猫咪社区

As the world watches what transpires at  the United Nations climate summit taking place this week in Glasgow,  governments and businesses  their climate obligations. There鈥檚 a sense that  and radical change is the only hope鈥搃ncluding a sweeping transformation of industrial agricultural practices to more sustainable and regenerative ones.

At the same time,  and  are converging in Scotland to talk about the  and to advocate for their own solutions鈥搊nes they have successfully used to manage land for millennia. And on the brink of crisis, people may finally be willing to listen.

The new book, , can serve as a practical guide to this movement鈥攄uring COP26 and after. It was curated and produced by the , a national organization based in South Dakota. It鈥檚 a handbook for grassroots advocates, Indigenous leaders, and mainstream politicians on how to support Indigenous communities and their allies in healing our planet and moving forward to a post-oil future.

The book features in-depth essays and analytical pieces on topics ranging from the growing LANDBACK movement to return Indigenous lands to the impacts of lithium extraction in the Andean Altiplano and the critique of mainstream environmentalists鈥� rigidity when addressing climate change.

Civil Eats recently spoke with Kailea Frederick, NDN Collective鈥檚 climate justice organizer and the book鈥檚 editor; Jade Begay, the group鈥檚 director of climate justice; and Demetrius Johnson, NDN鈥檚 LANDBACK campaign organizer, about the power of kelp farming, the problems with carbon markets, and why climate solutions don鈥檛 need to be 鈥渟calable.鈥�

Frederick, Begay, and Johnson are currently in Scotland as part of  and have been handing the book out to U.S. governmental officials, policymakers, and world leaders there this week.

Before we get into the essays in Required Reading, can you talk about what the NDN Collective is and its role in the climate justice movement?

Jade Begay: We are an Indigenous-led collective that aims to build Indigenous power through advocacy and philanthropy. Our work in philanthropy isn鈥檛 just about doing granting and sharing resources, it鈥檚 about intentionally organizing within philanthropy.  in the U.S. [although they represent 2 percent of the population]. When we do the math and we acknowledge that Indigenous peoples protect and , it makes zero sense that we receive a smidgen of the resources, especially in investment into nonprofits and frontline environmental organizations. So our collective builds strategies to dismantle white supremacy within philanthropy so we can remove barriers and gatekeeping in that sector.

NDN Collective also has a subsidiary  [NDN Partners], where we do community development and support tribes and Indigenous entrepreneurs who are building regenerative, renewable solutions to combat racial injustice and climate injustice. And we have an , which does similar work to help finance projects that are really meant to move our communities into the realm of building regenerative economies and local systems to address deep-seated inequities. Our advocacy arm houses : climate justice, , racial equity, and education equity.

Kailea Frederick: Our climate justice campaign has the same goal as the collective: We鈥檙e trying to build power throughout Indigenous communities to tackle the climate crisis. We run and support campaigns aimed at ending extraction, contamination, and violence because these three are closely interlinked and very prevalent on our land and our territories. We also do policy work, broader coalition building, and advocacy.

One of the main messaging points in our book is that Indigenous peoples hold climate solutions inherently through our cultures and through our land-based practices, which we have not lost touch with. That鈥檚 a direct bridge to our LANDBACK campaign work because returning land back to Indigenous peoples is a core part of climate mitigation work. We need land returned in large quantities at this moment so that Indigenous peoples can be in direct conversation with the land and engaged in their traditional practices, which inherently mitigate climate change.

More Americans are becoming aware that they鈥檙e living on land that was taken by white settlers who exterminated many of the original Indigenous inhabitants. Your LANDBACK campaign is a direct response to these injustices. Can you talk about that work and why it鈥檚 so important?

Demetrius Johnson: Our LANDBACK campaign focuses on making sure that before we help grow other people鈥檚 gardens, we can take care of our own. We need to understand that  is stolen land. We鈥檙e talking about national parks, national forests, and other wild areas that are now areas of recreation but once were [Indigenous] lands, which we took care of. We鈥檙e now focused on reclaiming these public lands, which are under the control of the federal government. One of our most important works currently is reclaiming the Black Hills, which are located near Mni L煤zaha艐 Ot葻煤艐wahe, or Rapid City, South Dakota.

That鈥檚 where Indigenous activists 
and were arrested last summer when Donald Trump visited Mount Rushmore National Memorial. What is the significance of the Black Hills?

Johnson:  is where the seed of our LANDBACK campaign sprouted from. But the narrative of LANDBACK didn鈥檛 start there. Its history goes back to the time of our people resisting colonization, resisting invading governments. More recently, the term was popularized by a group of Indigenous youth who started making memes and it caught on. Everyone can make it their own and I think that鈥檚 why it鈥檚 a very powerful campaign and movement. It can be used domestically in the United States, but it can also be used internationally.

LANDBACK also directly connects with the issue of climate. For Indigenous peoples to survive, we need to have a connection to the land. When you steal land from us, you鈥檙e literally killing us, you鈥檙e committing acts of genocide. What happens to the land happens to us. And this violence has been happening since the arrival of settlers. We also need to understand that Indigenous peoples hold the keys to saving the world, and that鈥檚 not hyperbole. Within the last few decades, we鈥檝e seen an increase in wildfires, droughts, and floods in places that were previously protected by Indigenous peoples. What we are seeing now is a direct result of taking land away from people who loved it and putting it into the hands of people who use it for profit.

Even today, when we try to protect our sacred sites, when we try to protect our land and water, the military and , arrest us, . So, as part of the LANDBACK movement, we have to take a stance on militarism, incarceration, and capitalism鈥攂ecause they are all related and all of them actively kill our people.

The book amplifies an array of Native solutions to the climate crisis and the fact that Indigenous people are in the unique position to develop them. Can you share some examples of solutions happening across the country?

Frederick: Jade is a board member of , an Eyak-led organization based in Alaska that鈥檚 working to  and other projects. Kelp farming is a  and Native Conservancy is doing incredible work in this area.

Begay: The executive director and founder of Native Conservancy, , created the first Native-led and Native-owned land trust. Ever since, it has been responsible for protecting large swaths of land鈥攁nd not just putting it under Indigenous peoples鈥� management, but actually taking it in a very brave new direction by moving those lands out of the corporate model. Unlike federally recognized tribes in the so-called U.S., where tribal councils run sovereign governments on reservations, Alaskan Natives are required to organize as corporations under  (ANCSA).

There鈥檚 a big  now for Alaska Natives to pull out of these corporate systems. Dune not only pulled land from the authority of non-Native folks, but has made sure that it鈥檚 also not incorporated. It鈥檚 fully managed by a non-capitalist entity.

NDN Collective has recently joined as a partner in Native Conservancy鈥檚 work to scale up a regenerative local economy rooted in the traditional knowledge and wisdom of the Eyak people. It is focused on enhancing and revitalizing the relationship between the fish and the kelp. Their endeavor is to build an economic model of farming kelp that not only cleans the ocean and helps remove carbon dioxide but can also serve as a food, fuel, and infrastructure source. It鈥檚 a great example of taking land back and having a plan to go with it to revitalize community and culture. And although the Eyak community has lost all of its Indigenous speakers, by working with the land and doing cultural work there鈥檚 an effort to bring the language back.

鈥淭he term 鈥榮calable鈥� is rooted in capitalism. And what we鈥檙e needing right now is anti-capitalist solutions to the climate crisis.鈥�

That鈥檚 a great example of a solution that not only tackles climate change but also strengthens the Indigenous community.

Begay: What sets NDN Collective apart from other organizations is that we鈥檙e able to invest in these types of models and in Indigenous leadership. Take the work we鈥檙e supporting with a buffalo sanctuary in South Dakota. [Sixty buffalo were released on the , 28,000 acres of grasslands where the Rosebud Sioux Tribe plans to raise up to 1,500 bison to revitalize the land and the tribe鈥檚 cultural connections to the buffalo.] That鈥檚 holistic systems change work. We need all communities to see these models and ask how can they adapt them. We want to encourage our communities to think about these type of approaches that can really shift the systems have been exploiting us and making us sick.

The essays in the book discuss the importance of localized projects. How do you reach a balance between doing local work and sharing solutions among tribes and outside Indigenous communities so that the projects and their impacts are scalable and have more impact?

Begay: This word 鈥渟calable鈥� is one I hear all the time in the climate space, and I really have to turn this word on its own head and reframe it. Because we don鈥檛 need scale. The term 鈥渟calable鈥� is rooted in capitalism. And what we鈥檙e needing right now is anti-capitalist solutions to the climate crisis. When we show up in spaces like COP26, 鈥渟calable solutions鈥� is what the majority of industry, tech, and governments are trying to do. It鈥檚 a buzzword. What we do is look at solutions in terms of an Indigenous community, nation, or tribe. Each of these communities has its own traditional ecological knowledge to inform its own solutions. We鈥檙e not interested in blanket solutions that are meant to keep production or consumption going at the rate that it has been going at.

Things will be changing so rapidly that we need to have regions and local communities adapt in the ways that make sense to those ecosystems, and it鈥檚 not going to look the same for everyone. So we鈥檙e welcoming, encouraging and leaning into these local, regenerative solutions that really honor the biodiversity of our people and our communities.

鈥淲e need to stop emitting at the scale we鈥檙e emitting at and we need to do drawdown.鈥�

Frederick: The reality is we are heading into a post-oil future, one that must move at a much slower pace and will involve smaller lives. But it will also involve the possibility of more enriching lives. One thing that our campaign asks is: What if the best times are ahead of us, while simultaneously asking what does the post-oil world look like? We鈥檙e looking to bring forward ideas and models of a different way of engaging in day-to-day life and very different ideas of what success looks and feels like. We just can鈥檛 get around the fact that we need to move away from fossil fuels.

The opportunity comes through inviting as many people as possible across as many diverse communities, regions, and geographies as possible to be sitting with a question of what does a local, regenerative economy look like in their own communities.

Can you speak to the barriers for Indigenous communities across the country in implementing their own climate solutions?

Begay: It鈥檚 systemic racism in all aspects of [preventing us from] being self-determining. When it comes to a just transition away from fossil fuels, one of the biggest barriers is resources. A just transition towards renewable energy will, I hope, ensure that regenerative and sustainable economies are a part of our lifeways and of how we move in the future. The reality is that a lot of our communities and tribal economies are dependent on fossil fuels right now, which is unsustainable. This drives up climate change, but it also makes us vulnerable. If there鈥檚 a pipeline leak or the closure of a mine or a refinery鈥攚hatever that tribe or community is dependent on鈥� it devastates that community. So it鈥檚 also about recognizing that removing ourselves as dependent on or reducing the dependency on fossil fuels also protects us from future catastrophes.

One of the essays in the book heavily criticizes so-called 鈥渘ature-based solutions.鈥� These include carbon markets that rely on crops or trees to sequester carbon. Can you talk about why regenerative agriculture, reforestation, and carbon markets can be misguided, and what the alternatives are?

Frederick: There are quite a few issues when it comes to carbon trading. One of the biggest ones is that it allows governments and companies to continue polluting and emitting. Actual solutions are pretty simple. We need to stop emitting at the scale we鈥檙e emitting at and we need to do drawdown. Another problem is that carbon trading can lead to continued colonization and land dispossession of Indigenous peoples, including land grabbing that鈥檚 happening as different companies are trying to buy up their credits. Then there are issues around companies or governments double-counting their emission reductions so it looks like they鈥檙e reducing more emissions than they actually are.

Begay: We should be concerned when companies like Nestl茅 are promoting 鈥渘ature-based solutions.鈥� It should be a big red flag that the companies and industries that have blood on their hands, that have been human rights violators for decades, are now promoting these types of solutions. 鈥淣ature-based solutions鈥� are greenwashing. It鈥檚 just a tool to continue business as usual. And as these companies take land鈥攜es, this is a Land Back issue鈥攖o do so-called reforestation or tree planting, they are displacing Indigenous peoples, especially in the Global South. It鈥檚 complex, and we also acknowledge that some Indigenous communities have promoted 鈥渘ature-based solutions.鈥� But we also know some of these communities are put between a rock and a hard place; it鈥檚 about their livelihoods and putting food on the table鈥攐r not. And so they鈥檙e forced into these decisions, compelled to join false solutions or to work with the oil industry. We want to build the conditions in which those are not the only options for Indigenous communities across the world.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 live in an era of scarcity; that鈥檚 a myth.鈥�

Johnson: When we鈥檙e talking about regenerative economies, we鈥檙e ultimately talking about caretaking economies: how to take care of the land and take care of each other. And that鈥檚 something that we don鈥檛 have here in the U.S. Indigenous peoples understand that you don鈥檛 just take care of your nuclear family, but that we have responsibilities to the land and to our community. I鈥檓 not totally opposed to farmers getting compensated for drawing down carbon. But there needs to be a broader approach to regeneration: a systemic change for people to have their needs met, to have healthcare, electricity, enough food to eat, and the ability to access transportation. We don鈥檛 live in an era of scarcity; that鈥檚 a myth.

One of the essays in the book mentions that the climate justice movement will require serious commitments from white allies. How can non-Indigenous allies support Indigenous climate solutions, including NDN鈥檚 campaigns?

Johnson: We are establishing toolkits and resources to direct people on how to give land back, specifically spelling out what that process looks like. I鈥檓 also personally excited for a collaboration with . It鈥檚 a group of nuns nationwide that鈥檚 working on issues of social and climate justice. And these nuns are shifting resources and land from the church back into Indigenous communities. Finally, we鈥檙e writing to legislators and making presentations to our local tribal governments. Getting land back is going to take a lot of different avenues, a lot of different specialties and people to make it happen.

Frederick: Our climate justice campaign this year published a memo that we sent out to various offices within the White House and to Congress, titled 鈥淢obilizing climate and environmental justice investments to Indigenous frontline communities.鈥� And that鈥檚 one aspect we really need. We need support in terms of building out the infrastructure to move funding equitably and through a lens of justice.

This question also made me think of a meme I鈥檝e seen circulating, a quote that resonates with me as someone who is half Black. It鈥檚 something like: 鈥淪lavery needs to be taught not as Black history but as white history.鈥� This is a critical reframe. This work of advocating for Indigenous rights within the Indigenous led climate justice movement is often seen as only an Indigenous issue. When in fact, what we鈥檙e trying to do is create a planet that鈥檚 going to be just and habitable for everyone. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 so important that colonization be taught globally not as the history of Indigenous peoples, but also as the history of those who come from the lineages of the colonizers.

I have quite a few friends who are direct descendants of original colonizers of North America. These are people whose ancestors came over on the Mayflower, started a colony, or got down on one knee with the flag and said, 鈥淭his land is now mine.鈥� And they have been some of the most important relationships I鈥檝e built and tended to over the last six or seven years of my life. Mostly because the friends that come from these lineages are willing to actually be honest about who they come from and what resources they have inherited and are currently holding. Some of the work they鈥檙e doing is just so critical. They鈥檙e the first in their lineage who understand the responsibility they hold to redistribute resources that were made off the backs of my mother鈥檚 people and off the land of my father鈥檚 people. They understand it doesn鈥檛 belong to them anymore and that a big part of showing up honestly in this world right now is starting to redistribute those resources.

Oftentimes, people reach out to me and say, 鈥淚鈥檓 the granddaughter of so and so, and I have so much guilt about all of this stuff.鈥� And the one message I have is that it鈥檚 time to let go of the land, let go of the money. Brace yourself for what it means to participate in your family鈥檚 businesses and board spaces so that you can be an advocate and an active voice in moving funding. This is how you can show active solidarity, not just solidarity through reposting and reading a book.

This story originally appeared in and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.