocates understand the root causes of social injustices and build towards a better future. Photo credit: Afuwa

16 10, 2012

Stories From The Road: A Community Tale Of Climate Change And Industry

2017-10-25T22:56:46-04:00Tags: |

Climate change is impacting the women of Burns Lake, northern British Columbia: warmer winters have allowed the population of pine beetles to grow, creating a plague that has devastated 80% of the forest.  After an explosion and fire in the Babine Forest Products Mill in 2012, the community suffered acute economics hardships have led to an uptick in domestic violence. Now, the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline is threatening to cut through the center of town. The women of Burns Lake are standing resolute in the face of these challenges. Photo credit: Nobel Women’s Initiative

11 10, 2012

This Environmental Activist Is Taking The Canadian Government To Court

2017-07-17T18:04:59-04:00Tags: |

Crystal Lameman, a member of the Beaver Lake Cree First Nation, Canada, feels a powerful responsibility to speak out against the exploitation of oil sands on her people's land. Crystal’s advocacy efforts have succeeded in holding the Canadian federal government responsible for lands usurped by the oil and tar sands industry. The Beaver Lake Cree Nation has filed a statement of claim taking the Government of Canada to court for over 17,000 treaty violations and have been granted a trial, establishing an important precedent for First Nations communities in Canada. Photo credit: Nobel Women’s Initiative

26 10, 2010

Should We Turn the Tent? Inuit Women And Climate Change

2017-10-26T17:38:49-04:00Tags: |

This paper by Martha Dowsley, Shari Gearheard,  Noor Johnson and Jocelyn Inksetter focuses on Inuit women’s perspectives from Qikiqtarjuaq and Clyde River, Nunavut, regarding recent environmental changes. First, both primary and secondary effects of environment change are analyzed and then a preliminary discussion on women’s role in responses to climate change follows. The research concludes that gender helps shape Inuit knowledge of environmental change and that women can contribute not only to physical changes but also to the resulting social changes.

1 01, 2007

Sophia Rabliauskas

2017-10-24T20:05:07-04:00Tags: |

Sophia Rabliauskas, leader of the Poplar River First Nation, led a movement with community members and elders to protect two million acres of undisturbed boreal forest (a huge carbon sink) in the territory of the Poplar River First Nation on Winnipeg Lake, Manitoba. She played a key role in gaining interim protection of the forest and developing a land management plan which acted as a blueprint for all future land use management actions. The blueprint focuses on respecting traditional knowledge, using environmental analysis, providing economic opportunities, including protection of traditional hunting, trapping and fishing activities, and creating sustainable tourism opportunities. Rabliauskas is drawing attention to the reality that First Nations territory, being public lands, legally can be granted to industries for logging, timber, and hydropower developmental activities, without prior consultation with the First Nations. Photo credit: The Goldman Environmental Prize

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