Native woman works to transform the way we approach power and policy: ‘It’s not consumed by money’ – TCD

January 13, 2025

“It is about time that we receive this level of investment into Indigenous leadership in climate policy and solutions.”

After oil and gas companies contaminated her community with toxic waste, Eriel Tchekwie Deranger did not stay silent. The executive director and co-founder of Indigenous Climate Action is spearheading a movement to reimagine how the world develops climate policy.

As detailed by The New York Times, Deranger is a Dënesųłiné woman and part of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in Alberta, and she comes from a family with a history of advocacy in the American Indian Movement. She believes it is crucial to implement environmental policies with a mindset of “power with, as opposed to power over.”

“It’s not consumed by money but by the health and wealth of our communities’ spirituality, our connections to our culture, our languages, our capacities to harvest from the land and not take more than you need,” Deranger told the Times when asked about an Indigenous-led policy.

Read More: https://www.thecooldown.com/outdoors/eriel-tchekwie-deranger-indigenous-activist-climate-leader/