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“A Return to and of the Land”: Indigenous Knowledge and Climate Change Initiatives across the Canadian Prairies

Authors: Cameron, Laura, Mauro, Ian, and Settee, Kevin

Source: Journal of Ethnobiology, 41(3) : 368-388

Published By: Society of Ethnobiology URL: https://doi.org/10.2993/0278-0771-41.3.368

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2021 41(3): 368–388

Journal of Ethnobiology

“A Return to and of the Land”: Indigenous Knowledge and Climate Change Initiatives across the Canadian Prairies

Laura Cameron1*, Ian Mauro1*, and Kevin Settee1

Abstract. While research on Indigenous knowledges on climate change is increasing, especially in the Arctic, few studies document Indigenous perspectives on climate change in the Canadian Prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba). This paper addresses this gap and follows an Indigenous community-based research approach using semi-structured interviews and participatory video to explore how Indigenous peoples in the Prairies are experiencing and responding to climate change. Ten video interviews were conducted with members of eight communities across the Indigenous territories of Treaties 1, 4, 6, 7, and 8. An integrated video editing and qualitative content analysis approach was conducted and eight short videos were produced. Results show that participants across diverse territories have experienced changes in their environments—attributed to the cumulative impacts of industrial development, climate change, and other influences of colonialism—which have significant impacts on cultural well-being. Communities are also pursuing solutions—such as land-based education, renewable energy, grassroots activism, cross-cultural dialogues, and ecological restoration— which serve to address these socio-ecological challenges. Across these solutions, six common themes emerged: Indigenous leadership; capacity and self-sufficiency; sustainable economic development; sharing Indigenous knowledge; connecting with the land; and bridging Indigenous knowledge and Western science. While it is increasingly recognized as critical to heed Indigenous voices on climate change, this paper makes a significant contribution to understanding the diversity and parallels in the ways in which Indigenous communities are being impacted by and responding to climate change in the Prairie provinces, as well as collaborative and creative methods for sharing these perspectives across cultures and geographies.

Keywords: climate change, Indigenous knowledge, Canada, renewable energy, participatory video

1 Prairie Climate Centre, University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Ave, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3B 2E9. * Corresponding authors ([email protected]) and ([email protected])

Introduction Despite centuries of oppression and

genocidal attacks, many Indigenous peo- ples have maintained their traditional knowl- edges and ancestral ways of being and are bringing them forward to address the envi- ronmental crises of today. There has been growing recognition of the unique and valu- able insight of Indigenous peoples and their Indigenous knowledges (IK) in the context of climate change in political and academic arenas over recent decades. Indigenous peoples and climate change scholars are increasingly collaborating on initiatives to engage IK on climate change, which have helped document climate impacts and identify opportunities for adaptation

and mitigation (e.g., Reid et al. 2014). In Canada, the majority of this research has taken place in the Arctic, where the impacts of climate change on northern communi- ties and landscapes have been the earliest and most severe (e.g., Cuerrier et al. 2015; Watt-Cloutier 2015). There are only a few studies that focus specifically on Indige- nous perspectives on climate change in the Prairie provinces, which have exam- ined vulnerability and adaptive capacity in the communities of Blood Tribe, James Smith, and Shoal Lake First Nations (Ermine and Pittman 2011; Magzul 2009; Pittman 2010a, 2010b), and additional informa- tion is documented in reports in the grey literature (e.g., Athabasca Chipewyan First

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pursuing renewable energy development (e.g., Krupa 2012; Krupa et al. 2015) and land-based activities and education initia- tives (e.g., Ballantyne 2014; Lowan 2007) as ways to mitigate environmental impacts and strengthen self-sufficiency and cultural connections to land.

This research seeks to address the geographical gap in the literature of IK on climate change in three Prairie provinces in central Canada, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, which includes the Prairie, Boreal Plains, and Boreal Shield ecozones. Our specific objectives are to explore some of the ways in which Indigenous communities in the Prairies are experi- encing, understanding, and responding to climate change and to reflect on how participatory video methods can be used to help share communities’ stories. We find that communities are already experi- encing environmental changes, driven by a combination of climate change and other drivers of change and, at the same time, are undertaking a range of actions to build adaptive capacity and self-determination. The research team engaged and collab- orated with participants from various Indigenous Nations, adopting an approach that combined Indigenous research with community-based and visual methodolo- gies designed to honor and extend the reach of community voices and knowledge across the Canadian Prairie provinces.

Methods Considering the context and methods

of knowledge exchange is fundamental to documenting and engaging with Indige- nous knowledges and solutions to climate change. IK is embedded within a world- view that is epistemologically different from Western scientific knowledge; while the latter aims to be universal, detached, and transferable, IK can be understood as a dynamic, place-based process that contains material dimensions, as well as foundational spiritual dimensions (Battiste

Nation 2012; Centre for Indigenous Envi- ronmental Resources 2009; Ermine and Pittman 2011). While this literature focuses on climate change impacts and adaptations for Indigenous communities, limited atten- tion is given to Indigenous-led solutions to the climate crisis. This geographic gap in the literature on IK and climate change is significant considering the Prairies are expected to be severely climate-affected in the coming decades (Sauchyn et al. 2020).

Documenting and understanding Indig- enous knowledge and solutions is critical, not only in helping Western society address climate change but, more importantly, in strengthening the self-determination of Indigenous communities in addressing the associated challenges this issue brings their lands and livelihoods (Whyte 2017). The systems of colonialism and capitalism underpinning climate change created the foundation upon which modern industri- alized and militarized society was built in Canada, predicated on carbon-intensive economics fueled by Indigenous lands and resources (Alfred 2009; Tsosie 2007; Whyte 2017). As Whyte (2017) outlines, colonial-induced climate change is noth- ing new to Indigenous peoples; rather, it is a continuation and intensification of centuries of destruction of the ecolog- ical conditions central to Indigenous peoples’ cultures, health, economies, and political self-determination. Indigenous communities are often burdened with the direct impacts of fossil fuel and resource extraction, as well as the disproportion- ate impacts of climate change (Savo et al. 2016; Wolverton et al. 2014). Yet, many of these communities are asserting control over development in their territories and paving the way for alternatives (LaDuke 2015; Lowan-Trudeau 2017a). Indigenous communities, guided by their traditional teachings of intergenerational equity and respect, are “building an economics for the seventh generation” (LaDuke 2015). Indeed, Indigenous communities across Canada are

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and Henderson 2000; Berkes 2009). These fundamental differences in ways of know- ing present important considerations to the documentation and sharing of IK in the context of research, including: the complex social, cultural, legal, risk-benefit, and gover- nance contexts of knowledge exchange; the traditionally oral nature of many Indigenous societies; the accessibility of the knowl- edge; and issues of power and voice in research with marginalized communities (Martello 2008; Mistry and Berardi 2016; Williams and Hardison 2013). In response to these considerations, alternative meth- ods have grown increasingly popular for documenting IK of environmental change, such as through participatory mapping (e.g., Gill et al. 2014), oral history projects (e.g., Igloolik Oral History Project), and partici- patory and documentary video (Kunuk and Mauro 2010). It has been suggested that such audio and visual methods better align with oral traditions of Indigenous societies and may be an effective tool for bridging cross-cultural understandings (Aporta and MacDonald 2011; Halseth et al. 2016). Addressing criticisms with representation of Indigenous communities in conventional research, methods such as participatory video enable communities to play an important role in representing themselves and deciding which images are produced and included (Evans and Foster 2009; Magallanes-Blanco 2015; Mitchell 2011). Furthermore, the integration of interviews and visual information merges verbal and non-verbal data, which is otherwise lost in transcriptions or written text (Crichton and Childs 2005). In light of this, a collaborative approach to interviewing and filmmaking which centers principles of participatory and action-oriented research was used in this study to document IK on climate change across the Prairies.

Study Site According to the most recent Canadian

Census (Statistics Canada 2016), there are

approximately 656,965 Indigenous peoples living in the Prairie provinces of Canada— Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba—out of a total population of 6.3 million people. Indigenous peoples have inhabited this region for over ten thousand years, encom- passing parts of what have been classified as the Plains, Eastern Woodlands, and Subarctic Indigenous cultural areas (Parrot 2020). The region is home to many differ- ent Indigenous groups, including the Blackfoot, Cree, Ojibwe (Anishinaabe), Assiniboine, Nakota, Dakota, Dené, and Métis Nation (Parrot 2020), though these geographies do not necessarily reflect their ancestral territories nor the limits of their current distributions, due to recurring forced displacement under colonization. Since early settlement, colonial policies have been created and enforced across the Canadian Prairies to suppress Indigenous traditional practices and religious ceremo- nies, resulting in cultural transformation and assimilation (Pettipas 1994). With the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1880s, there was widespread agricul- tural settlement and land conversion in the Prairies. At the same time, policies, such as those contained in the Indian Act of 1876, were imposed to “protect” and “civilize” Indigenous peoples, assimilating them into Euro-American society under the notion that it was for their own benefit (Newcomb 2008; Pettipas 1994). Indigenous commu- nities across the region and country were forcibly displaced from their lands and relo- cated to reserves. Many Nations entered into negotiations with the Crown and signed the numbered Treaties, which continue to serve as the foundation for relationships between Nations and the Government of Canada and remain “an integral part of the fabric of our Constitution” (Craft 2014:21).

After obtaining ethics approval from the University of Winnipeg Human Ethics Research Board, ten in-depth semi-struc- tured interviews were conducted with members of seven communities in Nations

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across the Prairies in the territories of Trea- ties 1, 4, 6, 7, and 8 in July 2017 (Figure 1; Table 1). The research team—comprised of Indigenous and settler-descendant academ- ics and filmmakers—identified participants through existing relationships and snowball sampling, with the main criteria being that participants were community members that were working on climate-related initia- tives and were interested in collaborating. This was not an exhaustive or representa- tive sample of Indigenous communities in the Prairies, but rather an exploratory study to illuminate some of the experiences of peoples on the frontlines of climate change and associated Indigenous-led solutions in the region. All participants consented to being publicly identified.

Interview guides all related to the research questions but were tailored to each participant depending on their specific project, work or community position, and/ or experience related to climate change

and solutions. In addition, the interview methods were adapted with consideration of place, recognizing how place shapes the knowledge produced. Each participant was asked 10–15 interview questions, as well as additional questions that arose through conversation. Examples of the questions asked include: what are your thoughts on climate change and how it is affecting Indigenous communities in your region; have you observed or experienced any impacts of climate change; what do you think is the role of Indigenous knowledge in addressing climate change in the Prairies; what motivated your community to pursue this initiative on climate change; and what do you envision for the future or what gives you hope? In advance of some interviews, tobacco was passed to knowledge hold- ers and/or a ceremony was conducted in recognition of the traditional protocol around knowledge sharing in their respec- tive Nations.

Figure 1. Map of the Treaty territories in the Canadian Prairies with the interview locations: (A) Lubicon Lake Band, (B) Edmonton, (C) Montana First Nation, (D) Lethbridge, (E) Northern Village of Green Lake, (F) Cowessess First Nation land, (G) Sagkeeng First Nation (source of base map: www.native-land.ca).

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Analysis Interviews were video recorded and

edited into short films using a partici- patory video (PV) approach, modified based on the “community-collaborative approach” developed by Elder (1995). The approach was guided by several princi- ples: (1) community control of the project

direction and outcomes; (2) community self-determination through community control over representation and empow- erment; and (3) community ownership of footage and video(s) produced (Elder 1995; Gubrium and Harper 2013). Interviews were transcribed in full and content analysis was conducted to identify themes and key

Table 1. Participants’ interview location, home community, Nation, province, and role in the context of this research. Interview locations correspond to the study area map (Figure 1).

Participant name Interview location

Home community (if different) Nation Prov Role/position

Melina Laboucan- Massimo

A Lubicon Lake Band Cree AB Community member, former Indigenous Knowledge and Climate Change fellow with the David Suzuki Foundation

Billy-Joe Laboucan A Lubicon Lake Band Cree AB Chief of Lubicon Lake Band

Leonard Cardinal A Lubicon Lake Band Calling Lake Woodland Cree

AB Knowledge Keeper, Founder of Thunderbird Inc. Traditional Land- based Teachings

Eriel Tchekwie Deranger

B Edmonton Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation

Dënesųłiné AB Executive Director of Indigenous Climate Action

Vickie Wetchie C Montana First Nation

Shoshone- Bannock/Cree

AB General Manager, Green Arrow Corporation Akamihk, & Economic Development Manager for Montana First Nation

Leroy Little Bear D Lethbridge Blood Reserve (Kainai First Nation)

Blackfoot AB Scholar and Professor at the University of Lethbridge, member of the Indigenous Wisdom Advisory Panel for the Government of Alberta

Ric Richardson E Northern Village of Green Lake

Métis SK Mayor of the Northern Village of Green Lake

Cadmus Delorme F Cowessess Wind Site

Cowessess First Nation

Cree/Saulteaux SK Chief of Cowessess First Nation

Lionel (Rook) Sparvier

F Cowessess Wind Site

Cowessess First Nation

Cree/Saulteaux SK Former Councilor and Director of Economic Development for Cowessess First Nation

Dave Courchene G Sagkeeng First Nation

Anishinaabe SK Knowledge Keeper, founder of Turtle Lodge

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ideas within each interview (Patton 2002) through an integrated process of video edit- ing and transcript analysis. Video interviews were watched first and themes were iden- tified and organized through the keyword function in video editing software Final Cut Pro X. Memos and notes on themes and ideas were also created during the process. This produced a primary list of themes for each interview, at which point the research- ers reviewed the transcripts twice to confirm and add to each list. Once the main ideas were identified for each interview, ideas and themes were compared across interviews to illuminate similarities, differences, and other patterns. The researchers did not develop a single coding scheme to analyze all inter- views due to the different Nations’ cultures and knowledge systems of participants. Draft videos were created from the main themes of the interview(s), refined through an iterative process of participant feedback, to ensure that the videos produced were representative, which further affirmed the process and associated results. The partic- ipants had final approval and ownership of the videos, as well as control over their dissemination, in accordance with OCAP principles1. The research was conducted in conjunction with the Prairie Climate Center (PCC) and their Climate Atlas of Canada2, a larger project aiming to capture diverse voices and stories on climate change across the country. All participants agreed to have their final videos shared on the Climate Atlas website. We share the videos and written results of the content analysis in the following section.

Results

Climate Impacts: Threats to Culture and Livelihoods

When asked whether they noticed changes in their environments, all partici- pants reported change, with most reflecting upon the differences between today and their experiences growing up on the land.

Participants discussed the impacts and drivers of various environmental changes, including, but not limited to, climate change. As Knowledge Keeper Leonard Cardinal described, “There’s been a lot of changes to the environment since I was a young child. Being raised on the land, we lived close to nature and it provided our food, medicine, and source of livelihood through trapping and fishing. When I was growing up, we drank water from anywhere and the water was crystal clear and safe to drink, and that’s not the case today.” Vickie Wetchie noted that “climate change is here. I can feel it, I can sense it, I can see it….” Almost all participants described changes in the weather, such as warmer tempera- tures and more “erratic” weather, while several participants in Alberta emphasized increasing winds. Other changes in the environment and landscape noted include lower air quality from industrial pollu- tion, increased earthquakes from fracking, and contamination from oil spills. Another common theme was changes in animal and plant species: changes in migratory patterns of caribou, bison, moose, and birds; decline in moose, rabbit, and fish populations; new/ invasive species and their impacts on native plants and animals; increase in algae in lakes; and contamination in animals (e.g., fish, moose) and plants (e.g., berries, medi- cines). Several people commented on the decrease in abundance and reliability of culturally significant plant species, such as medicinal plants, berries, and sweetgrass, disrupting cultural practices and traditional knowledge pertaining to those species.

One of the most common environ- mental concerns across communities was not having safe drinking water. Melina Laboucan-Massimo remarked, for exam- ple, “we can’t drink the water anymore” and Chief Cadmus Delorme explained “one of the biggest challenges when it comes to climate change… is water.” Elder Dr. Dave Courchene talked about the changes his community has witnessed in the waters of

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Lake Winnipeg which they have depended on. “All the waters from the east, the west, and the south empty into Lake Winnipeg, so we get all the waste, the chemicals that are used on the farms; all of that eventually ends up into our waters.” Other impacts discussed relating to changes in water included: decreased precipitation, lower water levels in lakes and rivers, increased water temperatures in lakes, and overall drought causing dryness of the land. Partic- ipants articulated various interconnected drivers of these impacts on water, including the oil and gas industry, intensive agricul- tural activity, and climate change.

Participants also described the immense impacts and risks climate change and other environmental changes pose to their identi- ties. Articulating an understanding common among many First Nations in Canada, Melina Laboucan-Massimo said, “we are the land and the land is us, there is no sepa- ration.” Eriel Tchekwie Deranger similarly stated, “we are of the land. Dënesųłiné means ‘of the land,’ Denendeh is ‘people of the land.’ These are who we are, and you can’t separate it.” For instance, Deranger explained that land use planning that looks at the land as something separate from people always overlooks the Indigenous peoples’ cultures and identities that are inti- mately connected to the land. In this light, participants made clear that the impacts of climate change and colonial influences on the land are not confined to the realm of the environment but are deeply human. For example, Dr. Leroy Little Bear described how removal of the buffalo from his ances- tral territory has made him “a whole lot less Blackfoot.”

Many people discussed the linked impacts of industrial development in their territories, such as tar sands and other oil and gas development (extraction, through open-pit mining and fracking, as well as transportation), logging, industrial agricul- ture, and mineral mining. For example, Chief Delorme discussed the contamina- tion of water sources through fossil fuel

extraction; Eriel Tchekwie Deranger talked about the impacts of uranium mining on her family’s traditional trapline in north- ern Saskatchewan; Chief Laboucan talked about the impacts of logging on moose and other wildlife habitat; and Melina Laboucan-Massimo talked about the health effects of tar sands industry on her commu- nity.

Some participants expressed concern that because of these changes, future gener- ations will not have the same opportunities and experiences out on the land as they had growing up. As Vickie Wetchie described, “there is a lot of things that have changed, and a lot of experiences that I had as a kid that our grandkids are probably not going to have.” Eriel Tchekwie Deranger shared a similar sentiment: “There’s a huge risk that the amount of damage that is happening, and climate [change] that’s happening, is going to disconnect this new generation from being able to experience the things that I experienced as a child: hauling water to drink every day, building a fire in the morning, going out and checking the fish nets.”

In general, there was an understanding shared by many participants that climate and environmental changes are interact- ing with and compounding other threats to their cultures, identities, livelihoods, and security, particularly the legacies and ongo- ing impacts of colonialism. Communities are concerned not only with environmental integrity, but with their economic security, cultural survival, health, and safety.

Underlying Problems: Disrespect and Disconnection from Mother Earth

Dr. Leroy Little Bear explained that understanding climate change from his Indigenous perspective begins with an understanding of the paradigm that “every- thing is animate… everything has a spirit.” Participants contrasted their worldviews and embodied connections with the land to that of a Western Eurocentric worldview, derived from monotheistic Christian tradi-

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tions, which views the land as inanimate and humans as separate from, and supe- rior to, nature (see also Little Bear 2000). Some participants shared beliefs that these Western ideologies and separation are at the root of the ecological imbalance that humanity faces today, treating lands and resources as commodities without consid- ering the costs to the environment and social impacts to Indigenous peoples. Elder Dr. Dave Courchene described the root of climate change as disrespect, for the earth and for each other, saying human beings have “become obsessed in our minds with power, and having these values of greed that are destroying us.” Eriel Tchekwie Deranger linked this mindset of human control over the environment to patriarchy. “Climate change is an imbalance, and I think patriar- chy is part of that…. Man’s domination over nature is sort of the foundations of capital- ism… and I think a lot of that has happened because of the imbalance of the powers between men and women.”

The ways in which Western ideologies have been perpetuated through historic and ongoing instruments of colonialism—such as residential schools and public education systems, the reserve system, and government legislation—were also discussed by many participants. As Melina Laboucan-Massimo described, “The reserve system and the Indian Act have really separated people into these little confined spaces… [and] have really severed our connection in that way to our cultures and traditions….” Chief Laboucan, Eriel Tchekwie Deranger, Elder Dr. Dave Courchene, and others discussed how the tools of colonization that aim to disconnect Indigenous people from their cultures and lands are directly linked to the environmental and climate changes they are witnessing. For example, Chief Labou- can described how colonial government legislation has been designed to appropri- ate Indigenous resources and accommodate industry based on dispossession of land and culture. “With a lot of the different laws, like the Natural Resources Transfer Act

[of] 1930, they just more or less took over our lands and resources.” Some commu- nity members noted and applauded recent changes in state government legislation and efforts to support community-based solu- tions, such as renewable energy projects.

Community-Based Solutions: Reconnecting and Relating

I think that real climate solutions are not caught up in maintaining the status quo of capitalism, of colonialism… that real climate solutions are rooted in a return to the land, a return to and of the land, and are rooted in decolonization. (Eriel Tchekwie Deranger)

While some community members discussed climate solutions based on mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and shifting energy systems, others discussed more holistic solutions to the broader, underlying problems based on recon- necting with the land and rebuilding relationships between Indigenous commu- nities and among all of humanity. Some participants explained that taking action to reconnect explicitly aims to repair and heal the disruptions and disconnections caused by colonialism. Solutions were described as acts of resurgence, re-empowerment, revitalization, reconnection, and decoloni- zation. Across participants, it was clear that people were bringing forward solutions not only to address climate change, but to work to better the broader social and environmen- tal circumstances for their communities. In discussions of solutions, community members drew on their experiences in five areas of action: (1) land-based and cultural education; (2) community-owned renew- able energy projects; (3) grassroots action and activism; (4) cross-cultural dialogues; and (5) ecological restoration initiatives. Case studies and results for each area are discussed in the sections below, summa- rized in Table 2, followed by a discussion of themes across participants.

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Case Studies

Land-Based and Cultural Education The research team was invited to partic-

ipate in and learn about Lubicon Lake Band’s land-based Culture Camp. Chief Billy-Joe Laboucan, community member Melina Laboucan-Massimo, and Knowledge Keeper Leonard Cardinal explained that the camp was about reconnecting to the land and to their identity through teaching traditional skills, activities, and protocols (e.g., drying and smoking meat and fish; beading and dress making; drumming and drum-making; canoeing; storytelling; and conducting and participating in sweat lodge ceremonies). It was also about teaching leadership, trans- ferring knowledge from Elders to youth, regaining control over their education, helping youth identify their gifts and confi- dence, and creating a positive healing space for the community. Cardinal explained how the traditional practices shared at the camp help youth and families navigate through all aspects of their lives and give them a sense of belonging, strengthening their success in future pursuits. It was the fourth year of the camp and was a memorial camp for Bella Laboucan-McLean, a community member who passed away in 2013. Melina described the significance of the camp to her:

This type of Culture Camp and being out on the land is a type of resurgence. It’s a type of re-empowerment and recon- nection to who we are as Indigenous people.... Because the colonial imposi- tion and the colonial laws have really severed our connection in that way to our cultures and traditions, because they haven’t been passed down. That’s why it’s so important to have Culture Camps like this.

Community-Owned Renewable Energy Projects

Participants from several Nations (Mon- tana First Nation, Lubicon Lake Band, North- ern Village of Green Lake, and Cowessess

First Nation) spoke about their community’s initiatives in community-owned renew- able energy development. Each participant expressed an understanding that renewable energy development aligns with Indigenous philosophies, principles, values, and respon- sibilities. As Mayor Ric Richardson explained, “Our people, the Métis and the First Nations, have used the opportunities presented by nature for time immemorial…. So, it wasn’t a stretch at all when we started talking about renewable energy to the community.” Discussing their community-owned and operated solar energy company in Montana First Nation, Green Arrow Corporation, General Manager Vickie Wetchie described the process as “going back to renewables, going back to low impacts. And thinking that way, ‘scientifically,’ but not really, because that’s just how we were already. It aligns with our values, it aligns with things that we already believe in, and protocols and tradi- tions, they match.”

There were several other motivations and benefits of the projects discussed by community members. These include providing local training and employment for community members in sustainable indus- tries; contributing to energy sovereignty and lowering reliance on the grid; lowering dependence on boom-and-bust economies and industries; providing a more reliable energy source for remote communities; providing a demonstration of alternatives, serving to inspire community members and others; economic profit and/or savings for the community from energy production; providing an avenue for communities to participate in the economy; instilling pride in their community; and lessening their impact on the land and water. The impor- tance of partnerships—with governments, research institutes, business consultants, non-profits, and other organizations—was emphasized across communities as well. At the same time, there were different comments about the role and support of government, with some applauding govern-

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Table 2. Summary of Indigenous climate solution areas, case studies, and videos produced through the research process.

Indigenous solutions Case study Video still and link

Land-based and cultural education

Lubicon Lake Culture Camp

https://climateatlas.ca/video/lubicon-cree-culture-camp

Community-owned renewable energy projects

Montana First Nation’s community-owned solar company

https://climateatlas.ca/video/montana-first-nation

Lubicon Lake Band’s Piitipan solar project

https://climateatlas.ca/video/renewables-heart-tar-sands

Community solar in the Métis village of Green Lake

https://climateatlas.ca/video/first-metis-community-owned- solar-project-canada

Cowessess First Nation’s wind battery project

https://climateatlas.ca/video/wind-power-prairies

Grassroots action and activism

Indigenous Climate Action

https://climateatlas.ca/video/indigenous-climate-action

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ment support for community renewable energy projects and others expressing a desire for better government policies to support decentralized energy systems. For example, Ric Richardson expressed a desire for the Crown corporation SaskPower to raise their limitations on the amount of power that community grid-tied energy systems can sell into the grid. Reported challenges in the projects varied across communities, including securing the capi- tal for the initial infrastructure investment; issues of land jurisdiction; limitations of power purchasing agreements; securing buy-in from Band councils and community members; and delayed timelines. Nonethe- less, all four communities reported positive experiences with their renewable projects and are each undertaking or are interested in pursuing more renewable energy devel- opment in the future.

Grassroots Action and Activism Eriel Tchekwie Deranger spoke

more broadly about the importance of community-led and grassroots action for decolonial climate solutions. Changes in discourse and policy do not happen auto- matically; they are the result of people

standing up for their rights and making their voices heard, Deranger said. One example of an Indigenous grassroots organization is Indigenous Climate Action—a network of Indigenous people across Canada to create and share resources on climate change rooted in Indigenous perspectives and tradi- tional knowledge, which Deranger helped create. She explained why this type of action is particularly important for Indige- nous Peoples:

Grassroots activism here on the local level is going to be super critical because, we have to stand up against the injus- tices that we see on the land. Because as Indigenous people, the injustices that we see for our people are injustices against the land, because it’s one and the same.... So, I think that grassroots resistance, struggles—whether that’s intervening, protesting, challenging, petitioning, letter writing, hosting cere- mony and having ceremony, continuing language revitalization, land-based lear- ning, community-based monitoring, sovereignty over their lands and terri- tory… are things that we have to maintain in order to have that connection to the

Table 2. (Continued).

Indigenous solutions Case study Video still and link

Cross-cultural dialogues

Turtle Lodge’s Onjisay Aki Initiative

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqPKCQCcjiU

Ecological restoration initiatives

Blackfoot Buffalo Restoration

https://climateatlas.ca/video/bringing-back-buffalo

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land. And when we are doing language preservation and cultural preservation, it becomes just as critical as putting up solar panels and changing our energy efficiency. Because it’s reconnecting and maintaining those connections to land that become so critical.

Cross-Cultural Dialogues Anishinaabe Elder Dr. Dave Courch-

ene, from Sagkeeng First Nation, spoke about his vision to convene the Onjisay Aki International Climate Summit, which brought together Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, scientists, and other climate leaders in a cross-cultural dialogue on Indigenous-led climate solutions in June 2017 (see also Cameron et al. 2021). Elder Dr. Courchene shared his understanding that prophecy foretold of the current time of onjisay aki (“our changing earth” in the Anishinaabe language), in which Indige- nous peoples of Turtle Island would once again be recognized as leaders and bring forward knowledge to help all of humanity reconcile our relationships with the earth. For Elder Dr. Courchene, the Summit was about bringing together the diversity of the human family to share a way of life of Indigenous peoples—particularly their relationships with the spirit and with the land—which could provide a foundation for collaborative relationships and actions to address the environmental challenges at hand. As Elder Dr. Courchene described, “The prophecy had foretold that with all the new people that would come upon our homeland, they must be invited to participate in those conversations, because everybody has something to contribute… to lead us to a greater understanding of how to meet these challenges we face.”

Ecological Restoration Initiatives Renowned Blackfoot scholar Dr.

Leroy Little Bear, from the University of Lethbridge, explained the importance of initiatives for buffalo restoration with which

he is involved. He described the deep cultural, spiritual, and sustenance relation- ships that the Blackfoot people have with the buffalo: “The Buffalo embodied us and we embodied the Buffalo. And when it was gone, we still have the beliefs, but I’m a whole lot less Blackfoot because the Buffalo is not [there] on a daily basis.” Buffalo resto- ration is not only important for Blackfoot culture and identity, but also for address- ing the imbalance in the environment that climate change represents, as Dr. Little Bear described:

The Buffalo is the best environmental- ist you can have. In fact, wherever the Buffalo is, birds that you’ve never seen before all come back. Plants that you don’t see any more end up coming back and so on. The Buffalo is… a keystone species with regard to environmental issues. It’s not just about trying to bring that Buffalo back just to see it out there. It also brings about environmental changes and brings about that ecolog- ical balance.

Themes Across Case Studies and Solutions Across participants and case studies, six

broad and interconnected themes emerged in discussions of solutions: Indigenous leadership; building capacity and self- sufficiency; generating sustainable economic development; connecting with and sharing Indigenous knowledge; connecting with and learning from the land; and building rela- tionships and bridging Indigenous know- ledge and Western science. Key ideas within these themes are discussed in Table 3. Overall, there was a sense that Indigenous-led solutions—through restoring their traditions and knowledge and work- ing towards self-sufficiency as communities and Nations—must involve a shift away from ideologies of separation, superiority, and competition and towards relationship, connection, and self-sufficiency.

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Discussion

Climate Change Challenges and Opportunities

Perspectives from Indigenous commu- nities across the Prairies reflect diverse experiences, understandings, and responses

to climate change and associated environ- mental changes. In many cases, participants shared understandings of climate change in relation to broader environmental and soci- etal issues and, in some cases, as directly connected to colonialism. This holistic view of environmental change includes many of

Table 3. Common themes and key ideas across climate solutions discussed by participants.

Theme Key ideas

Indigenous leadership • Indigenous peoples’ knowledges, worldviews, and ancestral connections to their homelands are key to climate solutions

• Prophecy foretold of Indigenous leadership and unity in this time to address climate change

• Barriers or challenges to recognition of Indigenous leadership exist, such as the gap in accessible information, tools, and resources on climate science and policy available to Indigenous communities, and the positivistic western framing of climate change in the mainstream discourse

Building capacity and self-sufficiency

• Building capacity, increasing self-sufficiency, and decreasing dependencies of communities are priorities

• Land-based education can increase independence and self-sufficiency to survive off the land

• Sovereignty is gained through community-based energy projects, by creating local training and employment and decreasing reliance on public utilities

Sustainable economic development

• Renewable energy projects generate assets for the community, allowing them to generate profits and savings

• These projects also create local sustainable and self-sufficient employment opportunities

Connecting to the land • Reconnecting and strengthening ancestral relationships with the land is a central part of solutions to climate change

• The land is a critical source of knowledge

• Connection to land and spirit has sustained people for generations and will be key for future survival

Connecting with and sharing IK

• Efforts are being made to reconnect with Indigenous knowledges and languages, transferring these knowledges to younger generations

• Connecting to IK can not only benefit climate solutions, but ensure Indigenous cultures and identities are upheld

• There must be more community control over education systems, and reform of these systems to better reflect Indigenous ways of knowing

Bridging IK and Western science

• There is a role of Western science and technology in addressing climate change, and thus a need to build relationships and partnerships to bring together IK and Western science

• People must move beyond the either/or mentality, and think about a marriage of the two knowledge systems

• IK must be recognized as equal in order for these partnerships to be respectful and successful

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economic processes and contexts that surround Indigenous peoples, their life- ways, and knowledges. It is no longer—and never was—appropriate to simply view IK as a data point to confirm Western perspec- tives regarding climate change.

While participants discussed commu- nities’ vulnerabilities to the impacts of dis- placement, extraction, and environmental change, they also highlighted communities’ perseverance in pursuing action. As Wildcat (2009:3) notes, for Indigenous peoples who have survived the continued removals and dispossession of their lands, languages, and identities, there is trauma but also “tena- cious resilience.” While not exhaustive, this exploration into Indigenous-led solutions in the Prairies is significant, given that the majority of the literature on Indigenous perspectives on climate change in Canada focuses on observed change, vulnerabil- ity, and adaptive capacity (e.g., Ermine and Pittman 2011; Furgal and Seguin 2006; Pittman 2010b). There was variation in the motivations and priorities of each participant and community—from environ- mental protection and climate mitigation to economic development and employment to sovereignty and control over resources to education and relationships—and, at the same time, across projects, it was clear that most people envisioned solutions through a holistic lens that drew on their cultural values and ancestral experiences to work for both human and ecological benefits. A systematic review of Canadian literature regarding Indigenous peoples’ involvement in renewable energy similarly found that communities had a range of motivations for pursuing these projects, such as increasing energy autonomy and reliability and creat- ing sustainable economic development (Stefanelli et al. 2018).

While there exists literature in some of the areas of action discussed by par- ticipants—such as Indigenous community- based renewables (Henderson 2013; Krupa 2012; Lowan-Trudeau 2017a), cultural revi-

the indirect and direct drivers outlined in a summary of the recent Intergovernmen- tal Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Global Assessment framework (Diaz et al. 2019). These include indirect drivers—such as resource-intensive economies, industry and technologies, institutions, and broader cultural values and worldviews—that underpin the direct driv- ers discussed, including climate change, land use change and exploitation, and pollution. The results illuminate many of the connections and complexities between different drivers of change, contextualizing climate change among other factors shap- ing communities’ experiences today and over centuries of colonization.

While the majority of participants drew connections between climate change and other drivers of environmental change and colonialism, the colonial context and extractive dimensions of climate change are often overlooked in the literature and media discourse on climate change (Belfer et al. 2017; Cameron 2012; Ford et al. 2016). Many Indigenous and allied scholars are working to draw these connec- tions and bring colonial dimensions into the climate discourse. Whyte (2017) and Wildcat (2009) argue that distancing and displacement of Indigenous peoples due to climate change today is just a new form of removal due to colonial government actions, following the geographic removal from their homelands through settlement, social removal of children through residen- tial schools, and ongoing psycho-cultural removal through colonial institutions. The understanding shared by many, but not all, participants of colonialism as both a driver of climate change and a major influence on Indigenous communities’ vulnerabilities and adaptive capacities begs further explo- ration of these connections and attention to colonial contexts in climate research. Based on these findings, it is recommended that climate change research and policy consider the broader social, political, and

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Moving Stories: Video Methods in Indigenous Climate Research

Through the process of documenting and connecting Indigenous knowledges and responses to climate change in the Prai- ries, the research methods employed here enable a reflection on the opportunities and limitations of using visual methods in this context. The short videos created to support participants and communities in sharing their stories with wider audiences ensure that they are centered as the storytellers. This ensures that community knowledge is embedded within the identity, context, and actual words of the person sharing. The videos also represent research prod- ucts that are accessible to communities and which they own, control, and can and have used for their own purposes—whether that be in grant applications to pursue funding for further initiatives, to share in presenta- tions about their work, or otherwise. Some of these videos have also been screened at gatherings, conferences, and film festivals across the country. The accessibility and mobilization of this knowledge through the videos made is further enhanced through sharing them in the Prairie Climate Centre’s Climate Atlas of Canada website2, allow- ing the local, specific, individual narratives of each video to be connected across communities and geographies and enabling broader narratives to emerge that can inform research and learnings at a larger scale. This mirrors both the place-based nature and the commonalities of Indigenous para- digms (Little Bear 2009). Sharing the videos through the Climate Atlas extends the participatory nature of the research to the audience, allowing users to move between the individual and collective narratives and draw their own insights and conclusions. Indeed, this participatory approach allowed participants to steer the process and have videos reflect their specific knowledges, interests, priorities, and advocacy regarding climate solutions that they believed were important and meaningful.

talization and land-based education (Lowan 2007, 2009; Wildcat et al. 2014), and grass- roots action and activism (Lowan-Trudeau 2017b; Perkins 2017)—this research pres- ents a unique opportunity to look at the ways in which each of these actions can be under- stood as contributing to a holistic response to climate change. With critical attention paid to not co-opt Indigenous narratives and pursuits in the name of sustainability (Jaffar 2015), drawing connections between these initiatives can show how addressing an issue as monumental as climate change can provide opportunities for simultaneously better understanding and further support- ing Indigenous initiatives and processes of self-determination (e.g., Cameron et al. 2019). In this sense, these results contribute to the fields of sustainable self-determination and decolonizing studies, as well as Indige- nous climate change studies, underscoring the importance of connecting these fields in research on Indigenous perspectives on climate change in Canada.

On the whole, the solutions show that Indigenous communities are taking actions in diverse ways—in some cases working to shift away from Western ideologies and reconnect with their ancestral knowledges, skills, cultures, languages, and lands, while, in other cases, embracing Western knowl- edges and technologies, such as wind and solar, when they align with their Indigenous values and benefit their communities. These different pathways for climate action may be considered to share principles with the multiple pathways to Indigenous freedoms advocated by Anishinaabe scholar John Borrows (2016). By both engaging West- ern technologies and systems and moving outside and beyond them, communities are responding to Borrows’ (2016:33) call to challenge colonial constructions of Indige- nous societies as “past-tense peoples” and pursue a plurality of approaches to freedom in relation to Western systems.

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Foster (2009) discuss the balance between the participatory nature of the process on the one hand and the quality and appeal of the video product enhanced by technical expertise of the researchers on the other, arguing that more attention should be paid to audience/viewer engagement. Johans- son (2006) also suggests that the question of who is operating the camera equipment in participatory video is less important than whose perspectives are being shared. While this approach of creating short, high impact videos may reach a larger audience online, it does play a role in shaping the knowl- edge and message shared to an extent. The researchers sought to find a balance between participation and guidance from the communities and quality and reach of the videos produced, though the success of this aim can only be determined by the participants. Future research would benefit from building in a measurement of partici- pant feedback and perceptions at the end of the project.

Reflections on the Research Process: Scale and Language

It is worth noting two other areas of opportunities and limitations in the research process, namely scale and language. While the majority of studies in the literature document IK at the community level, look- ing at this knowledge across communities and wider geographic areas could provide a better understanding of the common aspects across Indigenous knowledge systems in relation to climate change, facilitate knowledge sharing between communities, and address power imbalances embedded in the localized framing of IK. While the current research included a limited number of participants—and is in no way represen- tative of all Indigenous communities across the Prairies—the results show that there are important commonalities in understand- ings, experiences, and responses in the face of climate change across Nations that are revealed through storytelling and knowl-

While the collaborative visual methods used herein aim to innovate and address some of the criticisms with conventional research processes, they are not without their own considerations and limitations. Videos were shaped collaboratively through conversations with communities and feedback on video drafts; however, the researchers still maintained a signif- icant amount of power and control over the narrative, particularly through the edit- ing process, as has been documented in the literature (Bali and Kofinas 2014; Ball and Janyst 2008; Evans and Foster 2009). Through the editing process, researchers “make aesthetic, technical, contextual and structural choices which we feel make the film accessible to Western [audiences]” and risk deconstructing and reconstructing another’s knowledge (Elder 1995:94). These considerations were addressed, in part, in this project by sending full transcripts and videos to participants ahead of sending the first video draft to ensure that there were no critical parts of their message omitted or misrepresented in the edited cut, and then seeking input and feedback on the video drafts. Nonetheless, editing involved the researchers choosing points that were considered most powerful, salient, and relevant to the research questions, which is inherently a power-laden process (Gubrium and Harper 2013) and deserves particular scrutiny given the colonial history associ- ated with academic research. Further power imbalances inherent in filmmaking existed in terms of access to resources, equipment, and technical expertise that the researchers were afforded through their positions within the Western institution of the university.

An additional consideration in the video process includes the quality and length of the videos produced. In this research, videos were intentionally limited to approx- imately three to five minutes to suit modern patterns of online media consumption, with the ability to reach a wider audience with shorter, more concise messages. Evans and

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contribution in this area, showing that communities in this region are both expe- riencing and responding to climate change in critical ways. The participants and initia- tives documented here are only a few examples of the many actions being led by Indigenous communities across the Prairies, and more research is needed that respectfully engages Indigenous peoples and their knowledges on climate change to both help inform holistic approaches to climate change, as well as further Indige- nous pathways to self-determination in this region. In particular, the current research supports the further use of participatory video methods in knowledge mobilization and research across geographic scales, maintaining individual voices, stories, and knowledges while allowing broader narra- tives to emerge. To ensure mutual benefits, researchers and academic institutions, funding bodies, and policy-makers must broaden their understandings of climate change and seek to better appreciate how it intersects with and influences Indigenous cultures, identities, and knowledge systems. In the process, the colonial origins and contexts of climate change must continu- ously be foregrounded, and efforts made to subvert conventional power dynamics through decolonial research, policy, and real-world solutions.

Notes 1 www.fnigc.ca/ocap 2 www.climateatlas.ca

Acknowledgments The authors extend their deepest grat-

itude to all of the knowledge keepers and community leaders who shared their time and knowledge to generously participate in this research. We wish to acknowledge and thank Eriel Tchekwie Deranger for allowing her quote to inform the title of this paper. We also gratefully acknowledge Marcel Kreutzer for his valuable contribu- tions to the production of the videos herein. This research was supported by the Social

edge sharing across geographies. Many participants expressed the importance of sharing wisdom between communities for learning and collaborations, which regional research, such as this study, can aid. However, while there are benefits of working across scales, there are also limita- tions in analysis given the epistemological foundation for the project spans Indigenous knowledges—instead of being rooted in one place—when participants come from many different Nations. The larger geographic scale of research also presents challenges for the degree and ability for iterative cycles of participation with community members, which were attenuated by mail, email, and phone conversations before and after in-person meetings and interviews.

Furthermore, in this case, research at a broader scale raises important consid- erations of language in documenting IK. While video methods have the potential to increase inclusion of Indigenous languages in academic research through speaking and subtitling, the researchers did not have the resources to edit and translate in the numerous different languages of partic- ipants in this project and, thus, did not include participants speaking extensively in their native languages. Future research could develop collaborations with Indig- enous language scholars or speakers from the outset to explore possibilities around including Indigenous languages in partici- patory video (e.g., Kunuk and Mauro 2010).

Conclusion Through a process of collaborative

research employing participatory video methods, this study examined some of the ways in which Indigenous communities in the Prairies are experiencing, understand- ing, and responding to climate change, and the opportunities and limitations in using collaborative video methods in this context. While there has been very little documenta- tion of IK on climate change in the Canadian Prairies provinces in the academic literature to date, this research marks a significant

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