Ideas By Lona Running Wolf and Tyson Running Wolf September 22, 2024 7:00 AM EDT Lona and Tyson Running Wolf of the Blackfoot Confederacy are members of the Wayfinders Circle alliance and co-founders of Blackfeet Eco Knowledge , a non-profit with the mission of reconnecting Blackfoot people to their landscape and environment through the revitalization of Blackfoot people traditional ecological knowledge, culture and language As Climate Week NYC kicks off today, leaders in government, business, science, and philanthropy from around the world are coming together to strategize the global fight against climate change. Since last year’s gathering, the world has seen 12 straight months that hit or surpassed 1.5C in average warming. This grim threshold, one set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), intended to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, underscores the urgency of the moment. As the clock ticks down on the time we have left to redirect our Earth toward a more sustainable future, it is now more important than ever that Indigenous Peoples have a bigger seat at the table. After all, Indigenous Peoples are the world’s greatest protectors of the environment. Our land is not just our home—it is our spiritual connection to the Earth, to our ancestors, to our past, present and future. The territories of Indigenous Peoples contain about 40% of the large intact ecosystems scientists say we cannot lose if we want Earth to continue supporting life on Earth as we know it. These ecosystems are critical to the future of our planet, with lower biodiversity loss than non-Indigenous lands. Our land also faces less deforestation , helping our global fight to reduce CO2 levels in the atmosphere. Read more: This Is Life in America’s Water-Inequality Capital. It Might Be About to Change For the Blackfoot People, our […]