The Disproportionate Effect of Climate Chaos on Indigenous Communities in So-Called Canada
Canadian Wildfires first breached international news in June, but not because of the devastation wreaked on Indigenous Communities or these fires being the consequence of Climate Chaos. Instead, the only reason internationally acclaimed news sites, such as the Financial Times and the New York Times, reported on the wildfires was the haze of smoke that passed the borders and covered large American metropolises like New York in a ‘dystopian Smaug’.
While these headlines are more sensational and bound to do better in the media, they do nothing to bring light to those most vulnerable and affected by these fires—Indigenous Peoples and our communities. Indigenous Peoples throughout so-called Canada are losing their homes and livelihoods in unprecedented wildfires while receiving little to no help from provincial and federal governments. The real world consequences of a summer of record-high temperatures and dry conditions are being ignored and the Indigenous communities suffering the consequences are too soon forgotten.
East Prairie Metis Settlement was one of the first communities devastated this fire season when three massive wildfires converged, destroying 27 homes and a vital bridge. The community had a mere few hours to gather everything they could into their vehicles or emergency transports and leave before their homes and properties were consumed—the true horrors only beginning.
While East Prairies’ brave and selfless local community firefighters did all they could to contain the wildfires, they received no help or aid from the military or the provincial and federal governments. To further add insult to injury, a settler neighbouring township Drayton Valley, was also contending with fires and received swift and overwhelming support and government resources, including military aid. East Prairie had only themselves to rely on for weeks on end, to the point where one of their own was grievously injured in the fires.
The people who call East Prairie home have been displaced suddenly and continually. Families have been separated, and the local town’s resources stretched thin in their time of need. For many in the community, it seemed as if they were attacked from every side and despite the fires now being largely dealt with, many don’t have homes or property to return to and have been continually displaced since early May, this writer’s father included.
This is an ongoing trend seen everywhere in the world. Climate Chaos is the byproduct of mass extractive industries such as oil and gas (not to mention a result of late-stage capitalism, rampant consumerism, and complete disregard for Indigenous peoples), a sector that systemically harms Indigenous groups and communities. Although Indigenous peoples contribute very little to climate chaos and are usually at the forefront of opposition to its biggest contributors, they are also the people suffering the extremes of it while given little-to-no support to survive the aftermath.
Climate chaos: What is it?
Climate Chaos refers to the increasingly common weather and environmental extremes experienced on a global scale as a direct result of Climate Change. Superstorms were predicted around a decade ago by various science news outlets reporting on studies done on rapidly warming global and oceanic temperatures. A superstorm is an unusually strong and destructive storm that happens once in a while in a stable climate; however, with climate change, we can expect them to occur more frequently—or at least that was predicted.
It’s not hard to see that these predictions are already a reality for us in 2023. Massive tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, and droughts are happening all around the globe and it’s not uncommon to see a news story about it every week. However, you can see the effects of climate chaos close to home here in so-called Canada. Raging wildfires in Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and now the Northwest Territories, a fatal flood in Nova Scotia, and droughts throughout the country are just some of the headlines in the past three months.
What is obvious when considering all of these climate events is that the time has passed for governments to make claims of Indigenous consultation without ever having Indigenous representation in the decision room. Words won’t stop Climate Chaos, and action without consulting Indigenous peoples is just continued colonization—which first got us into this mess.
Indigenous people have an inherent right to continue their connection with the land, and be stewards and protectors of said land. Without the indispensable knowledge of land stewardship from Indigenous people, we will only continue to experience the violence of colonialism. If we hope to stop climate chaos from wreaking absolute devastation, we must start listening, following, and uplifting Indigenous teachings (something Indigenous people have been saying for decades).
The Cause
The Cause of climate change can be attributed to many things in our modern world. However, it is just plain ignorant not to acknowledge extractive, non-renewable industries such as oil and gas (and the meat industry) to be the ones contributing the most to global and oceanic temperatures rising.
Canada’s oil and gas industry within Alberta was built on the exploitation of Indigenous peoples. Treaties signed nearly 150 years ago detailed that land exchange would occur on several conditions, two of which directly oppose the development of oil and gas mines:
One: the Indigenous groups in the area would be able to continue to hunt, fish, and practice ceremonies, and that right would be protected and upheld by the Crown (Federal Government of Canada); and
Two: no land development would happen further than the depth a plow digs into the Earth.
Both of these conditions and many others have been breached by Canada’s Oil and Gas industry. And what is this complete disregard for Indigenous Rights, but a continued form of colonization.
It has become abundantly clear that governments and oil companies only care about profit over integrity as they continue to extract oil from the land. They knowingly destroy ecosystems and poison surrounding Indigenous Communities, yet still claim to ‘consult’ and ‘respect’ First Nation, Metis, and Inuit peoples regarding development. It has only now become common knowledge how disruptive, dangerous, and irresponsible extractive industries are, yet Indigenous people have known and spoken about this threat for decades but were ruthlessly ignored.
Now that the damage to the environment is closing in on irreversible, the time of blatant and practiced ignorance needs to end. The Trudeau government’s two climate plans, the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change (PCF, 2016) and the Healthy Environment and Healthy Economy (HEHE, 2020) both outline the need for Indigenous input in the decision-making process, as we move forward in the fight against climate chaos. However, since those plans were announced, it has become clear that Indigenous people and their deep and necessary understanding of land stewardship was just a buzzword rather than an actual concern for the government. This procrastination by governments when it comes to climate chaos is not only frustrating to Indigenous Communities, but endangering the entire globe.
The Effect
Indigenous communities are disproportionately affected by Climate Chaos for two reasons:
It is through the exploitation of Indigenous people that oil and gas companies can even exist. Oil fracking, mining, and tailings ponds directly violate Indigenous peoples’ rights and the treaties signed between Indigenous Groups and the Crown (federal government).
Indigenous peoples are inherently connected to the Earth and all of her resources. Communities rely heavily on the land and water for survival, as well as for traditional cultural and ceremonial practices.
An example of how closely linked Indigenous people are to the land, and how substantial of an impact climate events can be, we can look to the Imperial Oil’s Kearl Mine Tar Sands Leak discovered this past year. Located north of Fort Chipewyan and Mikisew Cree First Nation, the Kearl Tailings Ponds leaked million liters of waste (filled with heavy metals and arsenic; read poison) over the course of nine months, and was only revealed this past spring. Both Imperial Oil and the AER (Alberta Energy Regulators) knew about the leak and failed to inform the local Indigenous communities who would be affected.
For over nine months, the people living in these Indigenous communities downstream were unknowingly consuming poisoned water and food. In a settler township, most food comes from grocery stores, shipped from far away places, and water comes from treated plants. However, in Indigenous communities such as Mikisew and Fort Chipewyan, many families supplement their food by hunting wildlife, gathering plants and berries found on the land, and fishing. Without access to clean or treated water; the ways Indigenous people live in connection to the land increases the risk of devastation substantially compared to settler townships.
Yes, an oil spill isn’t technically categorized as a climate event, but this incident highlights how deeply Indigenous people rely on the land for everyday life. If land is threatened, the forest burned, and the water poisoned, how much greater is the impact on those who live closely connected and reliant on the land? Additionally, how important is it that Indigenous communities are supported after devastation, such as wildfires, so they can return to their way of life, rather than being overlooked by the same governments that claim to protect Indigenous rights and consult them on climate change?
Instead, these same communities that contribute the least to climate change are at the forefront of its consequences with no support. East Prairie members, who lost their homes the first week of May, are still displaced with no hope of returning until next spring. This writer’s father, whose home was lost, was promised a trailer for August 2023, yet that has been pushed back to an undetermined date. He is 70 years old and has nowhere to stay except on a different couch every week due to the government’s unwillingness to aid the very communities they continue to exploit.
The Remedy
The only remedy to the damage already done to Mother Earth is to stop ignoring Indigenous people. Most, if not all, Indigenous groups worldwide developed their culture, belief systems, and ways of being surrounding a deep-rooted respect for the Earth. These teachings of love and stewardship for the land permeate every part of our culture, from farming and gathering practices to how we speak and interact with one another. Only people with an inherent understanding of land stewardship and who have maintained their connection to the land can lead the world into an age of restoration and reconciliation in conjunction with a healthy Earth.
Indigenous groups were self-sufficient and thriving before colonization, industrialism, and capitalism took root. They held a reverence for the land and were careful in how they gathered resources to sustain their lives. Thousands of years of knowledge held within communities can lead the world back into a place of balance and harmony with the Earth instead of the war we find ourselves in. It is time people listen to Indigenous peoples, especially colonial governments in ‘charge’ of enacting the change needed to ensure that our grandchildren have a planet to live on.
Indigenous people have been at the forefront of movements against climate change because we understand how an unhealthy, poisoned Earth affects us all—regardless of age, gender, race, and class.
Now is the time for Indigenous people to be at the head of our decision-making processes—and we are ready to do so.
Mutual Aid
Since first writing this piece, we have seen a devastating increase in wildfires across so-called Canada. We have compiled a non-exhaustive list of mutual aid resources and also ask community to submit additional platforms if you know of them. If you have the means, please consider donating or volunteering.
About the Author
Britney Supernault (she/they), known as the Cree Nomad, is Otipemisiwak Nehiyaw (Métis Cree) from East Prairie Metis Settlement. An artist, activist, and writer, Britney has spent the last 4 years writing on various topics, from traveling and productivity to contemporary Indigenous Issues and Climate Change. They write full-time and also has a social media platform where they share their life as a writer. Britney is currently working on their debut novel, soon to be released, and an Indigenous graphic novel series.