Tag Archives: environmental issues

Indigenous Environmental Network

This Indigenous Environmental Network site caught my eye and correlates with Module 4. The Indigenous Environmental Network was formed by Indigenous peoples and other individuals and was developed in 1990 to address environmental and economic justice issues and develop strategies to protect the environment, Indigenous culture and the health of Indigenous peoples. Issues such as energy, climate, water and the importance of health and culture are highlighted on the website. The organization and site describe themselves as a “network of Indigenous Peoples empowering Indigenous Nations and communities towards sustainable livelihoods, demanding environmental justice and maintaining the Sacred Fire of our traditions.”

The site has links to all sorts of environmental activities, traditional gatherings, resources, energy and climate information and other Native Network Organizations as well as including current Indigenous news. The site also includes a section of suggested reading, news updates and places to access newsletter archives and subscribe to its newsletter. This organization, the Indigenous Environmental Network, also has a Facebook page and links to it are on the site as well. As well, you can listen daily to live interviews with speakers, panel discussions and interviews.

The following is taken directly from the website but should be recognized…

A “SNAP-SHOT” of environmental and economic justice issues in indigenous lands (US-CANADA):

a. Toxic contaminants, agricultural pesticides and other industrial chemicals that disproportionately impact Indigenous peoples, especially subsistence and livestock cultures.

b. Inadequate governmental environment and health standards and regulations.

c. Clean up of contaminated lands from mining, military, and other industry activities.

d. Toxic incinerators and landfills on and near Indigenous lands.

e. Inadequate solid and hazardous waste and wastewater management capacity of Indigenous communities and tribes.

f. Unsustainable mining and oil development on and near Indigenous lands.

g. National energy policies at the expense of the rights of Indigenous peoples.

h. Climate change and global warming.

i. Coal mining and coal-fired power plants resulting in mercury contamination, water depletion, destruction of sacred sites and environmental degradation.

j. Uranium mining developments and struggles to obtain victim compensation to Indigenous uranium miners, millers, processors and Downwinders of past nuclear testing experiments.

k. Nuclear waste dumping in Indigenous lands.

l. Deforestation.

m. Water rights, water quantity and privatization of water.

n. Economic globalization putting stress on Indigenous peoples and local ecosystems.

o. Border justice, trade agreements and transboundary waste and contamination along the US/Mexico/Canada borders and other Indigenous lands worldwide.

p. Failure of the US government to fulfill its mandated responsibility to provide funding to tribes and Alaska villages to develop and implement environmental protection infrastructures.

q. Backlash from US state governments giving in to the lobbying pressures of industry and corporations against the right of tribes to implement their own water and air quality standards.

r. Protection of sacred, historical and cultural significant areas.

s. Biological diversity and endangered species.

t. Genetically modified organisms impacting the environment, traditional plants and seeds and intellectual rights of Indigenous peoples – bio-colonialism.

u. Economic blackmail and lack of sustainable economic and community development resources.

v. Just transition of workers and communities impacted by industry on and near Indigenous lands.

w. Urban sprawl and growth on and near Indigenous lands.

x. Failure of colonial governments and their programs to adequately consult with or address environmental protection, natural resource conservation, environmental health, and sacred/historical site issues affecting traditional Indigenous lands and its Indigenous peoples.

y. De-colonization and symptoms of internalized oppression/racism/tribalism.

z. And many others ..

Compiled by the INDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK

Indigenous Education and Environmental Issues in Saskatchewan

This site fits nicely with Module 4’s theme of Ecological Issues in Indigenous Education and Technology. This site is courtesy of the Saskatchewan Eco Network. This website includes a variety of information about First Nations and Metis peoples and more specifically related to Saskatchewan. This site’s ecological theme is about teaching youth to have respect for nature and develop good relationships with the earth by learning through the cultural practices and traditional teachings of Indigenous peoples. The site has a number of other curriculum resources for the classroom created by Indigenous educators as well. They include unit topics such as:
• Traditional Plants
• Dances of First Nations
• Legends
• Dwellings

It has specific resources including lots of links to many such as ones about. Sections A-D are taken from the site:

A. Perspectives on Indigenous Education and teaching our young people about healing relations with the earth.
• Interview with Darlene Spiedel
from the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre

B. Resources on Indigenous Education and Environment in Saskatchewan
• Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre -SICC Interviews with Elders
• Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre – Languages Site

C. Practising the Law of Circular Interaction: First Nations Environment and Conservation Principles – the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre.

D. Rekindling Traditions : Cross-Cultural Science & Technology Units (CCSTU) Project
Rekindling Traditions is a project undertaken by the Ile la Cross School Division. Elders, teachers, and curriculum developers from different schools came together to develop the materials. They describe the goal of the curriculum as follows:
To make Western science and engineering accessible to Aboriginal students in ways that nurture their own cultural identities; that is, so students are not expected to set aside their culture’s view of the material world when they study science at school.
There are units on:
• Snowshoes
• Nature’s Hidden Gifts
• The Night Sky
• Survival In Our Land
• Wild Rice
• Trapping
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The site also provides a list of organizations and interviews with educators that one can access for additional information to perhaps provide context to the resources. This site has quickly become one of my top favourites and will be included as a resource for my final paper as it includes relevant information about my topic of the Evolution of the Role of Elders with the Rise of Digital Technology. Really excellent website!!!