What does water have to do with Indigenous rights?

The war on Earth is a lot of things: it’s fracking, deforestation, mining, pipelines, and the ever-increasing cost of space itself in British Columbia, specifically Metro Vancouver. I could go on to talk about the raging wildfires that decimated roughly 4,260 square kilometres of British Columbia forest in the summer of 2017 or the ever-increasing list of endangered species. Violence against the Earth is not conventional, immediate, or overt but systemic and socialized, as well as government-sanctioned. All of this is immense and crucial not just to our survival on Earth but our ability to thrive. 

Photo via The National Observer

It’s easy to separate social injustice from environmental injustice. After all, what does water have to do with Indigenous rights? A lot, it turns out. Studies show that 400 out of 618 First Nations in Canada had water problems between 2004 and 2014. The 1876 Indian Act severely restricted Indigenous agency over their land, especially for women, and the effects have carried on until the present.

It is the impact of environmental injustice on Indigenous women that is so often left out of the conversation. In fact, violence against Indigenous women is often not even considered an environmental issue. In their latest update, the RCMP estimates the current number of missing and murdered Indigenous women to be 1,181 since 1980, making Indigenous women six times more likely to be victims of homicide than non-Indigenous women. Indigenous rights activists, however, dispute the RCMP’s claim. It is difficult to know the real number as the RCMP does not systematically track data

Photo via CBC

Why are Indigenous women at an increased risk of violence? The short but storied answer is Canada’s legacy of colonialism. Statistics Canada estimates that 80 percent of Indigenous reserves have median incomes below the low-income measure, with women falling at the lowest pay grade. Poverty makes women more vulnerable to the consequences of natural and human-created disasters like earthquakes and oil spills because they do not have the means to relocate or seek medical care. Given that women are often the sole caretakers of children, and responsible for the collection of both food and water, the aftermath is almost impossible to recover from for some. Often, women are forced into homelessness or occupations that put them at a higher risk of violence. A Globe and Mail study found that at least 18 Indigenous women were victims of convicted serial killers since 1980, most notably pig farmer Robert Pickton. Some of his victims have yet to be identified or located. In addition, Amnesty International notes that, with increased presence of non-Indigenous workers on Indigenous land, there is increased violence against women and girls. Where the land is exploited, women are exploited.

Melina Laboucan-Massimo, a female Indigenous activist.
Photo via Yes Magazine

Despite Canada touting its position as equal and fair for all, there is little to no incentive or space for female climate leaders, especially Indigenous. Among the honourees of Canada’s Clean 50 award in 2017, 43 were men and 7 were women (it is also notable that Clean 50’s slogan is “Outstanding Contributors to Clean Capitalism”). Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, the net worth of which is currently estimated at $143.9 billion, was awarded the United Nation’s highest environmental accolade, “Champion of the Earth,” in 2015. From Al Gore to Elon Musk, the face of sustainability is primarily male, white, and rich. Capitalism rewards production, not conservation.

It will no longer serve to avoid the truth, which is that human wellbeing must be included in the definition of a sustainable planet. Right now, it is limited to LED lights and solar panels. We have forgotten how to sustain human life. The climate crisis we face now is a reverberation of hundreds of years of stealing land, exploiting people, and taking more resources than can regenerate, borne from profiting from the Earth over respecting those who live here. Placing the fate of the planet in the hands of the rich, white, and male determines what the future of sustainability will look like: $100, 000 cars and the number of missing and murdered Indigenous women growing every year.

It is impossible to have justice for the planet until there is justice for women, who currently make up just over half of the worldwide population. If we cannot treat the women who create and define our society as sacred, how will we treat the Earth as such?

-- Tia (KSA Sustainability Specialist)