Your Next Steps  

The reflections and actions suggested here will help you achieve the learning outcomes of this module. You may also wish to undertake additional next steps based on ideas that have come up for you during this section.

Take the time that you need to do your own thinking and work related to this module’s topics. We invite you to capture your thoughts in written form and/or speak to individuals or groups in your social and work circles about what you are learning.

Suggested Reflections

1. Spend some time thinking about how climate change impacts people of many generations, and perhaps how it might have impacted you from the time when you were a child to how old you are today. Has the environment changed around you over that time? In what way? Has anything in the natural environment around you been lost? Forever changed? Think about how intergenerational thinking related to protecting the Earth could support you in your work, and support your family for generations to come.
2. What benefits do you see in opportunities for youth and Elders to work together when addressing climate change? How do you recommend for these working relations to be integrated into your own approaches and practices within climate mitigation?
3. What experience do you have with Indigenous knowledge and content prior to this course? Why do you think that Indigenous knowledge has been historically excluded from the Canadian education curriculum? What additional learning opportunities are you aware of that can fill the gaps of Canadian knowledge as it pertains to Indigenous Nations and knowledge systems.

Suggested Actions  

1. View any of the project websites mentioned in this module, potentially starting with those that are located close to where you live or work, or areas of Canada that you are interested in. Look for examples of traditional and non-traditional methods of climate adaptation. What can you learn from them to expand your viewpoints and knowledge about climate adaptation from an Indigenous lens? Are there ways in which these projects – and the issues and solutions within them – relate to your work?
2. Some of the most important learning moments happen at the kitchen table. If it feels accessible, chat with your family using these prompts: What do they think are the biggest climate-related issues and challenges for their specific generation? What about for future generations? What questions do they have about our society’s approaches to climate change? Having intergenerational conversations about climate is one way to see the benefit of integrating Indigenous perspectives into your worldview.
3. Start to compile a working list of educational resources that relates to Indigenous knowledge, leadership and actions within Climate Research and Mitigation. Ensure that you cite Indigenous scholars and authors in your research so as to acknowledge their contributions to climate mitigation in the same regard as non-Indigenous counterparts.
4. Familiarise yourself with the actions, plans and governance systems of the Nations local to where you may live. For example, if you live in Victoria B.C. how can you become more familiar with programming and leadership from the lək̓ʷəŋən and Songhees Nations?

Further Reading and Research

Books

Kimmerer, Robin Wall (2015). Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions.

Articles and Reports

Assembly of First Nations National Climate Gathering Report (2020).

Tribal Adaptation Menu Team. 2019. Dibaginjigaadeg Anishinaabe Ezhitwaad: A Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu. Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, Odanah, Wisconsin. 54 p.

Websites

Indigenous Climate Action

Additional Links and Resources

Government of Canada. Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. Climate Change in Indigenous and Northern Communities.

Framing a First Nations Climate Lens. Plenary presentation of the Assembly of First Nations National Climate Gathering.

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), 2019 National Inuit Climate Change Strategy

Assembly of First Nations National Climate Gathering Report: Driving Change, Leading Solutions.

Government of Canada. First Nations Adapt Program.

Kanaka Bar Indian Band. Climate Change page.

Assembly of First Nations. Declaring a First Nations Climate Emergency.

Human Rights Watch. Canada: Climate Crisis Toll on First Nations’ Food Supply.