Anishinaabe & Climate Justice: An Indigenous Food Sovereignty Approach

Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island are experiencing climate change at an accelerated rate, however the discussion is dominated by western science and often does not accurately reflect the situation in Indigenous communities. This paper explores the community-specific considerations of climate change through an Indigenous food sovereignty framework, with a primary focus on Youth, Elders, knowledge keepers, medicine people, and trappers/hunters. Following Indigenous research methodologies, the research undertook a one-day participation based workshop, that established cross-community relationships between Youth, Elders and knowledge keepers followed by one-on-one conversation-based interviews, ultimately identifying the health impacts of climate change in Garden River First Nation. With results that demonstrate the interconnectivity between health and the environment, the research identified the ongoing struggles of Indigenous peoples to mitigate and adapt in culturally appropriate ways to climate change. While determining an adaptation strategy for the community, the paper also seeks to advance discussions on how to support Indigenous Youth build and maintain healthy relationships with Mother Earth while simultaneously pursing the development of a distinct climate justice framework that centers Indigenous knowledges, laws, concepts of justice, and lived experiences.