An Indigenous Movement to Confront Climate Change

Abstract

Over the last two decades, the Indigenous movement to stop human-induced climate change has grown into a major civil society voice and force, both within the United Nations climate conferences as well as in parallel and autonomous spaces. I first contextualize the movement's roots within the historic rise of an international Indigenous movement framed around human rights. Next I present a characterization of the unique discourses and epistemology held by the International Indigenous Climate Movement in contrast to those of the dominant environmental and governmental institutions and actors. I then outline the agenda, main concerns, and mode of self-organization that this movement has articulated within official negotiations, followed by a discussion of how activists are creating and utilizing alternative, non-official spaces. In both contexts, I briefly touch on the nature of their interactions with non-indigenous social movement actors, and conclude with reflections on the still considerable gaps between Indigenous and non-indigenous actors—both state and civil society.

En las dos últimas décadas, los movimientos indígenas para detener el cambio climático de origen humano han crecido a una mayor voz y fuerza de sociedad civil, tanto en las conferencias sobre el clima de las Naciones Unidas, como en los espacios paralelos y autónomos. Primero contextualizo las raíces del movimiento dentro del auge histórico de un movimiento indígena internacional enmarcado alrededor de los derechos humanos. Luego presento una caracterización de los debates únicos y la epistemología apoyados por el Movimiento Climático Indígena Internacional, en contraste con aquellos de las instituciones y actores medioambientalistas y gubernamentales dominantes. Luego doy una idea general de la agenda, las inquietudes principales, y el modo de auto organización que este movimiento ha articulado dentro de las negociaciones oficiales, seguida por una discusión sobre cómo los actores están creando y utilizando espacios alternativos, no oficiales. En ambos contextos, yo me refiero brevemente a la naturaleza de sus interacciones con los actores de los movimientos sociales no indígenas y concluyo con reflexiones sobre las diferencias considerables que existen aun entre los actores indígenas y no indígenas—sociedades tanto estatales como civiles.

在过去的二十年里，不仅在联合国气候会议中，而且在与其并行的自发领域里，阻止由人类引起气候变化的本土运动已发展为一种主要的民间社会声音和力量。首先，我将这些运动的根源置于围绕人权而历史性崛起的国际本土运动的背景中来思考。其次，我介绍并描述了国际本土气候运动的独特话语和认识论特征，这与那些占主导地位的环境和政府机构及行为者形成对照。之后，我总结了这些运动在与官方协商过程中明确提出的议题、主要关注点以及自我组织的模式，并讨论了积极活动者如何创造和利用多种非官方空间。在这两种领域里，我简要指出他们与非本土社会运动行为者之间相互作用的本质，并得出结论和反思，即在国家和市民社会，本土和非本土行为者之间仍存在着巨大鸿沟。

지난 20여년에 걸쳐서 인간이 만들어 낸 기후변화를 막기 위한 토착적인 운동이 UN에서 기후회의와 그와 병행하는 자율적인 공간에서 주요 시민사회의 목소리로 그리고 세력으로 성장하였다. 나는 먼저 인권을 중심으로 한 국제원주민 운동의 역사적 성장 내에서 운동의 뿌리를 맥락화한다. 그 다음 나는 지배적인 환경 기구나 정부 기구와 대조되는 국제 원주민 기후 운동의 독특한 담론과 인식론의 특성을 제시한다. 그 다음으로 이 운동이 공식적인 협상에서 드러내는 아젠다, 주요 관심사와 자율적 조직 양식을 기술한 다음 운동가들이 어떻게 대안적인 비공식적 공간을 만들어 내고 활용하는가를 논의한다. 두 가지 맥락에서 비원주민 사회운동 행위자들과의 상호작용 성격를 간단하게 다루고 원주민과 비원주민 행위자들 간의 현저한 간극에 대해서 다룬다.

Keywords:

• Indigenous movement
• Indigenous climate movement
• climate change
• United Nations
• human rights

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Sylvia Escárcega particularly, as well as two anonymous reviewers, for helping to greatly strengthen this piece.

Notes

Indigenous Peoples is capitalized following the custom adopted within much of the Indigenous movement, in recognition of their standing as peoples, as well as out of similar respect afforded with more specific terms, like First Nations.

For this methodology, see Denzinet al. (2008), Kovach (2005), Moose-Mitha (2005), Reitan (2007; ch. 2), Reitan and Gibson (this volume), and Tuhiwai Smith (2005).

For my work as an independent journalist reporting on Indigenous environmental struggles, see http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/ben-powless.

For a comparative analysis of the ways in which UN forums have been among the most open to civil society and social movement actors in comparison with other global governance bodies, see Scholte (2011).

The following analysis of Indigenous movements' engagement in the UN climate talks draws chiefly on my own participation, as well as the works of Abhainnet al. (2007), Climate Connections (2010), ETC Group (2010), Grossman (2006), Indigenous Environmental Network (2008), International Climate Justice Network (2002), Monga Bay (2008), Nickels et al. (2006), and Tauli-Corpuz et al. (2009).

On Indigenous ecological knowledge, see Fourmile (1999) and Kassam (2009).

See http://www.ciel.org/Publications/ICC_Petition_7Dec05.pdf.

The analysis in this section comes primarily from examining the following documents: ‘The Indigenous Peoples’ Declaration' of the World Peoples' Conference of Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth (2010); Makelo (2007); The Albuquerque Declaration (1998) available at http://www.nativevillage.org/Inspiration-/Albuquerque%20Convention.htm; Declaration of the First International Forum of Indigenous Peoples on Climate Change (2000) available at http://www.wrm.org.uy/actors/CCC/IPLyon.html; The Alaska Declaration (2009) available at http://www.un.org/ga/president/63/letters/globalsummitoncc.pdf

For a discussion of the various historical and contemporary forms and arguments around protecting the ‘commons’, see Cavanagh and Mander (2004, ch. 5).