To fix the climate, simply empower #Indigenous people

by Kiki Taufik, 10 Nov 2025

"Climate change is the defining issue of our age. While nations search for complex technological solutions at this year’s high-stakes climate meeting in the Amazon city of #Belém, a simpler yet powerful answer has been waiting in the wings. I saw it firsthand in the forests of #WestPapua’s Bird’s Head Peninsula in the company of #IndigenousYouth from the Amazon, the #CongoBasin, and #Borneo.

"They showed me a truth that the world has been overlooking: one of the most effective climate solutions lies in empowering Indigenous people.

"In this way, we can prevent an immense amount of carbon emissions from #deforestation and preserve priceless #biodiversity and all the benefits we reap from it. It’s a strategy that more than pays for itself."

https://news.mongabay.com/2025/11/to-fix-the-climate-simply-empower-indigenous-people-commentary/

#SolarPunkSunday #MongaBay #SiraDeclaration #ClimateChange #UNDRIP #FPIC #AmazonRiverBasin #IndigenousPeople #IndigenousSolutions #TraditionalIndigenousKnowledge

What 6 degrees of warming means for a community built on ice

#Alaska is warming far faster than most of the world. For #Indigenous people on the front lines, adaptation can be surprisingly simple.

by Joseph Lee
Jul 3, 2024,

“As temperatures continue to rise, Alaska Natives are turning to intergenerational knowledge and community observations to build a wealth of data that they hope will urge non-Indigenous decision-makers to listen to what they have to say.

“In #Unalaska, the largest city in the Aleutian Chain, the #Qawalangin Tribe is gathering community feedback on #ClimateCrisis and what the people are experiencing. The tribe will then use these observations to help develop its climate #resilience plans, which include culture camps with traditional dances and classes on kayak making, traditional food nights, and water quality testing programs.

“Vera Metcalf is the executive director of the Eskimo Walrus Commission, which represents 19 coastal communities. Metcalf says that Indigenous walrus hunters have adapted to climate change by participating in research projects led by agencies like the US Fish and Wildlife Service. 'In the past, we were largely ignored in research occurring in our homeland and waters,' she said. 'When you combine the two ways of thinking, it really becomes a rich resource of information.'

“Roberta Tuurraq Glenn-Borade, #Iñupiaq from Utqiaġvik, is the project coordinator and community liaison at the Alaska Arctic Observatory and Knowledge Hub, where she works with observers from four communities in the Alaskan Arctic.

“Community observers share details like air temperature, wind speed, ice conditions, and animal observations, sometimes sending in photos of animals being harvested. Glenn-Borade and her team then take this data and share it with agencies like the US National Weather Service [#NWS], which releases forecasts for the region. Glenn-Borade says that, historically, these forecasts prioritized larger ships offshore rather than #IndigenousPeople living on the coast and hopes that using local observations will lead to better forecasts for Indigenous communities. 'That kind of foresight of what the conditions will be can really make a difference between life or death,' she said.

“Glenn-Borade also says this kind of #LocalObservation provides invaluable historical context about how the coast and the ice have changed over the years, what is within normal ranges, and what is unexpected.

“‘That’s what Indigenous knowledge is,' she said. 'It is constant tracking and understanding and monitoring what’s going on and being prepared to respond on the fly.'“

Read more:
https://www.vox.com/climate/358597/climate-extreme-heat-alaska-indigenous-solutions

#IndigenousSolutions #ClimateCrisis #ExtremeHeat #CitizenScientist

#JacobJohns Shot at #Onate Prayerful Protest Undergoing Surgery

By Carlos Martinez Censored News, September 29, 2023

"#Indigenous #ClimateActivist, artist, musician, and father Jacob Johns was shot in the chest this morning, Sept 28.2023, during a No Juan de Oñate statue peaceful protest in #Tewa territory (more commonly known as Española, New Mexico). Jacob put his body between women and children when the shooter charged towards the altar. He was air-lifted to a hospital in Albuquerque and had surgery.

"The shooter, who was wearing a red #MAGA hat, is in custody of tribal police. We ask everyone to please pray with us that he survives this surgery and that doctors have the strength and wisdom to help him.

"Jacob, who is Hopi and Akimel O'odham, has dedicated his life to Indigenous and #ClimateJustice. He is a skilled muralist and speaker, and specializes in non-violent, peaceful 'artivism'. He has a teenage daughter, Lily, she and his other family are currently flying from Washington State to Albuquerque New Mexico to be by his side.

"This inspirational man has put his life on the line over and over again to make a better world for his fellow humans, and now he and his family need your support to recover from this terrible hate crime. As you can imagine, being a climate activist is not lucrative work to readily afford major life- saving surgery. We are humbly requesting your donations to help cover his recovery, his medical bills, and to help support his family needs during what will likely be a very lengthy recovery period.

"This comes just two months before Jacob will be leading an #IndigenousWisdomKeepers Delegation at #COP28 to advocate for #IndigenousSolutions to #ClimateChange. Please pray with us for his recovery and donate if you can."

GoFundMe link:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jacob-johns-recover-from-terrorist-shooting

Source:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2023/09/jacob-johns-shot-at-onate-prayerful.html

#ClimateActivism #IndigenousNews #Activists

How America Can Prevent Devastating Wildfires

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gnplJ2MFIE&ab_channel=MorePerfectUnion

Firefighters told us that one of the best ways to fight fire is with more fire. We spoke to wildland firefighters on the front lines about how we must rethink the way that we control wildfires as the climate crisis intensifies.
#WildFires #ClimateChange #IndigenousSolutions #FireFighting #mitigation #ParadigmShift