ICA is committed to supporting, empowering, and amplifying the voices of Indigenous youth. Over the summer, the ICA team and a student research partner completed a “Youth Needs Assessment” to identify the motivations and challenges faced by Indigenous youth engaged in climate and Indigenous rights advocacy work. The assessment is directing the future of our Youth Program to make it relevant to the needs, experiences and aspirations of Indigenous youth.
ICA heard from youth across Turtle Island - including 82 online survey participants and 4 focus group participants. We would like to thank the youth for sharing their stories and wisdom - we are inspired by their powerful leadership, enthusiasm, and resiliency.
**The full report is available** **here**.

Motivations

When asked why they felt Indigenous youth’s voices should be included within climate activism, the youth expressed the importance of connection to the land, future generations, and traditional cultural values and practices. The youth spoke to the importance of these connections for the intergenerational transfer of traditional knowledge, understanding culture and identity, building community relationships, and preserving the environment for future generations. Other motivations included resisting systemic oppression (such as colonialism and racism), creating equitable and inclusive climate solutions, and supporting Indigenous sovereignty.

The youth have the energy and passion to propel the movement forward. They are the ones who will be affected most in coming years [by] climate change. They bring power, connection and vibrancy to the climate movement.

As an Indigenous youth, there is an inherent connection and [responsibility] to care for the land. In addition to the genocide and oppression our people have faced, there is also an ecological genocide that is ongoing on these lands and our kinsh

There is no way to create sustainable movements without investment and re-distribution of power to young people. Black and Indigenous youth need to front the climate justice movement because we are the ones who will feel the long term impacts of de

Challenges

We also asked the youth if their Indigenous backgrounds impacted their ability to participate in climate activism. Several youth expressed that their backgrounds provided access to traditional teachings, community support, and connection to the lands and waters. However, they also identified experiences of racial discrimination, lack of resources and opportunities, mental health impacts, and lack of access to traditional territories and teachings.

The effects of systemic oppression, such as settler colonialism and racism, pose significant challenges for youth engaging in advocacy work. Throughout the Youth Needs Assessment, it became apparent that systems of oppression, dispossession, and disempowerment impact the lives of Indigenous youth. Urbanized and displaced youth expressed that limited access to traditional land and cultural teachings results in loss of language, cultural values, and knowledge of the land.

Solutions

The youth voiced that solutions should be grounded in asserting Indigenous sovereignty and rights, creating inclusive spaces for engagement, building stronger relationships to the land, building community support and relationships, respecting Indigenous knowledge, and increasing the accessibility of resources and opportunities. Moving forward, Indigenous youth hope to see increased availability of culturally appropriate and Indigenous-led resources, educational resources, financial resources, mental health support, networking and collaborative projects, online events and opportunities, and skill or training opportunities.

Funding can help because it frees some time to rest without working so hard all the time. Once you get out and participate it helps mental health because you feel nourished by the energy around you. You also see that you are among many. I think acc

Mentorship to help inform decision making, strategy, conflict resolution, etc...or just somewhere to go for advice to reaffirm our own struggles, grief and frustrations. I would like to learn more about how to create sustainable financial outlets.

It’s supporting those local communities and those young people in exploring their own culture and their own sovereignty within their communities so then they can actually start making a localized approach for Indigenous climate activism.

What’s next?

The Youth Needs Assessment has highlighted that there are increasing numbers of Indigenous youth wanting to engage in climate and Indigenous rights advocacy work. The assessment identified the barriers faced by our youth and emphasized that the climate-justice movement in so-called Canada must include, amplify, and respect the voices of our communities.

So - what’s next? Here is an outline of the future direction for the ICA Youth Program:

creating a Youth Council
youth-specific trainings of the Indigenous Worldview Climate Change Toolkit
supporting Youth Gatherings and Delegations
exploring a Youth Mentorship program
nurturing Healing Justice Pathways in response to the mental health support and culturally appropriate resources that Indigenous youth expressed a need for
expanding our ability to give reciprocity for contract work and youth participation in ICA initiatives

The full report is available here.

We hope that you’ll join us in our journey to support Indigenous youth! To contribute to our programming, please donate.

Email lindsey@indigenousclimateaction.com if you would like to get on our youth listserv to learn about opportunities as they arise. Please note that this listserv is ONLY for Indigenous youth, so please do not request to be on it if you are not Indigenous.

ICA Youth Needs Assessment Summary - Support Indigenous Youth!

Supporting Sovereignty in Action

Healing Justice: ICA’s New Pathway