Presenter(s): Simone Hally − Pre-PPPM, Spanish Literature And Culture
Faculty Mentor(s): Mark Carey
Poster 155
Research Area: Environmental And Social Studies
While climate change discourse increasingly recognizes the unique vulnerabilities of indigenous peoples, the experiences of indigenous women with respect to climate change continue to receive less attention, especially with respect to scientific and policy writing. In this paper, I aim to apply Kyle Whyte’s framework that binds “collective continuance” and systems of responsibility with regards to the relationship between climate change and indigenous women. I will apply his framework based on the relationship between the Anishinaabe women and water. I will then test it on the indigenous women in South Goulburn Island’s relationship and responsibility to marine resources, the Baka women’s relationships to the Nbwakha fish, and Indigenous Peruvian women’s responsibility to seed saving and harvesting. I will ultimately argue that Whyte’s lense effectively explains how ability to adapt to and carry out traditional responsibilities factors into climate change’s impact on indigenous women. In all these examples, the ecological effects caused by climate change disrupt the responsibilities of the indigenous women and enables them to adapt in order to fulfill their responsibilities, or create new ones altogether. This adaptation reveals the both oppressive and emancipatory nature of climate change’s effect on women’s responsibilities. Writing about indigenous women and climate change is important not only because of their wealth of experience and knowledge of the environments in which they live, but also because incorporating their voices perpetuates a balanced discourse surrounding indigenous women and climate change. Their perspectives are instrumental in global and regional climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.