Technoscience Salon with Dr. Kyle Whyte

Join us for a discussion with Dr. Kyle Whyte (University of Michigan) on “How does Indigenous Climate Justice Scale Up?”

Indigenous peoples' actions to address climate change continue to achieve meaningful effects, impacting the United Nations, multinational industries, regional governance, and national laws, policies, and investments. Yet many people assume that only multilateral institutions and nations can move the needle at global and regional scales. Indigenous peoples are often labeled as actors who can make change slowly and at local scales. The assumption that Indigenous actions cannot achieve results 'at scale' is wrong. Indigenous movements show how responsible relationships, kinship bonds, care for land, and self-determination are effective elements of methods for scaling up. Compared to dominant methods of scaling up, which are replete with tradeoffs that trend toward worsening climate risk, carbon footprints, and human suffering, Indigenous methods are ethical, just, and can be organized to achieve speed. The presentation shares stories, cases, and evidence of Indigenous methods for generating climate justice 'at scale'.

Dr. Kyle Whyte (Citizen Potawatomi) is the George Willis Pack Professor in the School for Environment and Sustainability and University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor at the University of Michigan. On campus, Kyle teaches in and coordinates the School’s environmental justice graduate specialization. He is founding Faculty Director of the Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment, Principal Investigator of the Environmental Justice + Humanities Hub, co-Principal Investigator of the Global Center for Climate Change and Transboundary Waters, Faculty Associate of Native American Studies, Principal Investigator of the Secretariat for the Pathways Alliance for Change and Transformation, STRIDE Committee member, affiliate Professor of Philosophy, and Senior Fellow in the Michigan Society of Fellows.

This event is co-sponsored by the Centre for Indigenous Studies.