“Indigenous Voices on Climate” (Yale Program on Climate Change Communication)

How can Indigenous knowledge systems, rooted in oral traditions, deep relationships with the Earth, and community-led action be used to communicate effectively on climate change? Drawing from distinct Indigenous communities and histories, the panelists will explore how their cultural traditions and worldviews guide their approaches to addressing climate issues within their own communities and in collaboration with others.

 

 

Dr. Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson will moderate the webinar. She is an Indigenous climate journalist and scholar from Samoa in the South Pacific. She is the Director of Indigenous Climate Journalism at New Narratives, a women-led organization founded in 2010 that drives collaborative, people-centered investigative journalism and news innovation. She was previously the inaugural Global Climate Collaborations Editor for The Associated Press, where she facilitated the revision of The AP Style Guide chapter on climate change and designed the first global South climate journalism training for The AP. Dr. Jackson, a chieftess from the island of Savai’i, has reported on climate change for over 20 years in the Pacific islands. She currently edits The New Atoll - a digital periodical on global Pacific island issues. Lagipoiva was a founding Advisory Board Member for the Oxford Climate Journalism Network, and currently serves as the Co-Chair of Covering Climate Now and a Gender Council Member for the International Federation of Journalists.

 

Dr. Ihirangi Heke is of Māori descent and was raised in the mountain environments of New Zealand’s South Island. Over the past 40 years, Dr. Heke has been a guide in Milford Sound’s World Heritage Park, a mountain bike and ski guide in numerous alpine locations globally and more recently leading groups to experience traditional Māori environmental science. Dr. Heke has post graduate degrees in Environmental Management including a PhD in population health. Dr. Heke’s current research focus has been on using Systems Dynamics to help Māori and other indigenous groups abroad, build their own health and wellness activities through traditional environmental knowledge. In this capacity, Dr. Heke was recently awarded a research grant by Johns Hopkins University combining Systems Science and Maori Environmental Connections. Dr. Heke’s current role is with Google (San Francisco) X’s climate change initiative. Dr. Heke has also been developing VR180 Māori environmental experiences with a particular interest in high performance sport. More specifically his work has been looking at converting elite athletes into environmental champions by teaching them how to be environmentally centred rather than athlete centred in the ways that they train and evaluate elite performance.

 

Rahiem Eleazer currently serves as the Environmental Liaison for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (MPTN) where he coordinates environmental efforts within Mashantucket while networking with external organizations, institutions, as well as local, state, and federal agencies to pursue mutual interests while promoting and protecting the Tribe’s sovereignty. His work in Mashantucket also includes grant work with multiple federal agencies, where he constructed MPTN’s climate change vulnerability assessment in 2022. His current work focuses on ecological conservation, climate change resiliency, and incorporating indigenous philosophy into environmental practices. He serves on MPTN’s Historical and Cultural Preservation Committee and Natural Resources Protection Committee.

 

We will record the webinar and send a link to the video to everyone who registered.

 

This event is sponsored by the Yale Center for Environmental Communication, the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, and the Yale School of the Environment.