It’s High Time We Listen to Indigenous Women On Climate

May 18, 2021 | Heather Mcteer Toney
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For the first time in history, with the appointment of Deb Haaland as the Secretary of the Interior, the protection of natural lands in the United States falls under the leadership of an Indigenous woman native to the lands she is called to defend. While this momentous selection had been supported by diverse groups from across the country, it presented the question: What took so long for Americans to recognize the importance of Native perspectives in protecting the land?

Indigenous people make up less than 5 percent of our world’s population, yet they serve as the frontline defenders of the Earth’s biodiversity. These communities manage and/or sit on roughly 80 percent of the ecosystems necessary to maintain and protect balance on our planet.

Despite colonization, discrimination and displacement, Indigenous people around the world have remained deeply tied to their native lands. They are the first to notice and experience the ecology chaos that occurs when forests are cleared, pipelines are installed or waterways are contaminated, and they’ve served steady warnings of what will happen if we do not protect Earth’s natural resources.