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Towards climate and indigenous justice

Monday, 24 April 2017 15:27 GMT

A jogger at the base of the Washington Monument passes a teepee built by members of indigenous tribes to protest the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines in Washington, U.S. March 10, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

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* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

A U.S. indigenous people's movement to keep fossil fuels in the ground is growing, as is work to implement renewable energy solutions

The first few months under the Trump administration seem on track to wreck Mother Earth as we know her. From slashing environmental protections to granting permits for the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, Trump is clearing the way for polluters to increase profits while ignoring the climate crisis. As defenders of the climate, indigenous rights, and the future of humanity and all life, we can’t let this dangerous trajectory continue.

On the 100th day under the Trump presidency, the April 29th Peoples Climate March will see thousands across the country march for jobs, justice, and the climate, pushing back on Trump’s fossil fuel agenda. We will put forth a vision of the world we need, grounded in the just transition to a 100 percent renewable energy economy that works for all, and demand that elected officials take action. This will be a flashpoint of the powerful work of communities at the frontlines of climate impacts and environmental racism, including indigenous peoples defending sacred lands and waters from the fossil fuel industry.

This defense began before the Trump administration, garnering global attention as Native Nations and tribal grassroots led a movement to stop the Dakota Access pipeline. Millions signed petitions, joined international days of action, and put their bodies on the line at Standing Rock. Individuals and communities worldwide have divested billions from banks and financiers backing the pipeline. People united across movements, for indigenous rights, for clean air and water, for environmental justice, and to protect our climate from the fossil fuel industry’s greed.

This peaceful resistance of prayer built collective power and carried the critical message that the rights of indigenous peoples and climate justice are inseparable. From Alaska Natives in the Arctic losing salmon populations to warming waters, to the Houma tribal members along the Gulf Coast being forced from their land by rising seas, the fate of our climate, of indigenous peoples, and of all life, is tied together. This message is not new, but through this indigenous-led fight, it has reached farther than ever before. A spark was ignited: now pipelines everywhere are met with resistance by Water Protectors, indigenous-led encampments, and creative tactics to stop these projects in their tracks.

Even as oil begins flowing through the Dakota Access pipeline, fights are ramping up against the resurrected Keystone XL pipeline in the Midwest, the Bayou Bridge pipeline in Louisiana, and the Atlantic Coast pipeline along the eastern seaboard, to name a few. Because of these movements, awareness of Native-led resistance to fossil fuels has grown among the public, in the media, and within the offices of lawmakers.

As the movement to keep fossil fuels in the ground grows, so does the work to implement renewable energy solutions that tackle climate change, cut emissions at the source, and give all communities ownership of the power they use as part of the transition to energy democracy. In Nevada, the Moapa Band of Paiutes - subjected to half a century of toxic coal waste - launched a solar power project while organizing to shutter a nearby coal station. In the Canadian Alberta Tar Sands region, the Lubicon Cree First Nation launched a solar project after experiencing one of the largest oil spills in the province’s history.

This indigenous-led work will find no support from the Trump administration, which is threatening to privatize and fast-track Native lands for fossil fuel extraction that will only contaminate the land, air and the water. Within his first 100 days as president, Trump has filled his ranks with climate deniers, slashed the Environmental Protection Agency, and attempted to revoke rules governing polluters.

Meanwhile, no effort has been made to have meaningful consultation with Native Nations or recognize their inherent rights to exist as sovereign nations. It’s clear this administration is supporting the interests of the fossil fuel industry over all else, violating federal laws that protect the environment and sacred sites.

To make the changes needed for a safe climate, and to support those underway, we must wield our greatest tool: people power. At the Peoples Climate March on April 29th, we’ll stand up against attacks on our communities, our health and safety, and our climate.

We’re at a turning point, with temperatures skyrocketing and so-called leaders rolling back hard-won protections to reap more profits. We’re putting forward our vision of a world where indigenous rights are respected, treaties are renewed, clean air and water and rights of nature are protected, and the health and safety of all communities and the climate are preserved - all through the just transition to a democratized energy future powered by 100 percent renewable sources.

May Boeve is executive director of 350.org and Tom Goldtooth is executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network.

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