CALS692 Final Blog
When I set out to start and create the IndigeMind climate action program I didn’t know what to expect. I was full of passion and a desire to instil change in my community, just as RRU encourages us to be change-makers and visionaries. I took that notion very literally. In the span of the past year I have started a climate action program, department, and mapped out a vision for a future where Indigenous youth leaders are at the forefront of the climate action movement.
IndigeMind adheres to the Truth and Reconciliation’s Calls to Action of “establish[ing]…community based youth organizations that deliver programs on reconciliation and [climate action] (TRC Calls to Action, 2015, p. 8). I focused a lot on the idea of reconciliation in action while bringing this vision to life. As an ally, I wanted to do what so much of our western society has yet to figure out, that often taking a step back, listening, and creating safe space can be the most powerful action you can take. IndigeMind has become just this. It is a place for reconnection, growth, exploration, and most importantly, it allows for a safety net that our Indigenous youth so often do not have the luxury of experiencing. The land is our very best teacher and if we listen, calmly and intentionally, we can begin to observe the intricacies of its beauty that need more attention and care. Land based learning is essential in both reconciliatory efforts but also in nurturing and raising our next generation of climate leaders. Fast et al. (2021) note that “many urban Indigenous youth are living experiences of disconnection from their communities due to colonialism and the barriers it presents to reconnection…The benefits of land-based learning range from centring Indigeneity and confronting settler colonial forms of education to regenerating intergenerational teachings and increasing the spiritual and cultural wellbeing of participants” (p. 120).
Prior to IndigeMind, I felt an obligation to do right by the land and carve out a life where I could have a positive impact. When I was introduced to MACAL it came at the right time, as I felt who I am as a person was reflected in the program itself. IndigeMind is also an extension of who I am and what I believe in with every aspect of its existence precisely designed in line with my values and belief system. Dr. Henrietta Mann eloquently adds that “we have spiritual responsibilities to renew the Earth and we do this through our ceremonies so that our Mother, the Earth, can continue to support us. Mutuality and respect are part of our tradition. Somewhere along the way…you have to give back to the land” (Ritchie, 2020, pp. 55-56). Although I am not of Indigenous ancestry, my family worked the land for their living for generations and I was raised to respect the land just as I would respect any other living entity. Mother Earth breathes life into all of us and without her none of us exist. It is up to us to care for her, as climate change continues to rattle the very fabric of our existence and, although, my impact may be small at least I am living and breathing climate action leadership.
IndigeMind came about as a direct response to a lack of land based programming and cultural safety for Indigenous youth in our school systems. As a counsellor in Victoria’s School District 61, I observed this first hand working solely with the Indigenous population and I eventually asked myself what really needs to change? Youth need to be out on the land. It’s that simple. Additionally, the climate field is still too rooted in western ideology and science. Indigenous peoples have stewarded the lands for thousands of years and did so in harmony and, what we now would call, a regenerative approach. There was no exploitation or mass extraction of resources. That came when the white man arrived and, unfortunately, that same mentality has led us to where we are today-a wounded natural world out of equilibrium.
The need for educational curriculum that is focused in Indigenous knowledge, taught by knowledge keepers, and out on the land is the most direct way to create engaging and transformative spaces for our youth. So I asked myself, what is needed to increase Indigenous youth engagement in the climate action space? The answer quickly became to “deliver educational programming in [both] Western Environmental Science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge…to youth of first nation ancestry, in a culturally relevant context…provid[ing] an opportunity for the students to [be] expose[d]…to the choices available to them upon [program] completion” (Soaring Eagle Project, 2001, p. 3).
IndigeMind is not just focused on getting youth back out on the land. We believe in preparing youth with the necessary skills to enter into the work force in climate related jobs with the overall goal of increasing indigenous youth voice in the climate sector. In the process, the reclamation of culture and traditional ways of knowing can occur. So many of the youth I work with are disconnected from their home communities and traditional ways of life. However, land-based programming can become the pathway to reconnection. Simpson (2002) adds that “founding Indigenous Environmental Education programs within Indigenous Knowledge systems is one of the most important ways of strengthening our cultures, promoting environmental protection, the realization of sustainable local economies, and supporting students through healing and decolonizing” (pp.16-17).
The IndigeMind program has become a very prominent part of my life. Started in partnership with my studies at RRU, I have learned so much about myself, how to lead in this space, and how true allyship looks. It is deeply important to me that I lead in a way that is collective and upholding of the strengths of those I am fortunate enough to work with and walk along side of. Kluttz et al. (2019) remind us that “co-existing and, through that, co-resisting requires compassion. Compassion for oneself, as an ally attempting to decolonise oneself, and compassion for Indigenous peoples… An ally’s…personal decolonization journey should include a combination of conscience, values, and a commitment to staying open to constant self-evaluation and self-correction, without ego” (pp. 63-64).
The youth are our future. We put our hope into each of them to continue the legacies that we, as their parents, mentors, and teachers leave behind. As a father who two young daughters, and a third on the way, I am reminded of my profound hope that my girls can experience the beauties of the natural world in the same ways that I have. Although, this may seem out of reach there is the opportunity to re-teach respect for the land and those whom have come before us. That life itself requires cohesion, collaboration, friendship, and unity. We rely on one another for so many things just as the land does. And it is time to put the needs of our planet at the forefront with the voice of leadership coming from our youth.
Onwards. Thank you and may the journey continue just as it is meant to.
Resources
Fast, E., Lefebvre, M., Reid, C., Deer, W. B., Swiftwolfe, D., Clark, M., Boldo, V., Mackie, J., & Mackie, R. (2021). Restoring Our Roots: Land-Based Community by and for Indigenous Youth. International Journal of Indigenous Health, 16(2). https://doi.org/10.32799/ijih.v16i2.33932
Kluttz, J., Walker, J., & Walter, P. (2019). Unsettling allyship, unlearning and learning towards decolonising solidarity. Studies in the Education of Adults, 52(1), 49–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/02660830.2019.1654591
Ritchie, J. (2020). Movement from the margins to global recognition: climate change activism by young people and in particular indigenous youth. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 30(1-2), 53–72.
Simpson, L. (2002). Indigenous Environmental Education for Cultural Survival. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 7(1), 13-25. https://cjee.lakeheadu.ca/article/view/271
Soaring Eagle Project. 2001. Educating aboriginal youth using traditional ecological knowledge and western environmental science. https://web.archive.org/web/20080828010256/http://www.manitobamodelforest.net/pub lications/ombaashid.PDF
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (2015). Truth and Reconciliation
Commission of Canada: Calls to Action. https://publications.gc.ca/collections