WAYS FORWARD
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Sharing the spotlight: Why Indigenous climate activism stays in the shadows Words by Andrew Ha Illustration by Camila Castaneda
K
ennedy Tuccaro found herself barely able to move as she photographed signs held above thousands of people packing the plaza outside the Nest at the UBC climate strike. She saw people file onto buses, their signs and faces pressed up against the windows, while others joined bike brigades trailed by balloons — all headed to the art gallery downtown to unite with strikers from across the city. “Everybody came out from the fringes of their environmental clubs … and were able to all come together,” the 20 year-old third-year environment and sustainability student said. “It was a big moment. A very big collective happiness for sure.” The strike marked a big moment for Kennedy. While she couldn’t make it to the Vancouver strike attended by Greta Thunberg, she was surprised that Thunberg stopped in Alberta to meet with the chief of her band, Mikisew Cree First Nation. Although millions look up to Thunberg as the face of the climate movement, she’s only bringing awareness to a longstanding concern. Indigenous peoples continue to advocate for the environment, despite often being overlooked by media and UBC; as first-year Allard law student and Kennedy’s sister Justice Tuccaro says, they’ve done so “since time immemorial.” So why does the spotlight land squarely on Thunberg?
OVERSHADOWED In Canada, 15 year-old Anishinaabe activist Autumn Peltier was heralded
as a ‘water warrior’ for her internationally recognized advocacy a year before Thunberg rose to fame. Many Indigenous people have spoken at climate strikes, including associate professor Sarah Hunt at UBC. In Vancouver, Chief Judy Wilson of the Neskonlith First Nation gifted Thunberg a scarf that the teen then wore as she spoke, and in Edmonton, nine year-old Cree singer Noah Simon performed before Thunberg took the stage.
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I think it is the responsibility of those that have a lot of spotlight and have a lot of influence to give more power to those who may not necessarily have it.
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— Kennedy Tuccaro
But Indigenous people haven’t received anywhere near the attention that Thunberg has. They often serve as opening acts before the main event: a Greta Thunberg speech. “I think that it’s amazing how far she’s come for how young she is,” said Justice. “But at the same time, she should not be the sole focus of this whole entire movement.” While Kennedy applauds Thun-
berg for highlighting the names of Indigenous activists, she says it’s “unfortunate that it has to be a big name that calls attention to what Indigenous people have been fighting for for a very long time. “I think it is the responsibility of those that have a lot of spotlight and have a lot of influence to give more power to those who may not necessarily have it,” said Kennedy. Both Kennedy and Justice believe that the issue lies in colonial history. Justice says this is part of society’s ignoring of Indigenous voices that has happened for years. “That it’s come to the forefront of worldwide news because of the spotlight that was put on a European girl … reflects this colonialist structure that we can only really pay attention to these problems if they’ve been exacerbated by someone who has the ability to be in the forefront of these headlines,” she said. But Thunberg’s reputation does bring benefits. Kennedy doesn’t blame Thunberg for her stardom — instead, she sees it as a positive. On a small scale, Kennedy raises awareness through her work with beeswax wraps. It’s a new product intended to replace plastic wrap, which she says provides an opportunity to bring up climate issues with curious customers. Volunteering for marine conservation non-profit Sea Smart and concern over plastic packaging sparked her activism. She’s since helped with beach cleanups for Surfrider and now works for Bee Kind Wraps, a reusable beeswax food wrap business.
