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#IndigenousGeography could change how we relate to the #Earth
"#Geography can be maps. But it can also be something deeply personal, like how we interact with space."
by Taylar Dawn Stagner Indigenous Affairs Fellow
Jul 31, 2024
"#ClimateChange is a world-ending problem: #Flooding, #fires, #hurricanes, and #heat are threatening life and land, and could render parts of the planet #uninhabitable. But when #NiiyokamigaabawDeondreSmiles gives their students advice on what to do about it, one of the things they recommend is to simply go for a #walk. Smiles is an assistant professor of geography at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, and a leader in the field of Indigenous geography.
"They are a citizen of the #LeechLakeBand of #Ojibewe, and they research how #IndigenousPeople have cultivated relationships with the land that are #ceremonial, historic — and ever #evolving, including in the wake of climate change.
"As #colonial governments engage with #traditional #ecological knowledge more seriously, Smiles’ work is a timely reminder of how seemingly small changes to your routine can have a big impact on your point of view. Indigenous geography offers a stark contrast to a worldview based on #extraction and #exploitation.
"Many societies have cataloged the world around them to make maps and meaning out of the land, but colonial ways of contextualizing the world have also often utilized geography as a way to divide and sequester land from Indigenous peoples."