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Lesson 4: Climate Justice Leadership

Indigenous Knowledge Systems Leading Global Environmental Solutions

⏱️ 90 minutes 🌍 Science/Social Studies ⚖️ Climate Justice

Lesson Overview

Focus

Indigenous solutions to climate change.

Key Concept

Kaitiakitanga (Guardianship)

Outcome

Applying traditional knowledge to modern problems.

Climate Justice by the Numbers

🌍

Indigenous peoples represent 5% of global population

🌲

80%

But protect 80% of world's biodiversity

💡

∞

Unlimited solutions through traditional knowledge

Karakia Timatanga | Cultural Opening

"Ko au te taiao, ko te taiao ko au"

I am the environment, the environment is me.

This shows us that we are not separate from nature. If the land is sick, we are sick. If the land is healthy, we are healthy.

Phase 1: Global Climate Warriors (25 minutes)

🌟 Frontline Leaders

Indigenous people are often the first to feel climate change, but also the first to act.

🇻🇺

Ursula Rakova (PNG)

The Carteret Islands. Her people are the world's first "climate refugees," moving because of rising seas.

▶️ Watch: Sun Come Up (Trailer)

🇬🇱

Aka Hansen (Greenland)

Inuit. Watching the Arctic ice melt, changing how her people have hunted for thousands of years.

▶️ Watch: Lament for the Ice

🇧🇷

Davi Kopenawa (Amazon)

Yanomami Shaman. "The forest is our pharmacy." Fighting to keep the 'lungs of the world' breathing.

▶️ Keynote: The Falling Sky

Phase 2: TEK Laboratory (30 minutes)

🧪 Wisdom Meets Science

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) isn't just "stories." It is science based on thousands of years of data.

Fire Management 🔥

Traditional: Aboriginal cool burns.

Science: Reduces fuel load, prevents mega-fires.

Soil Farming 🌾

Traditional: Crop rotation, resting land.

Science: Stores more carbon in the soil (Sequestration).

Weather Signs 🌊

Traditional: Reading bird flight and clouds.

Science: Predicting El Niño/La Niña events.

Phase 3: Climate Solutions Summit (25 minutes)

Design Your Solution

Using what you've learned, propose a solution for a local problem.

🌊 The Challenge: Coastlines

Sea levels are rising. How can we protect marae near the sea?

Hint: Think about dunes, planting pingao, or managed retreat.

💧 The Challenge: Water Quality

Rivers are polluted. How can we clean them up?

Hint: Riparian planting (trees on banks), stopping rahui.