About the event

Indigenous peoples are often among the first to experience the effects of climate change, and First Nation voices and mental models can help solve the climate crisis. Indigenous perspectives place humans within the natural world, with land, water, and air as relatives rather than resources to exploit. This perspective in action shows a track record of safeguarding nature. Some examples in practice include applying long-cultivated ecological knowledge for resource sustainability and effective forest management and biodiversity stewardship. What can we learn from these teachings to practice sustainability and how can we support and elevate Indigenous voices and solutions?

Event details

Indigenous peoples are often among the first to experience the effects of climate change, and First Nation voices and mental models can help solve the climate crisis. Indigenous perspectives place humans within the natural world, with land, water, and air as relatives rather than resources to exploit. Indigenous peoples have a track record of safeguarding nature and embodying a clear vision for sustainability. Some examples in practice include:

Ecological knowledge: First Nations' ecological knowledge comes from a much longer history of observation than any modern scientific discipline, and Indigenous awareness of ecological conditions can help enhance the resilience of ecosystems and interpret and react to climate change in creative ways.

Environmental Defense: Indigenous populations protect about 36% of the world’s remaining intact forests, and their lands are home to 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity, suggesting better methods of forest maintenance and biodiversity preservation. Analysis by WRI found that forests managed by Indigenous people in the Amazon were strong net carbon sinks from 2001-2021, collectively removing a net 340 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere each year (equivalent to the U.K.’s annual fossil fuel emissions–and outside Indigenous Lands, the Amazon Forest Is a Net Carbon Source.

Resource Sustainability: Estimates of the indigenous population in Hawaii prior to colonization range from 600,000 to over 1 million. This population did not import 85-90% of its food, and knowledge of indigenous methods and models can inform societies how to live more sustainably and within local ecological limits.

“I have been to many conferences and talks about Indigenous Knowledge and sustainability”, writes Tyson Yunkaporta in Sand Talk, “most carry the same simplistic message: First Peoples have been here for x thousand years, they know how to live in balance with this place, and we should learn from them to find solutions to sustainability issues today.” –note, just saying We and Them above is problematic–”Then they offer some isolated examples of sustainable practices before colonization, and that’s it.” The audience is left wondering, ‘Yes, but how?””

Yunkaporta offers: “One man tried going in a straight line many thousands of years ago and was called crazy and punished.” How do we operate in a sustainable system, and how can we start doing so now?