Beyond Likes and Shares: Engaging Respectfully with Indigenous Climate Narratives

 
Your Turn: You’re young, you’re savvy. You get social media. You can type 60 words a minute with your thumbs. And you know that social media’s a powerful tool for platforming marginalized voices. But just liking or sharing an Indigenous climate activist's post isn't enough. True engagement goes beyond clicktivism and engages real learning.
Here are some tips for engaging respectfully with Indigenous climate narratives on social media:

• Do a Little Research: You’re busy, we get that. Life is busy with school, work, bills, family, friends, etc. I know. You don’t need to do a dissertation, but before commenting or sharing an Indigenous climate activists’ post, take some time, even if its just a few minutes, to educate yourself on the specific issue and the author’s background. Indigenous environmental knowledge is valid and crucial to our survival. Take the opportunity to learn something new!

• Listen Before You Speak: Actively listen to what Indigenous voices are saying. Traditional Knowledge is not a sound bite, it is not a punch line, it is not a buzzword. It is wisdom, wisdom that has been earned over generations. Pay attention to their concerns and the solutions they propose and understand the how and why behind them.

• Respectful Language: Avoid stereotypes and generalizations. Are you following an Metis activist? Are they an Inuit person? Understand the difference, be precise. Be mindful of the language we use to avoid stereotyping or generalizing.

• Challenge Your Own Biases: We all have biases. That’s okay, it’s part of being human, everybody has them. Don’t be ashamed. We all look out at the world through the lens of our own experiences. Actively reflect on your own assumptions and be open to learning new perspectives.

The Solution: The more that settler Canadians engage with Indigenous perspectives and actually listen to the voices that embody generations of Traditional Knowledge and land stewardship practices, the faster Canada as a nation will be able to confront the challenges of climate change. The faster the settler government will be to identify threats to the environment and local ecology, and the faster that climate harms can be corrected.