Indigenous perspectives on climate mobility justice and displacement-mobility-immobility continuum

ABSTRACT

For millennia, Indigenous Peoples around the world have prepared for, coped with, and survived disasters and environmental change, and human-induced events. Along the way, these experiences – and a keen understanding of the environment in which they live – have borne what we refer to today as Indigenous Knowledges. Among the most significant of the human-induced events, colonization has disrupted Indigenous strategies of self-determination and resilience. Indigenous-led climate change adaptation holds a transformative potential for addressing the impacts of the unnatural disasters of colonialism, land dispossession, and the climate change crisis. Yet, community-led research in this urgent research area remains limited. To ensure that Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination is protected and the horrific legacy of government-forced relocations is not repeated, communities must lead and define research on climate-forced displacement and planned relocation.

KEYWORDS:

• Climate displacement
• climate (im)mobilities
• disaster evacuations
• mobility justice
• indigenous peoples

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their exceptionally constructive comments which significantly strengthened this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Positionality and mobility statement: Darlene Yellow Old Woman-Munro, Blackfoot is a Siksika Elder, former nurse, former Chief, and former manager, Dancing Deer Disaster Recovery Center. While evacuated during the 2013 flood, Darlene started as nightshift volunteer and went on to create DDDRC. Waylon Black, Blackfoot, was a youth who became Assistant Manager, DDDRC, Siksika Nation. Naura Vergustina, with Kampong Borneo Foundation; is Javanese who has worked extensively with the Dayak people over the past 10 years. She is a PhD Student; Indigenous Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Canada. Associate Prof Meg Parsons, School of Environment, The University of Auckland is an mixed race (Indigenous/Arab/White) disabled historical geographer whose whakapapa (genealogy) ties her to the Māori iwi Ngāpuhi, Lebanon, Scotland and Denmark. Dr. Emily Dicken, Little Red River Cree Nation (Alberta) and mixed British ancestry is Director, North Shore Emergency Management, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Dr. Simon Lambert, a member of the Tuhoe and Ngati Ruapani tribes, Aotearoa New Zealand, is Associate Professor Department of Indigenous Studies, University of Saskatchewan. John C. Scott, Tlingit is President, Center for Public Service Communications based in Claiborne, MD, USA. Patrick Michell, Nlaka’pamux Nation member is Former Chief, Kanaka Bar Indian Band and resident of Lytton, BC, Canada who lost his home in the Lytton Fire 2021 that in 21 minutes burnt the village to the ground. Dr. Lilia Yumagulova, is a Bashkir woman, an immigrant and settler on Sinixt lands (Kootenay region, British Columbia, Canada) is a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow, Indigenous Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Canada.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Banting Secretariat.

Notes on contributors

Lilia Yumagulova

Lilia Yumagulova is Banting Postdoctoral Fellow, Indigenous Studies, University of Saskatchewan. Her research focuses on Indigenous self-determination and the role of women in disaster/climate displacement and planned relocation. Lilia is the Program Director for the Preparing Our Home Program that empowers Indigenous youth leadership in community resilience.

Meg Parsons

Associate Professor Meg Parsons, School of Environment, The University of Auckland. Parsons is a mixed race (Indigenous/Arab/White) disabled historical geographer whose whakapapa (genealogy) ties her to the Māori iwi Ngāpuhi, Lebanon, Scotland and Denmark. Her research areas include historical geography, social dimensions of climate change adaptation, climate justice, Indigenous geographies.

Darlene Yellow Old Woman-Munro

Darlene Yellow Old Woman-Munro is a Siksika Elder born and raised on the Siksika Nation; she is the oldest of 10 children. Darlene has served her community through many roles as a community nurse, Treaty 7 Zone Director, Medical Services Branch and Chief. In 2013, Darlene came out semi-retirement to assist Siksika Nation with the flood disaster as a night shift volunteer and became Manager of Dancing Deer Disaster Recovery Program and Project Manager for Community Wellness (Psychosocial) Recovery Program.

Emily Dicken

Emily Dicken is the Director of North Shore Emergency Management and has worked as a practitioner in the field for over 17 years. She holds a PhD from the University of Victoria and her research interests are focused on understanding colonialism as an enduring and unnatural disaster.

Simon Lambert

Simon Lambert is from Aotearoa New Zealand and is a member of the Tuhoe and Ngati Ruapani tribes. He is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Indigenous Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. His research focuses on Indigenous disaster risk reduction.

Naura Vergustina

Naura Vergustina, with Kampong Borneo Foundation is Javanese who has worked extensively with the Dayak People over the past 10 years. She is a PhD Student at the Indigenous Studies Department, University of Saskatchewan, Canada.

John C. Scott

John C. Scott, president, Center for Public Service Communications (retired) is Tlingit and a member of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. He has been involved in several seminal programs designed to reduce risks to natural hazards in underserved communities and continues to work engaging Indigenous Peoples in disaster risk reduction.

Patrick Michell

Patrick Michell is a Retired Chief, Kanaka Bar Indian Band, resident of Lytton, BC. Since 1978, with awareness of the growing changes within and upon their traditional territory caused by climate change, Patrick and his community worked to design and complete site-specific programs and projects that re-establish sustainable community foundations in water, food, and shelter with supporting resilient systems like storage, energy, communications, transportation and waste management—preparing Kanaka Bar (18 kilometres south of Lytton) and its residents for the environment and economy of today and more importantly for tomorrow. On June 30, 2021, Patrick and his family lost their intergenerational home in the Lytton fire and have lived in response mode since.

Waylon Black

Waylon Black (Blackfoot) is a member of Siksika Nation. He is currently a Film Tribe/Special Projects Technician. At the time of 2013 flood, Waylon was a youth who became Manager, Dancing Deer Disaster Recovery Centre, Siksika Nation, Alberta, Canada.