Indigenous Guardians & Natural Climate Solutions: Thinking Wahkohtowin, Elevating Youth Voices
Mother Earth may be our strongest ally in the fight against climate change. Canada –particularly Northern Ontario — encompasses boreal and peatland ecosystems that store massive amounts of carbon. Action (or inaction) to protect these ecosystems can alter the pace of global climate change. As the world awakens to the role that nature plays in balancing the earth’s atmosphere, the term “natural climate solutions” has become popular. It refers to actions to protect, restore and sustainably manage ecosystems that absorb and store carbon, like forests and wetlands.
The term “natural climate solutions” may be new, but in practice Indigenous Peoples have been sustainably managing carbon-storing ecosystems for millennia. Many communities are now calling for recognition of this historic role and are leveraging new opportunities to advance Indigenous-led natural climate solutions.
At the same time, Indigenous Guardians programs have been on the rise across Canada as communities revitalize traditional knowledge and reclaim roles as guardians of lands and waters in their territories. Guardians are well placed to implement and benefit from funding for natural climate solutions; in practice, they are already protecting and restoring ecosystems that mitigate climate change.
Read this open access paper on the FACETS website.
In this paper, we explore several questions: what possibilities emerge when natural climate solutions are driven by Indigenous Guardians and guided by community priorities? What might natural climate solutions look like if rooted in a holistic approach to climate action, informed by Indigenous knowledge systems (as opposed to the Western convention of compartmentalizing societal issues)? And what do youth Guardians envision at the intersection of guardianship and natural climate solutions?
We respond to these questions drawing on insights from youth-led initiative, facilitated through a partnership between Wahkohtowin Development GP Inc. (owned by the Chapleau Cree, Missanabie Cree and Brunswick House Frist Nations) and the University of Guelph. Through a series of workshops, youth Guardians took part in discussions on climate action and natural climate solutions, with guest speakers and peer-to-peer conversations. Based on their learnings and reflections, the youth created a short film and led a public webinar.
The initiative generated insights on the role of youth, cross-cultural collaboration, and the significance of Indigenous knowledge within a holistic approach to climate action. The Guardians drew connections between climate action, cultural resilience, youth mental health, biodiversity and various other factors, highlighting the need for integrative solutions. Clearly, we cannot look only at forest carbon management; these complex, intersecting issues call for a Two-Eyed Seeing lens, centering holistic, ethical framings from Indigenous knowledge systems — such as the Cree philosophy of wahkohtowin, embodying kinship and interconnectedness.
Guardians programs are well-positioned to take the lead on such an approach, to realize the full potential of Indigenous-led natural climate solutions. Guardians could benefit from long-term and diversified funding opportunities while providing expert knowledge and boots-on-the ground for both monitoring and community engagement. Involving youth Guardians may prove especially beneficial. In sum, with Indigenous knowledge and holistic objectives at the forefront, Guardians could champion natural climate solutions with benefits for communities, ecosystems, climate action and reconciliation.
Read the paper — Rooting natural climate solutions in Wahkohtowin through Indigenous guardianship: insights from a youth-led initiative in Northern Ontario, Canada by Lara Powell, Amberly Quakegesic, Elena McCulloch, Isabelle Allen, and Ben Bradshaw.
