The Language of Peace: Linguistic Justice as a Challenge and Tool for Environmental Peacebuilding

Theme Icon - Law, Power, and Decolonization

Date & Time
Jun 19, 2026 | 14.00 - 15.30

Participants
Montreal Benesch, Trans Research in Linguistics Lab, UC Santa Barbara (United States)
Marcel Labelle, Mahigan (Algonquin and Métis Nations) (Canada)
Rami Khoucha, Association Cèdre pour la Protection de l'Environnement et le Développement Durable (Algeria)
Kalåni Reyes, Main Marianas Media and Research Consulting (Northern Mariana Islands)
Sol Santos, Independent (Argentina/Switzerland)

“I was asked which Indigenous language I speak. I speak Michif, but I am fluent in a more Universal language. The language that the forest and all its inhabitants speak. One that humankind must relearn if we are to have a future on our Mother Earth.” (Marcel Labelle) Language is political. The words we use to describe Planet, people, and events shape how we understand and experience them. The vast majority of Indigenous languages hold vocabulary and modes absent in English that support a very different relationship with Nature and each other than prevailing lingua francas. Yet local languages are sidelined in environmental peacebuilding projects and policy fora, affecting who can fully share their knowledge - even if fluent in a global language. This roundtable will present a framework for linguistic justice while sharing real-world examples about (1) why language diversity and access matters for environmental peacebuilding and (2) how underresourced initiatives can nonetheless support multi-lingual approaches. ***** This session is sponsored by the ECCP Decolonization Group. Roundtable Participants include: Marcel Labelle, Mahigan (Algonquin and Métis Nations [Canada]), Kalåni Reyes, [Main Marianas Media and Research Consulting] (Northern Mariana Islands), Montreal Benesch, Trans Research in Linguistics Lab, UC Santa Barbara (USA), Campesino Representative (Colombia) - individual details will be confirmed once funding and visa processes are confirmed [Tim Stork and the ECCP Decolonization Group are working to bring a few representatives] Note that there will be many languages actively spoken as part of this roundtable. We have noted Spanish above (and there will be Spanish included), but there will also be French, Chamorro, Michif, and more. We will manage translation internally, as part of modelling what linguistic justice can look like.