Indigenous Peoples' Day and Environmental Justice
Posted
on Democratic Left
· October 09, 2017 7:00 AM
WE Recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day
Indigenous peoples are among the first to face the direct consequences of climate change:
- In the Amazon, deforestation for industrial agriculture causes droughts and fires.
- Rising temperatures in South Dakota mean more disease-spreading mosquitoes — and heat waves that endanger Native elders and children.
- In Alaska, entire Inuit and Yu’pik villages are sliding into the sea. The Native people there aren’t just losing their homes. They face the loss of their entire language and cultural identity.