Learning From Indigenous Activism
Reflecting on indigenous wisdom and activism on World Indigenous People’s Day
Illustration by Alice Hall (@aliceburtonhall).
‘Take care of the water. It’s who I am. It’s in my soul’
Brian Craft, in a 2019 interview with NBC, stands in front of the lake that sustains his community. As the water of Alaska’s Iliamna Lake ripples behind him, clear enough to drink, he recounts how, many years ago, a village elder grabbed him by the arm and spoke those words to him. Another resident echoes the elder’s words: ‘This has been the lifeblood of my people for 10,000 years.’
Until very recently, though, the lake’s purity had been threatened by the proposed Pebble Mine, an enormous rare metals mining project. The project aimed to mine 57 billion pounds of copper, alongside other minerals such as gold and rhenium. As well as the mining pit itself, the mine would require the construction of a transportation corridor, port facility and natural gas pipeline. A leak from one of the mine’s tailings dams, huge earthen barriers used to store the waste products of the mining process, could catastrophically damage nearby rivers and lakes. Much of the local economy is dependent on the salmon that inhabit these waterways, as well as the tourism they generate – Brian himself owns two local fishing lodges. Many indigenous locals also fish for subsistence, meaning that they hunt for their own nourishment rather than to make a profit. However, a 2019 study by The Nature Conservancy estimates that a leak from one of the dams could cause mudflows to spread over 150 miles of mapped salmon habitat, and 400 potential salmon streams, filling valley bottoms and spreading sediment over salmon nurseries.
The Pebble Mine is just one of the thousands of existential threats to indigenous people across the world. From the effect of rising oceans to the illegal deforestation of native land, climate and ecological catastrophes unfairly affect indigenous people, due to their general dependency on natural resources for small businesses or subsistence living. This is a burning injustice. Despite having no part in the dangerous industrial practices that put the safety of ecosystems at risk, the situation for indigenous communities is significantly worse than that of their colonisers.
However, to only recount the suffering inflicted on indigenous people is also to ignore the power of their agency. Instead of framing indigenous communities as passive victims to be rescued from the terror of climate catastrophe, climate activists in the West need to do more to recognise indigenous voices in the conversation surrounding the climate crisis, while still acknowledging the racial inequality that they face.
Recently, the native people of Bristol Bay have been met with success as a result of their diligent activism. Since the mine’s proposition more than two decades ago, local organisations such as the Bristol Bay Native Corporation and the United Tribes of Bristol Bay have fought for tribal consultation on Alaskan environmental issues, and led grassroots organising efforts to protest against the Pebble Mine. In 2009, two tribal groups raised legal challenges against the Alaskan Department of Natural resources: the Nondalton tribal council, representing six local groups, and Nunamta Aulukestai, representing eight village corporations. While these cases were dismissed, both helped raise the profile of the Pebble Mine controversy. In November 2020, the Pebble Mine project was finally denied a permit by the US Army Corps of Engineers – despite a Trump-era report that claimed that salmon habitats would not be substantially affected by the mining project. This was undeniably a significant victory in indigenous peoples’ fight for clean water. Although it does not unequivocally remove the possibility for future developments, the permit denial prevents the Pebble Mine’s imminent threat, and sets a strong precedent in opposition of future developments in the area.
Another recent victory for Indigenous people in Northern America is the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline, spearheaded by a coalition of environmental and indigenous rights activists. The XL pipeline was a proposed 526km expansion to the already-existing Keystone Pipeline, and was set to transport a staggering 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta to southern Nebraska. Clearly there would be devastating global repercussions for the existence of such a pipeline. According to the IEA, 24% of carbon emissions result from transport, and the fuel used for this would have flowed through this pipeline.
Much like the Pebble Mine, environmental issues with the Keystone Pipeline intersect with the oppression of indigenous people. Particularly concerning are the pernicious health issues surrounding the mining of tar sands in Alberta, which produces that crude oil that the XL pipeline was set to transport. A 2007 report examining the mining of tar sands in the area suggested a significant risk, especially to those that regularly consume surface water or source local food. Water around tar sand mines is frequently contaminated with increased levels of arsenic or mercury, which can lead to a higher risk of cancer. This disproportionately affects indigenous people who, through subsistence fishing, regularly consume locally caught fish. A leakage along the pipeline was also a potential hazard, which could further jeopardize the natural habitats that indigenous people require for subsistence living.
On top of this, the planned construction of the XL pipeline illegally infringed on territory laws established in order to prevent incursion onto native reservations. Tribal leaders were not consulted to provide consent for the construction of the pipeline in their lands, despite this being required by law. The construction also breaches treaty obligations by the US Department of the Interior (DOI) to protect the territory and natural resources of tribal areas, which could be ruined by a potential oil leak. These breaches were presented in a case against the DOI and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in November 2020 by the Rosebud Sioux tribe and Fort Belknap Indian Community. Russell Eagle Bear, the founder of a Rosebud Sioux spirit camp built on the path of the XL project acknowledged the necessity of a legal challenge. Speaking to New Scientist, he argued that though prayer is an important part of the tribes’ protest, ‘we have to take that next step and deal with it in a legal way; using their courts, their laws and their courtrooms.’ Fortunately, not long after the lawsuit was filed, an executive order was passed on the day of President Biden’s inauguration to revoke the XL pipeline’s permit, followed by the termination of the project by the TransCanada corporation in June 2021.
Legal challenges alone cannot account for the impact that indigenous groups have had on these two cases. What stands out about these movements is the power of indigenous protest: their persistence, strength and unity in the face of the destruction of ways of life that have existed for thousands of years. On this International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, as well as recognising the constant injustices these communities are subjected to, climate activists the world over need to listen to and learn from the voices of the indigenous.
Scott Thomson
Scott is an English student at the University of Exeter, and is passionate about documenting cultural, humanitarian, and political responses to the climate crisis. In his free time, Scott loves to immerse himself in media, especially Gothic and Dystopian literature, and is interested in how fictional narratives can represent climate issues and inspire future change. He is also Chief Lead Writer at the Falmouth Anchor student newspaper, and can be found on Twitter at @ScottThomson135.