Ransom Economy
This video and blog is part of a series sharing the themes from ICA's "Reclaiming the Sacred" Indigenous Economics online conference held June 10-12 2021. This conference was held in partnership with the Canadian Society for Ecological Economics.
ICA Executive Director Eriel Deranger opened and moderated the discussion around ransom economy, emphasizing that Indigenous peoples exist globally and many face similar circumstances imposed by colonial systems. Haudenosaunee Land Defender Skyler Williams has defined the ransom economy as “Indigenous lands and territories being held ransom…all the resource development is happening in Indigenous communities while systematically pushing away Indigenous economies, language, culture…who we are, what wealth is for us.”
Rhodes University scholar and researcher Aboidun Afolabi expanded the ransom economy, to highlight the forced migration and lost way of life that is initiated by practices associated with neoliberal policies in Africa. Climate change is central to these events in some African countries; 50% of African populations are composed of Indigenous communities who are deeply affected by climate change.
Indigenous peoples are being removed from their homelands as they are forced to adapt, and this constitutes a global injustice on Indigenous people. For example: struggles over land rights in Kenya, disruption of fishing practices for many communities in Nigeria due to oil mining, and forced migration in Zimbabwe, due to a major cyclone. All of these events are impositions on Indigenous peoples due to climate change.
Alofabi suggested that we need to make “informal” knowledge formal, to assign more value to Indigenous knowledge and bring it into the mainstream.
Larry Innes discussed the potentials of International Declarations and the long history of Canada including the Royal Proclamation of 1763. These are avenues through which Indigenous laws can be “brought out of the shadows.” Indigenous law is foundational to Canadian law and the formation of the Canadian state.
Common questions and comments among the panelists arrived at: how do we meet in ethical space, recognizing that we share land and history? How do we use Canadian law and Indigenous law to create a Canada built on reciprocity and relationship?
In terms of legal title, 0.2% of Canada is Indigenous land, 99.8% is crown lands – this leaves Indigenous communities with very little ability to determine what happens on their land.
Indigenous Peoples participation in economies is limited due to racism – many end up trying to just clean up after industry (e.g., cleaning trash near the tar sands to protect their land and environment).
What you can do:
You can respect the history of treaties and Indigenous law, and uphold its honour, through knowing your ancestors, homelands, and your role in these webs of legal entanglement.
Seek ways to implement calls to action in Truth and Reconciliation’s 94 Calls to Action, MMIW Report, and other official documents such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Be familiar with internationally binding legal frameworks, such as treaties, which help to outline historical pathways which may have led to the marginalization of Indigenous communities. Today, these communities may be in situations where ransom economies limit their choices.
Abiodun suggested, collectively, the need to assign more value to Indigenous knowledge, and to challenge neoliberalism by bringing principles and ethics of care to environmental and personal practices.
Holding nation states accountable is possible through local, coordinated, and decentralized actions all over. The legal foundation for more just societies is already there, in already-existing frameworks.
Speaker Biographies:
Eriel Deranger (she/her) is a Dënesųłiné woman (ts'ékui), member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and mother of two, coming from a family of Indigenous rights advocates fighting for the recognition, sovereignty and autonomy of their Indigenous lands and territory in what is now known as Treaty 8, Canada.
In 2015, Deranger worked with local Indigenous organizers to help build out the foundations of Indigenous Climate Action, becoming one of the core co-founders of the organization. She formally stepped into the role of Executive Director in July of 2017.
Prior to ICA, Deranger worked with her First Nation to build out one of the largest inter-sectional “keep it in the ground” campaigns: The international Indigenous Tar Sands campaign - challenging the expansion of Alberta’s Tar Sands. As part of her role, she brought international recognition to issues in her territory with celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Darren Aronofsky, Neil Young, Daryl Hannah, James Cameron and many others, drawing attention across the globe. Deranger has written for the Guardian, Yellowhead Institute, The National Observer, Red Pepper Magazine, been featured in documentary films including Elemental (2012), interviewed for national and international media outlets including Democracy Now!, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN), and CBC.
Abiodun Afolabi is currently a doctoral fellow at the Allan Gray Center for Leadership Ethics at Rhodes University South Africa. He is in the final year of his doctoral research in the Department of Philosophy, Rhodes University, South Africa. He had his first degree in Philosophy at Adekunle Ajasin University, Nigeria and bagged a Masters degree in Philosophy at the University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria. His doctoral dissertation, presently being examined, focused on the ethics of Climate Change. In the dissertation, he addressed issues relating to climate change ethics and the related questions about how cultural autonomy and cultural devastation can best be treated in an overall conception of climate justice. He has presented papers on these issues at local and international conferences. He is keenly interested in the conceptualization and resolution of peculiar development and global justice problems afflicting African societies and other vulnerable people around the world. His research interests are in the areas of climate change ethics, global justice, and environmental politics.
Larry Innes is a partner at Olthuis, Kleer, Townshend LLP practicing in the area of Indigenous rights and environmental law. Larry has worked with First Nations on lands and resources issues for more than 25 years, and has developed extensive experience in the negotiation of impacts and benefits agreements, environmental assessment, co-management measures, self-government and treaty provisions. He currently represents and advises Indigenous governments dealing with major mining, forestry and energy developments, and is also involved in several leading Indigenous conservation and land use planning initiatives across Canada.
