Prioritizing Indigenous Youth Climate Leadership in a Good Way
Guest Blog by: Adrienne Young, Lydia Johnson, Dara Wawatie-Chabot, Haylee Petawabano, and Angele Alook
Many people connect the issue of climate change to youth broadly as we recognize that younger generations will have to live in the ecosystems and environments previous generations have harmed. Indeed, climate change is one of the prevailing threats of the 21st century and work to combat climate change is happening at the international, national, and local levels.
Youth leaders such as Autumn Peltier, Nyombi Morris, and Greta Thunberg have led campaigns and been internationally recognized for their climate leadership. The United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) supports YOUNGO, a global network of children and youth climate organizations, to be included in their processes. Just last year, seven youth in Ontario successfully sued the Ontario government in the Mathur et. al. case for their inadequate climate emissions target for violating Ontario youth and future generations’ right to life, security of the person, and equality. The Court rulings in their case affirmed that the Charter applies to Ontario’s climate targets, and Ontario’s weak action on climate is harming the ability for current and future generations to thrive in the province. More broadly, across Canada young people are getting involved in climate action in their communities.
With youth at the forefront of the climate movement, there’s a growing push to ensure Indigenous youth are meaningfully included in climate work. This reflects a broader shift towards recognizing Indigenous climate leadership. Indigenous Peoples steward and safeguard an estimated 80 percent of the world’s remaining biodiversity and their knowledge systems support holistic and life-affirming solutions to the climate crisis.
Experts in high level academic journals and even within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change highlight Indigenous youth’s role as translators of “traditional” Indigenous knowledges and values to “modern” life. They argue Indigenous youth’s access to Western systems of education and contemporary skillsets with technology and social media make them an invaluable asset in climate work. While we wholeheartedly support the inclusion and prioritization of Indigenous youth in climate decision-making spaces, we assert that their inclusion must be done in a good way that aligns with Indigenous worldviews. The ethical responsibility of working in a good way, a term used across Indigenous communities in Canada, places the emphasis on reciprocal relationships that will have shared values of respect, sustainability, care, and Indigenous self-determination.
In First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities across Turtle Island, children and youth have long held a sacred and vital role in community, governance, and the process of lifelong learning associated with Indigenous worldviews. Children are celebrated for their individual gifts they bring to community. Elder Dan Ross, of the Pikwàkanagàn First Nation, is quoted in the opening of the Government of Canada State of Youth report stating, “When the Wisdom Keepers speak, all should listen. So it is with youth: when youth speak, all should listen.” This quote speaks to the intergenerational respect found within Indigenous communities that is in stark contrast to Western societies where children and youth are disenfranchised and belong to a subordinate social status in relation to adults.
The trap of colonial knowledge systems in addressing the climate crisis is well established. Indigenous youth should not be prioritized in climate work solely for their ability to translate Indigenous worldviews for colonial audiences. We affirm that Indigenous youth must have opportunities for climate leadership because they are a vital part of broader Indigenous climate leadership. For many Indigenous Peoples, intergenerational knowledge sharing between Elders and youth is a longstanding and sacred practice, and these relationships are essential for the longevity of Indigenous ways of life over time. There simply is no meaningful inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in climate spaces without Indigenous youth. Indigenous inclusion in all levels of climate negotiations and climate policy discussions is critical in respecting Indigenous sovereignty and treaty rights. Meaningful inclusion goes beyond giving Indigenous people a seat at the table, it entails meaningful partnership, respect for treaty rights, and good faith negotiations to meet our common goal of ending the climate crisis.
In author Angele Alook’s experience being active at the UNFCCC for the past six years, she has witnessed youth leaders being invited to share their experiences and have a seat at the table as respected Indigenous knowledge keepers. However, at the same tables governments and civil society exploit the labour of Indigenous youth, by not offering them work life balance in these spaces and not properly funding them to participate. For example, youth at COP describe being physically exhausted, emotionally drained, and patronized by governments and organizations that bring them to these spaces. Leading Indigenous organizations, such as Indigenous Climate Action, disrupt this dynamic by practicing an ethic of care. They demonstrate engaging youth in a good way through ensuring the youth they invite are well funded, well fed, and well rested. Additionally, meaningful efforts are made to see that their capacities understood, mentorship is provided, and they are immersed in a supportive peer group. If we really believe Indigenous youth are sacred, and their knowledges valuable, we will treat them with an ethic of care, and a love ethic, with our focus on justice and freedom.
It’s in this spirit that we prioritize Indigenous youth inclusion through our work out of York University’s Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Languages. Our project, Indigenous Climate Leadership and Self-Determined Futures led by Dr. Angele Alook, seeks to understand the experience of Indigenous climate leadership at the local, national, and international level. To address our research aims we have hosted gatherings of local Indigenous climate leaders in Ontario and interviewed Indigenous climate leaders in the UNFCCC bodies to understand how they conceptualize the climate crisis, the work they engage in to pursue climate justice, and how they envision the future of Indigenous climate leadership.
An online climate gathering was held in the Summer 2024 to hear directly from six Indigenous youth from across Turtle Island, led by two Indigenous youth team members. In the virtual space, they discussed the experiences of the group and their attitude towards climate change and the impact on their home communities.
The discussion had three overarching themes:
1) the importance of Indigenous youth in climate work,
2) the barriers to increasing youth engagement in climate work, and
3) the importance of Indigenous worldviews in addressing climate change.
The youth participants discussed the importance of Indigenous youth involvement in climate decision making. They affirmed that youth should be involved in crafting climate solutions, but at the same time they noted a declining number of youths in the climate spaces they were engaged in. The participants also questioned why the support should only extend to youth, naming that opportunities for children seemed equally important. They further reflected that there needs to be accessible opportunities for Indigenous Peoples across generations to participate. They shared that all Indigenous People deserve opportunities for climate training and networking with established Indigenous climate leaders to provide them with the skills and knowledge to lead in a way that stays true to Indigenous values.
These youth described the barriers that got in the way of more Indigenous youth getting involved in climate work. They pointed out that climate work is just one of many priorities Indigenous youth are navigating and that climate spaces didn’t often cater to youth with intersectional needs. Issues like ableism, patriarchy and violence against women, lateral violence in communities, anti-Blackness, and lack of access to basic needs, get in the way of how comfortable youth are joining climate movements. They felt for climate justice to be inclusive it must be linked to care, be trauma-informed and address the intersectional needs of young people. They affirmed that if organizations want to be accessible for Indigenous youth, they should consider providing honorariums, meals, childcare, and/or technological support to reach youth who may otherwise be unable to participate.
They agreed that while climate change can feel scary and overwhelming, it needs to be discussed in a way that acknowledges its realities while still fostering action and hope for a better future. The youth reflected on the sense of urgency that’s employed when talking about climate work but questioned why that same sense of urgency is not applied to issues of violence against Indigenous women or substance use and mental health concerns. They emphasized that urgency should not come at the cost of an ethic of care – to address the myriad negative impacts of colonialism will require taking the time to care for each other throughout the process.
Finally, these youth acknowledged the holistic nature of the climate crisis. They saw settler-colonialism, runaway capitalism, and overconsumption as root causes. In this way, their efforts to reconnect with Indigenous knowledges and learn their languages were all a part of climate action. They underscored that Indigenous knowledges are sacred and hold the keys to holistic climate solutions, but that they must be shared with care and attention to the dangers of how they could be co-opted by colonial systems.
The youth collaborated on a figure to sum up their conversation (pictured on the right.) In the picture, Indigenous youth and knowledge are supported by a hand rooted with care to rise above the challenges named below, ranging from financial barriers to settler colonialism. The hand is reaching towards a sun labelled Mino-Bimaadiziwin (Anishinaabemowin) and Mino-Pimatisiwin (Cree), symbolizing “the good life” and holistic wellbeing, where physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs can be met.
The youth gathering themes are in line with broader Indigenous youth climate action. Indigenous Climate Action, an Indigenous women-led organization, has recognized the barriers for Indigenous youth to participate more actively in climate work and offers tangible support through trainings, honorariums, and providing resources for Indigenous youth climate action. Much has been written about climate grief and its impact on Indigenous communities, underscoring the need for accessible opportunities for climate action that can foster hope for Indigenous youth. The Yukon First Nation’s Youth Council created the Reconnection Vision, an immersive resource with teachings, storytelling, and commitment to centering Indigenous worldviews, that affirms that disconnection, from relationships with Indigenous teachings, the Land and each other, is causing the climate crisis. They share a pathway to reconnection that supports Indigenous youth wellbeing and climate action.
Indigenous worldviews and Indigenous leadership must be central in combatting climate change in order to achieve climate solutions that affirm life and uphold responsibilities in relationship to the Land, Waters and Territories Indigenous Peoples steward. Indigenous youth should be prioritized in crafting climate solutions, as they are a vital part of Indigenous communities. Clearing the path for Indigenous youth leadership, including providing resources, building capacity, and championing their ideas, is a necessary part of decolonizing climate work. Indeed, youth are the leaders of today, and climate organizations and policy makers must champion their leadership.
About the Author
Angele Alook is the Director of the Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Languages, and an Associate Professor in the School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at York University. She is a proud member of Bigstone Cree nation in Treaty 8 territory, where she has carried out research on issues of sociology of family and work, resource extraction, school-to-work transitions, Indigenous identity, and seeking the good life (miyo-pimatisiwin) in work-life balance. Her most recent research is about a just transition away from fossil fuels, Indigenous caring economies, and Indigenous climate justice. She is a co-author of a best-selling Canadian book entitled “The End of This World: Climate Justice in so-called Canada” published in 2023 by Between the Line Publishing, in this book she contributed writings on Indigenous legal and social systems of care.
Adrienne Young (she/her) is a PhD student at the York University School of Social Work where she is focused on elevating youth voice within the mental health sector, especially in creating pathways for racialized, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQI+ and low-income youth to hold leadership roles in improving the mental health sector for all young people. She is experienced in engaging community members to build partnerships for research and programming that centres community needs. Adrienne is mixed race with both White and Indigenous ancestry and she is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. When she’s not working, she loves to spend time outdoors with her family and always loves to try new food!
