'A lot at stake': indigenous and minorities sidelined on climate change fight

[Judi Lynn]

The two groups are affected the most by environmental degradation and pollution, but they often feel left out of the movement

Emily Holden in Washington
Sun 10 Mar 2019 03.00 EDT

Bernadette Demientieff, a representative for the indigenous Gwich’in nation, finds Washington DC anxiety-inducing, especially compared to the wide open spaces and tall mountains of Alaska.

She makes frequent trips to the US capital to fight oil drilling in what she considers sacred caribou calving grounds in the Arctic. But Demientieff is an outsider in the nation’s capital, where her concerns have fallen on deaf ears with the Trump administration. She’s also a bit of an outsider to the national environmental movement, too.

“I’m not an activist. I’m not an environmentalist. I don’t like to be branded because I care about our land and our animals,” she said. She sees herself as a human rights advocate. And she doesn’t look like or have the same life experiences as many activists.

. . .

Indigenous people and communities of color have historically seen the worst environmental degradation and biggest health risks from pollution, yet campaigns to protect the environment and fight climate change have often sidelined them. The mainstream movement has a well-documented diversity problem that is not quickly improving.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/10/environment-climate-change-movement-indigenous-minorities-sidelined