A blog by Aleksandra Lankamer, Young Expert at Girls Human Rights Hub.

Climate change is, without a doubt, one of the biggest global challenges of the 21st century. Global warming, decreasing biodiversity, the escalation of natural disasters, and rarefication of essential natural resources are only some of its consequences. However, the cycle doesn’t stop there, as all these phenomena are closely tied to, and thus tend to reinforce, existing social inequalities. Housing, food and water security are affected, especially among already marginalised populations, based on their (intersecting) identity characteristics, like gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, (dis)ability... The movement for climate justice therefore advocates for climate policies which do not disregard or undermine claims of social justice, and do not further the marginalisation of some over others.

Indigenous peoples and the environment

Indigenous peoples have been particularly affected by climate change, and heavily involved within calls for climate justice. The numbers speak for themselves regarding their role in environmental protection, as they represent 5% of the global population, and yet care for 22% of the land’s surface and 80% of the planet’s biodiversity.  

Indigenous cultures have a close tie to nature and the environment, as they value a reciprocal connection between earth, nature and human beings. The continuing destruction and exploitation of the natural environment, as decided by settler states, is therefore all the more harmful; many Indigenous communities are based, at their core, on sustainable ecological practices and solidarity. Eco-social relationships (i.e. people’s relationships to each other as well as to the natural world) are at the core of Indigenous identities. The harm perpetrated on the natural environment by settler societies, through extractivism, privatisation, pollution, threatens Indigenous peoples’ food and housing security, but also their very sense of identity – hence strengthening the injustices and oppression faced by Indigenous peoples within a colonial system.

The intersectional positioning of Indigenous women

For Indigenous women and girls, in particular, the consequences of climate change are augmented. The intersectional violence and discrimination they face, due to their ethnicity and their gender, is heightened – their living conditions, identity, health and access to resources are further endangered. They suffer from “structural and historic systems of power and oppression based on race, ethnicity, class, gender and sexuality” which built “paradigms of patriarchy, colonisation and imperialism”, as stated by Roció Silva Santisteban.

Indigenous women play an essential part in climate action. Lola Cabnal, Indigenous activist and Director of Environmental Advocacy for Ak’Tenamit, told the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, that “Indigenous women possess ancestral knowledge and practices that for centuries have been adopted from generations of grandmothers and mothers, and play a very important role in climate change action”.

Despite this stewardship role within Indigenous communities, Indigenous women are excluded from decision-making regarding climate change. Research conducted by the Rights and Resources Initiative and Rainforest Foundation Norway found that solely 17% of global climate funding intended for Indigenous communities goes to projects led by Indigenous people, and 5% to Indigenous women, specifically.

Nevertheless, there exist many grassroots and local initiatives led by Indigenous women, which have been very influential in bringing forward creative and innovative solutions to climate change, in ways that take into account its impacts on injustice and inequalities. Many examples can be cited, like the Association of Women Protectors of the Páramos de Ñangali in Peru, preserving the Quinawiros forests, or the “Stewarding the Earth” campaign focused on learning from Indigenous women about practices in preserving a reciprocal and caring relationship with natural environments. 

Indigenous girls for climate justice?

Indigenous girls face the same gendered and colonial consequences of climate change as their mothers and grandmothers. However, their young age might just be another identity “layer” that both adds negative climate change consequences and empowers them and gives them an important role to play within the climate justice movement.

Indigenous girls’ bodies and minds, like all children’s, may be more negatively impacted by “environmental stressors”, as Elizabeth Gibbons calls them. Extreme weather events, drought, natural disasters all affect housing, food and water security, which are essential for a child’s physical and mental development. Additionally, for girls within Indigenous communities, the natural environment is a core element of identity and community-building that is especially important throughout childhood and adolescence. Indigenous girls, through their positioning at the heart of various systems of power and their young age, are therefore very vulnerable to climate change. It is that vulnerability which shows the need for climate justice.

The climate justice movement has very much been led by youth, in various parts of the world, in order to affirm their agency and their rightful place in discussions and decision-making on climate adaptation and innovation. Indigenous girls and young women have been very active, using their knowledge and creativity to advocate for climate justice, which involves dismantling of colonisation, patriarchy, racism and other systems of oppression, all the while advocating for and defending the land. In fact, a survey by the Stockholm Environment Institute showed that out of 218 young women identifying as climate justice advocates in the region of Asia and the Pacific, over 40% were part of an Indigenous or ethnic minority group.

As a powerful example, among many, Xiye Bastida is a girl activist for climate justice belonging to the Otomi-Toltec Nation, and currently living in New York. Having been herself forcibly displaced due to climate change, at 16 years old she created an environmental club at her school. She also lobbied New York state representatives, and striked for the cause, whilst centring the “voices and experiences of Indigenous people and people of color through public education forums and digital platforms”.