Global Indigenous Futures

GR - Graduate

In its 2022 report, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, recognizing the disproportionate impact of climate change on Indigenous communities as well as their centuries-long stewardship of their ancestral lands, states that "There is a central role for Indigenous Peoples in climate change decision making that helps address the enduring legacy of colonization through building opportunities based on Indigenous governance regimes, cultural practices to care for land and water, and intergenerational perspectives."(IPCC, 2022: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability). In addition to enduring colonial histories rooted in violence, subjugation, and land dispossession, global Indigenous communities share deep seated ecological epistemologies rooted in balance and reciprocity. With a primary focus on futurity, this course will examine the ways in which global Indigenous communities are confronting challenges in the areas of health, education, cultural revitalization, and ecological renewal while highlighting the implications of these efforts for the long-term survival of humanity.