Throughout the United States, Native communities are actively working to combat environmental racism and climate change. These Native leaders are working to elevate indigenous knowledge and practices as it relates to Native lands and natural resources.
1. Environmental justice is not a new idea in Native communities.
It is important to acknowledge that Native communities have long had a different relationship with the environment compared to individuals from Western society. Although there are differences among Native communities, the worldview of Native people generally sees the land and environment as intrinsically intertwined with human development and wellbeing. Native people have long acknowledged that decisions we make today have lasting effects on future generations. Thus, we have a responsibly to act as accountable stewards of the land and environment for future generations. Some nations have termed this as planning for “seven generations.” As David Wilkins, Lumbee, writes in Indian Country Today, this means that each generation is responsible “to teach, learn, and protect the three generations that had come before it, its own, and the next three. In this way, we maintained our communities for millennia.”
2. Native communities have long been on the frontlines fighting against environmental racism and promoting environmental justice.
Indigenous peoples have long been at the forefront of fighting for environmental justice. In 2016, Water Protectors generated national headlines as they mobilized to protect land and water on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota fighting against the Dakota Access Pipeline. More recently, Native Hawaiian communities have mobilized to protect their sacred Maunakea from desecration. Although these recent events have forced Indigenous movements for environmental justice into mainstream consciousness, these movements exist on a long continuum of Indigenous resistance to the disruptions of Native existence strongly connected to land and natural landscapes.
3. Economic context is important to understand environmental justice in Native communities.
4. There is a lack of philanthropic investment in Native-led change.
5. Environmental and climate justice cannot happen without including Native voices.
These are some of the most pertinent challenges that face Native peoples and communities as they continue to fight for their place in the broader environmental and climate change movements. In the coming weeks, you will hear from brilliant Native people that are on the frontlines of building healthier and sustainable communities. We hope that these articles spark change in how philanthropy supports Native-led change and how green organizations interact with communities of color and especially Native communities.
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