Transcript Mona Belleau, Shiffting Tides Tour Project

Shifting Tides
Tour
Indigenous Responses to
Global Climate Change
Mona Belleau
An International Event
 Indigenous
Peoples of diverse origines de
(Cree, Cook Islands Māori, Coast Salish,
Inuit)
 Public speaking tour in the Cook Islands
and in Canada
Funding Organizations
 Pacific

Peoples’ Partnership
(NGO based in Victoria, B. C. who has been
working for Social Justice in the South
Pacific for nearly 40 years)
 Foreign
Affairs, Trade and Development
Canada
Objectives of Shifting Tides
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Bridge together Indigenous Peoples from the
South and the North and to offer them a tribune
Demonstrate that climate change is not only
environmental, but also social, political and
economic.
Voice the preoccupations of the Indigenous
peoples met on Global Climate Change and on
the environment in general
To focus on mitigation and adaptation strategies
that could become part of eventual economic
development and cultural preservation initiatives
International Delegation
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Shaunna Morgan, Cree, Senior Manager, Centre
for Indigenous Environmental Resources
Larry Grant, Salish Elder, Adjunct Professor,
University of British Columbia
Apai Mataiopo (Tekeu Framhein), Vice-President
of the Koutu Nui
Te Pa Mataiopo (Imogen Pua Ingram), Secretary
of the Koutu Nui
Myself, Inuk from Nunavut
Itinerary and partners met
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Cook Islands
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Centre for Asia-Pacific
Initiatives at the University of
Victoria
Winnipeg
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Elder’s Centre
Malaspina University-College
Vancouver
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Musqueam Band Council
Elder’s Centre
University of British Columbia
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Ka Ni Kanichihk (group of
women and youth)
Centre for Indigenous
Environmental Resources
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs
Ottawa
Cowichan
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Koutu Nui
WWF
Youth Group
University of the South Pacific
Victoria
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Canadian Parliament
Canadian Council for
International Co-operation
Meeting with Senator Charlie
Watt
Iqaluit
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Nunavut Arctic College
Elder’s Centre
Îles Cook
The Cook Islands
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Archipelago of 15
volcanic islands and
atolls in the Pacific
Ocean
To the West of
French Polynesia
It’s highest point is
652 meters high
Māori
«Free association»
with New Zealand
Preoccupations
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Cook Islands
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Sea level rise
Coastal erosion
Coral bleaching
Shifting fish stocks
Increased storm activity (5 hurricanes in 2005)
Open fires for burning garbage
Access to fresh water
Accumulation of toxins in seafood
Industrialization
 Feeling like the blame is not theirs
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Preoccupations
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Victoria / Duncan
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Vancouver
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Dramatic decrease in salmon stocks
Cedars that are dying
Dramatic decrease in salmon stocks
Loss of ancestral lands to development
Winnipeg
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Winter roads that lead to Aboriginal communities
in the North are not as safe as before
No recycling bins in a neighbourhood mainly
populated by Aboriginals
Preoccupations
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Iqaluit
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Progressive loss of ice coverage in the Northwest
Passage
Accumulation of toxins in the seafood
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Loss of traditional knowledge due to climate change
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Industrialization in the South
Feeling like the blame is not ours
Endangerment of the hunters and of those who go out on
the land
Shifting of fish stocks and other species
New species of fauna and flora
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Lack of knowledge as to the effects of these new species
on the fragile northern ecosystem
First victims of climate
change?
Nunavut / Inuit
Thawing of glaciers
↓
Difficulty for certain
animals to survive (polar
bears, walruses, seals,
etc.)
↓
Loss of culture
Cook Islands
Sea level rise
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Obligation to abandon
islands and to move to
larger ones or to Australia
or New Zealand
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Loss of culture and
diaspora
First victims of climate
change?
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Nunavut / Inuit
High dependency on
environmental
resources for food
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Contaminants in the
food sources
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Negative impacts on
health
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Cook Islands
High dependency on
environmental
resources for food
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Contaminants in the
food sources
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Negative impacts on
health
First victims of climate
change?
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Nunavut / Inuit
Changing climate
conditions
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Harder to predict the
weather
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Lives of hunters and
fishermen at greater risk
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Cook Islands
Changing climate
conditions
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Harder to predict the
weather
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Lives of fishermen at
greater risk
Common preoccupations
 Strong
interrelation
between
Indigenous peoples
and their territory
 Dependency on
traditional foods
 More intense
weather
 Unpredictable
weather
 Security of those
going out on the
land and at sea
 Loss of land
 Loss of
culture/traditional
way of life
What did Shifting Tides
enable?
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To show international solidarity between
Indigenous peoples on the subject of Global
Climate Change
To show that Climate Change is global and
that it affects the North as much as the South
To show that Indigenous peoples are still
largely dependent on the resources and the
environment that surround them
To give a voice to Indigenous peoples to
share their realities
Next step
We hope that similar initiatives
be put together to shed more
light on the effects of Global
Climate Change on the
Indigenous peoples around the
World.
Nakurmiik!
Meegwech!
Huy ch q'u!
Meitaki maata!
Merci!