How Indigenous-led education is vital for climate action

In the Global Network on Indigenous-Led education (‘ILED network’), we have a specific focus on the role of education – and how education can either undermine or empower the resilience of communities and youth in particular.  

Undermine, because we have so many examples among partners within the network of how imposed ‘mainstream’ education misses the mark.  

Often, children are only exposed to lessons in classrooms that are text-based and that don’t relate to indigenous worldviews. Most often, these classes take place in the dominant language, and children can be discouraged and even banned from using their mother tongue. Another factor is the large amount of homework that teachers assign, which means that children lack the time and energy for other learning activities, like forest trips with elders.  

Empower, because there are a lot of great initiatives and programmes developed and implemented by communities themselves based on their own priorities, ways of learning and cultural calendars.  

Examples of initiatives (in our network) are cultural or culinary festivals, setting up education centres for story-telling / performance evenings, creation of language apps or videos and other learning materials on intangible cultural heritage. Often these activities take place in weekends or during school holidays.  

Learning beyond the classroom  

When we speak about indigenous knowledge and how it can contribute to climate action, we need to approach it more holistically, and understand the wider context in which knowledge exists. 

Learning does not just take place in the classroom; it also takes place in the forest and on the rivers, by doing and not studying. Learning also happens within families, communities and during cultural activities. We must explore what conditions and requirements must be met to ensure that knowledge continues to exist, remains relevant, and is transferred to the youth. 

Indigenous knowledge and land rights  

First, we must appreciate the extent to which indigenous knowledge is embedded in the landscape and natural environment. They are inseparable.  

 

Simply stated: knowledge is lost when indigenous peoples can’t access their lands anymore or territories are destroyed.  

 

This not only underlines the urgency to defend indigenous land rights, but on a pedagogical level, it also highlights the importance of site-based and practical learning across varied territories and waters.  

There are a lot of statistics about successful indigenous management of highly biodiverse landscapes, and how this careful management is an effective way to prevent carbon emissions. ILED (Indigenous Led Education) is key to keeping knowledge and institutions resilient to maintain that guardianship.  

For instance, in our network we support initiatives to recover and retain knowledge and practices by evicted communities in Kenya, so that when they can return to their forest, their knowledge is not lost. 

Another example is mobile forest schools in the Philippines to accommodate relevant schooling for nomadic forest communities. If children from nomadic communities were forced to go to traditional schools in a village, they would have to leave their nomadic lifestyle and their community behind and would receive an education that does not align with their traditional knowledge and cultural understanding. The act of passing indigenous knowledge down through the generations would be weakened or lost altogether. 

Second, we have to recognise the importance of indigenous language, as it is the main tool for transferring knowledge to the next generation. This is the first year of the UN Decade on Indigenous Languages and our network is launching a publication on 9 August in which community-authored case studies explain how language is the basis of everything. Their language provides them with the terms to express concepts that describe natural phenomena and changes (including climate changes). If languages disappear (and they are doing so at alarming rates), so does the knowledge and the ability to innovate and adapt.  

Therefore, ILED initiatives are often practical activities that involve community action and indigenous language use. They include maintenance of sacred sites, restoration and environmental conservation projects, tree nurseries, teaching children about sustainable harvesting, timings, seasons and eco-cultural research that combines traditional knowledge with scientific methods. These activities have a direct positive impact on biodiversity and climate and make communities more resilient to climate impacts and natural shocks, and to other impacts, such as pandemics or food price increases.  

Recommendations for collaboration between different stakeholders and indigenous peoples 

The forthcoming publication offers some recommendations from the ILED network for collaboration between Parties and indigenous peoples in the context of formal and informal education. To jointly tackle climate change and wider issues: 

• Grassroots initiatives need more direct support and resources without extensive bureaucracy. We found that ILED programmes are considered too small, or generally overlooked or not prioritized by donors, governments and others. Funding and other support is sometimes also inaccessible to small grassroot groups, often women’s groups, due to complex procedural requirements.  

• A holistic perspective is essential.  

• Underlying human-rights issues need to be addressed, especially in education. We must challenge discrimination and harmful practices in mainstream education policies and practices (in line with Articles 11-15 of UNDRIP).  

• Education policies and programmes must become more inclusive and respectful of Indigenous cultures, ways of learning and languages. We need spaces in which oral traditions, cultures and languages can thrive. Indigenous Peoples, youth in particular, must of course be at the heart of this transformation process. 

Watch the full dialogue: https://unfccc.int/event/indigenous-curricula-and-materials-round-table-dialogue