“The Earth is alive and climate change is really nature releasing its forces to clean the Earth, to bring us back into balance. We shouldn’t look at climate change as a negative thing. It is because of how we have behaved as human beings that we have to feel the impact of what we have done to the Earth. Ultimately it will be Mother Earth that will correct us as humanity, because of the love she has for us.”
– Elder Dave Courchene-baa (Nii Gaani Aki Inini – Leading Earth Man), Anishinaabe Knowledge Keeper (Turtle Lodge Central House of Knowledge, 2019, p. 13)
“We’re finding in the Inuit world that the solutions to our problems, to addressing the trauma and the health and social issues, lie very close to home and within ourselves…. The world that is seeking a better and more sustainable way, the Indigenous belief that we are all connected, it’s the medicine the world seeks. If we can address our problems this way, we can contribute greatly to solutions…. It’s a time of great pause and a change of great perspectives. A new way of doing things is coming.”
– Siila Watt-Cloutier (quoted in Kelsey, 2022)
“The teaching of the seventh generation and kinship are so interrelated, it is that we are all interconnected. And so, we are all future ancestors and we all share a common responsibility. So how are we going to be responsible future ancestors? … I envision Indigenous Nations leading the way in meaningful climate action and I see our young people taking charge and designing a future that restores balance.”
– Mihskakwan James Harper (Excerpt from SevenGen2022: The Power of Kinship, Indigenous Youth Energy Summit)
“It’s essential for Métis youth to not only be heard, but [be] at the forefront of this issue…. I wish that in academia, more attention was brought to what it means to truly be on the Land and what it means to be Indigenous to the Land. And the connection between the two, I think, has really strengthened my understanding of climate change, and makes me want to fight for it even more.”
– Taylor Goodon, Métis (Excerpt from Métis Knowledge and Climate Change)
