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‘Abuse of power’: Indigenous communities call out lack of consultation on Ontario housing bill

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Saturday, December 3, 2022

By Fatima Syed Ever since the Doug Ford government proposed its massive, sweeping housing bill, Indigenous chiefs and organizations across Ontario have been urgently reminding the Progressive Conservatives of their legal duty to consult them before making any decisions about land use. Despite these reminders, consultation didn’t happen, and Ford’s caucus passed the More Homes Built Faster Act, or Bill 23, on Nov. 28 — a move being blasted as a blatant violation of Indigenous Rights. The government is “respectfully advised that development cannot proceed without full recognition of the rights of our Nations,” Nishnawbe Ask Nation Grand Chief Derek said in a statement released hours after the bill’s passage. He wasn’t the only Indigenous leader to express his opposition. In the days before the bill became law, the Chiefs of Ontario, a group representing First Nations across the province, put out a statement calling it “unacceptable and an abuse of power” for the Ford government to make unilateral changes to how development projects in Ontario are approved without engaging First Nations.  We’re breaking news in Ontario The Narwhal’s Ontario bureau is telling environment stories you won’t find anywhere else. Keep up with the scoops by signing up for a weekly dose of our independent journalism. We’re breaking news in Ontario The Narwhal’s Ontario bureau is telling environment stories you won’t find anywhere else. Keep up with the latest scoops by signing up for a weekly dose of our independent journalism. The Haudenosaunee Development Institute, on behalf of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council, also wrote to Ontario’s assistant deputy minister of housing before the bill passed. In stating its opposition, the institute said the legislation “will significantly impair, infringe and interfere with the established and constitutionally protected rights and interest of the Haudenosaunee.”  “At this point we have nothing from your government or the Crown which would indicate that it has undertaken any contemplation or consideration of established Haudenosaunee rights and interests with respect to [Bill 23],” said the letter from Aaron Detlor, a lawyer for the development institute, which protects Haudenosaunee jurisdiction in regards to development on its territories.  “We would respectfully suggest that the failure to engage in a good faith treaty-based discussion related to accommodations would likely render the proposals unlawful.” Letter to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark from the Haudenosaunee Development Institute, on behalf of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council The day after the bill was passed, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark admitted the government did not consult with First Nations beforehand, in response to questions from the political newsletter Queen’s Park Today in a media briefing. “We’re looking forward to conversations with our Indigenous partners,” Clark said. He seemed to punt at least some of the responsibility to municipalities, saying they “also have a role to deal with our Indigenous Partners.”  “We acknowledge … we have an obligation to continue the consultation with our partners,” he said. “We will continue the conversation.” Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark said the government is “looking forward” to consultations on Bill 23 with Indigenous communities. Photo: Government of Ontario / Flickr Ford government knew Indigenous communities’ response to Bill 23 could be ‘negative’ The obligation to consult Indigenous communities on decisions affecting their territories is enshrined in Canada’s constitution. And internal documents have shown the Ford government knew Indigenous communities’ response to its bill would likely be negative well before it passed. In early November, The Narwhal received and reported on a leaked 117-page cabinet document that showed an extensive list of concerns shared with Ontario’s 30 ministers ahead of the tabling of the bill.  Almost every section of the document anticipates and outlines Indigenous communities’ response to the many changes listed in the bill — and almost every anticipated response is “negative” or “critical.”   Take one government proposal detailed in the leaked document to launch a “high-level consultation” on the whole bill: the document said “Indigenous communities may be negative due to possible implications on treaty and Aboriginal rights (wetlands and natural heritage).” “Indigenous communities: will be critical of reduced protections and provincial oversight” One of the conclusions in a 117-page leaked document about Bill 23 written for Ford’s cabinet and shared with The Narwhal Bill 23 makes multiple changes to the municipal planning process, giving towns and cities greater responsibility for reviewing and approving development plans while reducing financial and administrative support. The leaked document noted this would mean “Indigenous partners with treaty rights in affected areas will react negatively to changing relationships,” as well as to monitoring and consulting on an increased volume of development applications without an increase in resources.  The government has also removed some of the powers municipalities had to regulate sustainable  development — the document noted this would probably create concerns among Indigeneous communities “that their cultural heritage may not be well captured.” The gutting of conservation authorities and weakening of wetland protections was also highlighted as a key concern for Indigenous communities, due to the “reduced scope of protections for wetlands and watercourses.”  The Ford government has said Bill 23’s sweeping changes are necessary to speed up housing construction in Ontario. “Indigenous communities: will be critical of reduced protections and provincial oversight,” the document noted.  Chief Kelly LaRocca of Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation told The Narwhal she’s not surprised by the details of the internal document or Clark’s comments.  “This government’s violation of Indigenous Rights is nothing new,” said LaRocca, who sent a letter on behalf of her own First Nation on Nov. 17. Indigenous communities say every parcel of land impacted by Doug Ford’s Bill 23 is Indigenous land and cannot be developed without proper consultation. Photo: Sean Marshall / Flickr Ford government has a history of avoiding Indigenous consultation This is not the first time the Ford government has either avoided consulting with Indigenous groups about development or shifted the responsibility onto local governments. Prior to Bill 23, a number of First Nations in Ontario had opposed the Ford government’s unprecedented use of minister’s zoning orders, or MZOs, a controversial provincial planning tool that allows the municipal affairs and housing minister to rezone land to fast-track development and overrule municipal decisions.  In 2021, LaRocca’s community was one of a number of groups raising concerns about a minister’s zoning order issued in an attempt to speedily build an Amazon warehouse in the protected Duffins Creek watershed, near her nation. Although the order was revoked and the project cancelled, most of the wetland was recently cleared and tilled anyway.  That same year, as reported by the Toronto Star, a group of First Nations launched legal action against the province for issuing a minister’s zoning order for a warehouse in Cambridge, Ont. One of the opposing communities was Six Nations of the Grand River, a Haudenosaunee community: after the legal action was launched, Clark’s office rebuked Cambridge’s mayor for not consulting them before asking for the order.  In addition to the constitution, the government’s duty to consult Indigenous Peoples about land use is enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: while Canada recognized the declaration in 2021, the Ford government has still not officially recognized it in the legislature.  The Lower Duffins Creek wetland, near the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, is supposed to be protected from development but may be impacted by Ford’s Bill 23. Like all the wetlands in Ontario, it acts as a natural sponge during floods. Photo: Toronto and Region Conservation Authority The federal government has already warned the Ford government about upholding the duty to consult: documents obtained by The Narwhal show that after conversations with Six Nations and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the Trudeau government told the Ford government in 2021 that insufficient consultation on Highway 413 could result in an intervention and delay the project for years.  The federal government was also brought into a development dispute between Six Nations, Ontario and the municipality of Caledonia in 2020, when members of the Haudenosaunee communities resisted a housing development at a land defence dubbed 1492 Land Back Lane.  In August of that year, both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Ford addressed the standoff: according to APTN, Trudeau said “all orders of government have the responsibilities toward [reconciliation],”, while Ford called himself “a strong believer in collaboration, in sitting down, communicating.”  Later that year, Ontario’s Indigenous Affairs ministry told the Toronto Star it was willing to participate in “federally led” discussions about the standoff, which lasted about a year and involved a court injunction aimed at dismantling the land defence camp, as well as police raids and arrests. The housing project was eventually cancelled.  Chief Kelly LaRocca of Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation says the Ford government’s lack of consultation on Bill 23 is “nothing new” and “smacks of disrespect for Indigenous Rights.” Photo provided by Kelly LaRocca Despite prior friction over Indigenous consultation and its advance warning about the failures of Bill 23, the Ford government has gone ahead with its legislation.  LaRocca said she was not invited to any formal consultation, despite her vocal opposition to the bill and repeated request for discussions. “As we now know from Minister Clark directly, the government did not intend to consult with Indigenous communities.” “Bill 23 impacts Indigenous lands, treaty commitments and rights on multiple levels,” LaRocca said, adding First Nations have a right to manage their territories, natural resources and environment. “The government’s decision to pass Bill 23, knowing that consultation had not taken place, suggests a wanton disregard for our constitutionally protected rights.” “Reconciliation is about trust,” she added. “Seeing the government so blatantly ignoring the duty to consult smacks of disrespect for Indigenous Rights and the basic democratic processes intended to serve every citizen.”  In its letter, the Chiefs of Ontario anticipated Clark’s statement that Indigenous consultation could be done by municipalities, writing, “The Government of Ontario can no longer avoid its duty to consult with First Nations by delegating responsibilities and obligations to municipalities, developers and project proponents.”  Kahentiio Maracle, team coordinator at the Haudenosaunee Development Institute and a member of the Bear Clan from Tyendinaga Mohawk territory, said the government was being “unfair” in making unilateral decisions to develop “land that was never owned in the beginning.” Photo: Fatima Syed / The Narwhal Environmental impacts of development also a concern for Indigenous groups In its letter on behalf of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council, the Haudenosaunee Development Institute bluntly reminded Ontario’s assistant deputy minister of housing of how the government was forced to revoke its zoning order for the Amazon warehouse in Pickering, as well as of its duty to respect Indigenous jurisdiction.  “We’re on land that was never owned in the beginning, so it’s unfair of them to say they’re ripping up things, that they’re going to dig the land up and make money of it,” Kahentiio Maracle, team coordinator at the institute and a member of the Bear Clan from Tyendinaga Mohawk territory, told The Narwhal. As well as Indigenous Rights, the institute’s letter spoke to the overlapping environmental impact of the bill’s sweeping changes. “The impairment and infringement that could arise from your proposed plans are particularly significant if and when the cumulative impacts are considered and contemplated,” the letter said. Detlor, the lawyer who wrote the letter, told The Narwhal the institute is giving the government one more week to respond before they “examine their options.” “Every single parcel of land impacted by Bill 23 in Indigenous land,” he said. “The government is prioritizing development over sacred and solemn promises.” LaRocca said the impacts of Bill 23 will be far reaching for First Nations across Ontario. She has growing concerns about the loss of major natural spaces like Lake Scugog, the Oak Ridges Moraine and the Carruthers Creek watershed, all of which act as natural safeguards against flooding and which are already under threat. Bill 23 removes or weakens many of the remaining regulations that protect those areas. “Paving over this land will speed up this decline, and expose us more to the adverse consequences of climate change,” LaRocca said. “Planning decisions must balance the need for growth with responsible, evidence-based environmental protections and mitigation strategies — a position of which we have ensured the government is made aware.”

By Fatima Syed Housing Minister Steve Clark admitted the government passed Bill 23 without consulting First Nations, despite past clashes with Indigenous communities over development

Land defenders and supporters at a land reclamation camp known as 1492 Land Back Lane near Six Nations of the Grand River.

Ever since the Doug Ford government proposed its massive, sweeping housing bill, Indigenous chiefs and organizations across Ontario have been urgently reminding the Progressive Conservatives of their legal duty to consult them before making any decisions about land use.

Despite these reminders, consultation didn’t happen, and Ford’s caucus passed the More Homes Built Faster Act, or Bill 23, on Nov. 28 — a move being blasted as a blatant violation of Indigenous Rights. The government is “respectfully advised that development cannot proceed without full recognition of the rights of our Nations,” Nishnawbe Ask Nation Grand Chief Derek said in a statement released hours after the bill’s passage.

He wasn’t the only Indigenous leader to express his opposition. In the days before the bill became law, the Chiefs of Ontario, a group representing First Nations across the province, put out a statement calling it “unacceptable and an abuse of power” for the Ford government to make unilateral changes to how development projects in Ontario are approved without engaging First Nations. 

We’re breaking news in Ontario
The Narwhal’s Ontario bureau is telling environment stories you won’t find anywhere else. Keep up with the scoops by signing up for a weekly dose of our independent journalism.
We’re breaking news in Ontario
The Narwhal’s Ontario bureau is telling environment stories you won’t find anywhere else. Keep up with the latest scoops by signing up for a weekly dose of our independent journalism.

The Haudenosaunee Development Institute, on behalf of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council, also wrote to Ontario’s assistant deputy minister of housing before the bill passed. In stating its opposition, the institute said the legislation “will significantly impair, infringe and interfere with the established and constitutionally protected rights and interest of the Haudenosaunee.” 

“At this point we have nothing from your government or the Crown which would indicate that it has undertaken any contemplation or consideration of established Haudenosaunee rights and interests with respect to [Bill 23],” said the letter from Aaron Detlor, a lawyer for the development institute, which protects Haudenosaunee jurisdiction in regards to development on its territories. 

“We would respectfully suggest that the failure to engage in a good faith treaty-based discussion related to accommodations would likely render the proposals unlawful.”

Letter to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark from the Haudenosaunee Development Institute, on behalf of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council

The day after the bill was passed, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark admitted the government did not consult with First Nations beforehand, in response to questions from the political newsletter Queen’s Park Today in a media briefing. “We’re looking forward to conversations with our Indigenous partners,” Clark said. He seemed to punt at least some of the responsibility to municipalities, saying they “also have a role to deal with our Indigenous Partners.” 

“We acknowledge … we have an obligation to continue the consultation with our partners,” he said. “We will continue the conversation.”

Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark speaks at an event. Clark didn't consult Indigenous communities on the Ontario housing bill (Bill 23).
Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark said the government is “looking forward” to consultations on Bill 23 with Indigenous communities. Photo: Government of Ontario / Flickr

Ford government knew Indigenous communities’ response to Bill 23 could be ‘negative’

The obligation to consult Indigenous communities on decisions affecting their territories is enshrined in Canada’s constitution. And internal documents have shown the Ford government knew Indigenous communities’ response to its bill would likely be negative well before it passed. In early November, The Narwhal received and reported on a leaked 117-page cabinet document that showed an extensive list of concerns shared with Ontario’s 30 ministers ahead of the tabling of the bill. 

Almost every section of the document anticipates and outlines Indigenous communities’ response to the many changes listed in the bill — and almost every anticipated response is “negative” or “critical.”  

Take one government proposal detailed in the leaked document to launch a “high-level consultation” on the whole bill: the document said “Indigenous communities may be negative due to possible implications on treaty and Aboriginal rights (wetlands and natural heritage).”

“Indigenous communities: will be critical of reduced protections and provincial oversight”

One of the conclusions in a 117-page leaked document about Bill 23 written for Ford’s cabinet and shared with The Narwhal

Bill 23 makes multiple changes to the municipal planning process, giving towns and cities greater responsibility for reviewing and approving development plans while reducing financial and administrative support. The leaked document noted this would mean “Indigenous partners with treaty rights in affected areas will react negatively to changing relationships,” as well as to monitoring and consulting on an increased volume of development applications without an increase in resources. 

The government has also removed some of the powers municipalities had to regulate sustainable  development — the document noted this would probably create concerns among Indigeneous communities “that their cultural heritage may not be well captured.” The gutting of conservation authorities and weakening of wetland protections was also highlighted as a key concern for Indigenous communities, due to the “reduced scope of protections for wetlands and watercourses.” 

The Ford government has said Bill 23’s sweeping changes are necessary to speed up housing construction in Ontario. “Indigenous communities: will be critical of reduced protections and provincial oversight,” the document noted. 

Chief Kelly LaRocca of Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation told The Narwhal she’s not surprised by the details of the internal document or Clark’s comments. 

“This government’s violation of Indigenous Rights is nothing new,” said LaRocca, who sent a letter on behalf of her own First Nation on Nov. 17.

A creek surrounded by foliage on a sunny day.
Indigenous communities say every parcel of land impacted by Doug Ford’s Bill 23 is Indigenous land and cannot be developed without proper consultation. Photo: Sean Marshall / Flickr

Ford government has a history of avoiding Indigenous consultation

This is not the first time the Ford government has either avoided consulting with Indigenous groups about development or shifted the responsibility onto local governments. Prior to Bill 23, a number of First Nations in Ontario had opposed the Ford government’s unprecedented use of minister’s zoning orders, or MZOs, a controversial provincial planning tool that allows the municipal affairs and housing minister to rezone land to fast-track development and overrule municipal decisions. 

In 2021, LaRocca’s community was one of a number of groups raising concerns about a minister’s zoning order issued in an attempt to speedily build an Amazon warehouse in the protected Duffins Creek watershed, near her nation. Although the order was revoked and the project cancelled, most of the wetland was recently cleared and tilled anyway. 

That same year, as reported by the Toronto Star, a group of First Nations launched legal action against the province for issuing a minister’s zoning order for a warehouse in Cambridge, Ont. One of the opposing communities was Six Nations of the Grand River, a Haudenosaunee community: after the legal action was launched, Clark’s office rebuked Cambridge’s mayor for not consulting them before asking for the order. 

In addition to the constitution, the government’s duty to consult Indigenous Peoples about land use is enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: while Canada recognized the declaration in 2021, the Ford government has still not officially recognized it in the legislature. 

Aerial view of Duffins Creek
The Lower Duffins Creek wetland, near the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, is supposed to be protected from development but may be impacted by Ford’s Bill 23. Like all the wetlands in Ontario, it acts as a natural sponge during floods. Photo: Toronto and Region Conservation Authority

The federal government has already warned the Ford government about upholding the duty to consult: documents obtained by The Narwhal show that after conversations with Six Nations and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the Trudeau government told the Ford government in 2021 that insufficient consultation on Highway 413 could result in an intervention and delay the project for years. 

The federal government was also brought into a development dispute between Six Nations, Ontario and the municipality of Caledonia in 2020, when members of the Haudenosaunee communities resisted a housing development at a land defence dubbed 1492 Land Back Lane

In August of that year, both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Ford addressed the standoff: according to APTN, Trudeau said “all orders of government have the responsibilities toward [reconciliation],”, while Ford called himself “a strong believer in collaboration, in sitting down, communicating.” 

Later that year, Ontario’s Indigenous Affairs ministry told the Toronto Star it was willing to participate in “federally led” discussions about the standoff, which lasted about a year and involved a court injunction aimed at dismantling the land defence camp, as well as police raids and arrests. The housing project was eventually cancelled

Chief Kelly LaRocca of Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. LaRocca says a lack of consultation on Bill 23 is "nothing new."
Chief Kelly LaRocca of Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation says the Ford government’s lack of consultation on Bill 23 is “nothing new” and “smacks of disrespect for Indigenous Rights.” Photo provided by Kelly LaRocca

Despite prior friction over Indigenous consultation and its advance warning about the failures of Bill 23, the Ford government has gone ahead with its legislation. 

LaRocca said she was not invited to any formal consultation, despite her vocal opposition to the bill and repeated request for discussions. “As we now know from Minister Clark directly, the government did not intend to consult with Indigenous communities.”

“Bill 23 impacts Indigenous lands, treaty commitments and rights on multiple levels,” LaRocca said, adding First Nations have a right to manage their territories, natural resources and environment. “The government’s decision to pass Bill 23, knowing that consultation had not taken place, suggests a wanton disregard for our constitutionally protected rights.”

“Reconciliation is about trust,” she added. “Seeing the government so blatantly ignoring the duty to consult smacks of disrespect for Indigenous Rights and the basic democratic processes intended to serve every citizen.” 

In its letter, the Chiefs of Ontario anticipated Clark’s statement that Indigenous consultation could be done by municipalities, writing, “The Government of Ontario can no longer avoid its duty to consult with First Nations by delegating responsibilities and obligations to municipalities, developers and project proponents.” 

Kahentiio Maracle is the team coordinator at the Haudenosaunee Development Instituteand a member of the Bear Clan from Tyendinaga Mohawk territory
Kahentiio Maracle, team coordinator at the Haudenosaunee Development Institute and a member of the Bear Clan from Tyendinaga Mohawk territory, said the government was being “unfair” in making unilateral decisions to develop “land that was never owned in the beginning.” Photo: Fatima Syed / The Narwhal

Environmental impacts of development also a concern for Indigenous groups

In its letter on behalf of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council, the Haudenosaunee Development Institute bluntly reminded Ontario’s assistant deputy minister of housing of how the government was forced to revoke its zoning order for the Amazon warehouse in Pickering, as well as of its duty to respect Indigenous jurisdiction. 

“We’re on land that was never owned in the beginning, so it’s unfair of them to say they’re ripping up things, that they’re going to dig the land up and make money of it,” Kahentiio Maracle, team coordinator at the institute and a member of the Bear Clan from Tyendinaga Mohawk territory, told The Narwhal.

As well as Indigenous Rights, the institute’s letter spoke to the overlapping environmental impact of the bill’s sweeping changes. “The impairment and infringement that could arise from your proposed plans are particularly significant if and when the cumulative impacts are considered and contemplated,” the letter said. Detlor, the lawyer who wrote the letter, told The Narwhal the institute is giving the government one more week to respond before they “examine their options.”

“Every single parcel of land impacted by Bill 23 in Indigenous land,” he said. “The government is prioritizing development over sacred and solemn promises.”

LaRocca said the impacts of Bill 23 will be far reaching for First Nations across Ontario. She has growing concerns about the loss of major natural spaces like Lake Scugog, the Oak Ridges Moraine and the Carruthers Creek watershed, all of which act as natural safeguards against flooding and which are already under threat. Bill 23 removes or weakens many of the remaining regulations that protect those areas.

“Paving over this land will speed up this decline, and expose us more to the adverse consequences of climate change,” LaRocca said. “Planning decisions must balance the need for growth with responsible, evidence-based environmental protections and mitigation strategies — a position of which we have ensured the government is made aware.”

Read the full story here.
Photos courtesy of

Native Youth Learn to Heal Their Communities Through Mycelium

A version of this article originally appeared in The Deep Dish, our members-only newsletter. Become a member today and get the next issue directly in your inbox. The opportunity to absorb Indigenous wisdom and share that knowledge with the community is what attracted 20-year-old Nyomi Oliver (Navajo/Chicana) to the Denver nonprofit, which offers a wide variety of […] The post Native Youth Learn to Heal Their Communities Through Mycelium appeared first on Civil Eats.

A version of this article originally appeared in The Deep Dish, our members-only newsletter. Become a member today and get the next issue directly in your inbox. At Spirit of the Sun, Native American youth are not only learning about traditional ecological knowledge, they’re also empowered to do the teaching. The opportunity to absorb Indigenous wisdom and share that knowledge with the community is what attracted 20-year-old Nyomi Oliver (Navajo/Chicana) to the Denver nonprofit, which offers a wide variety of cultural, culinary, and wellness programming. “I am a reconnecting Native and had lost my ways,” she says. “But Spirit of the Sun has shown me how important our Indigenous perspectives are and how our history has laid out a blueprint for us to follow in order to align with Mother Nature.” Oliver got involved in Spirit of the Sun’s Indigenous science and foodways program in 2022, then joined the organization’s newest initiative, the mycelium healing project, which taps into the bioremediation properties of fungi to restore the land and feed the local community. Mycelium—fungi’s web-like inner network structure—has been shown to remove toxins from the soil while improving its overall health. Last summer, for instance, the organization’s mycelium-inoculated foodscapes demonstration garden yielded more than 1,000 pounds of produce for the elder food share program. Participants in Spirit of the Sun’s Mycelium Healing Project (MHP) prepare mushrooms. (Photo courtesy of Spirit of the Sun) These experiences prompted Oliver to pursue a nutrition degree and inspired her 14-year-old sister, Mia Madalena (Navajo/Pueblo/Chicana), to join Spirit of the Sun, too. “I was intrigued when Nyomi brought home mushrooms and was explaining how mycelium can help heal the world,” Madalena explains. She is now part of the organization’s youth leadership program and is interested in, quite literally, illustrating our world’s interconnectedness through her passion for painting. At the helm of Spirit of the Sun is executive director and permaculture educator Shannon Francis (Diné/Hopi). She developed the mycelium healing project in 2021 to address the environmental injustice caused by known polluter Suncor Oil Refinery, located in nearby Commerce City. Since then, dozens of Native youth have participated in the program. “I was a teen in the 1980s when the Exxon spill in the Gulf [of Alaska] happened, and I remember all the amazing things mycelium can do,” says Francis. “We wanted to share that knowledge in order to address the negative health impacts for the community around Suncor, which is primarily Chicano and Indigenous, including a lot of elders.” Shannon Francis. (Photo courtesy of Spirit of the Sun) Under the guidance of local mycology expert James Weiser, youth leaders have built out two mycelial mother patches—starter gardens full of fungi that can then be transplanted to create satellite colonies—and regularly host training sessions to teach their younger counterparts and community elders how to grow mushrooms. For the next phase of the initiative, they hope to develop additional mother patches and inoculate homeowners’ gardens to magnify the fungi’s positive impacts, which they are measuring through ongoing soil testing. “When we’re healing the soil, we’re healing ourselves,” says Francis. “Our genetic makeup comes directly from the water we drink and the soil we eat from. Most of the soil in the Denver area is depleted of nutrients, so we have to constantly add nutrients back in. Mycelium is like a nervous system that does its job in conjunction with nutrients in the soil. There are so many positive benefits to soil that is healthy and alive; it is connected to our food, our ceremonies, our language, and our stories.” Participants in the Spirit of the Sun’s toddler program. (Photo courtesy of Spirit of the Sun) At Spirit of the Sun, education starts early on, beginning with the Indigenous toddlers and teachings program for children aged 2 and up. “If we can teach our youth to observe the world through an Indigenous lens, they are better able to hold respect for the natural world, for the animals, for the elements, and for each other,” she notes. “Most adults have forgotten how to do that. But we know that everything is in kinship, with a function and a purpose.” Francis is proud to have her 23-year-old daughter, Chenoa, closely involved as Spirit of the Sun’s youth outreach and agricultural support coordinator. Following in her mother’s footsteps, Chenoa has been an outspoken advocate for Indigenous rights since childhood. “Spirit of the Sun is about empowering Native communities one youth at a time,” says Chenoa. “Having our programs be youth-led is our way of letting them know they matter and giving them the power to take hold of their future. We also match our youth with elders to create that intergenerational connection. We want to help instill that even for youth who might not understand their connection to the past or their tribe, there is always a way to connect with the Earth.” Young people work on the Spirit of the Sun farm. (Photo courtesy of Spirit of the Sun) Although Spirit of the Sun programming is dedicated to uplifting Native individuals, the benefits extend to the greater community, which Eve Hemingway can attest to. After moving to Denver in 2021, Hemingway found a reconnection to place upon attending a Spirit of the Sun workshop about plant relationships and seed keeping. That led to volunteering with the organization delivering food to families in need, then eventually to their current role as urban agriculture coordinator at anti-hunger nonprofit Metro Caring. “By focusing on decolonizing diets and promoting culturally responsive practices, we’re not just addressing immediate food security issues—we’re also working toward long-term food sovereignty.” “Shannon helped me find my way back to the land, to the community, and to myself as a farmer,” says Hemingway. “What I find truly beautiful about my experience with Spirit of the Sun is that I can bring my whole, queer self to the table; I feel fully seen in all of my identities.” Spirit of the Sun acts as a partner on Metro Caring’s Urban Agriculture Program, which supports community-based, farm-to-table food sovereignty. One of the project’s biggest obstacles is losing already rare Denver-area growing spaces to new construction projects, Hemingway explains. The Spirit of the Sun team has been instrumental in creatively approaching this challenge, with solutions like transforming willing homeowners’ lawns into mini gardens. “Ensuring that our community has control over our food system cannot be achieved without organizations like Spirit of the Sun to steward the rematriation of the land,” says Hemingway. “As we continue to work toward food security for the Denver community and beyond, it’s imperative that we do so through a food sovereignty lens—ensuring that the foods produced are culturally relevant, factors of production are in the hands of the community, and food is produced sustainably through traditional Indigenous practices.” In lieu of having its own land—which is a current focus area for Spirit of the Sun—the organization relies on partnerships with local individuals and organizations that allow Shannon and her team to utilize portions of their properties to grow those culturally relevant foods to feed elders, the unhoused, and others in need. Participants in the Spirit of the Sun’s youth cooking class. (Photo courtesy of Spirit of the Sun) Colorado-based Kaizen Food Rescue, which aims to uplift refugee and immigrant communities in the Denver area, has been partnering with Spirit of the Sun since the pandemic, when food insecurity was at an all-time high. Founder and Executive Director Thai Nguyen values that collaboration not only for its real-world impacts but also for its symbolism. “This exchange of resources and shared knowledge highlights the importance of community networks and the strength that comes from unity,” she says. “Shannon has generously taught our community members, volunteers, and youth how to nurture and grow food in a sacred manner. By focusing on decolonizing diets and promoting culturally responsive practices, we’re not just addressing immediate food security issues—we’re also working toward long-term food sovereignty.” These local partnerships reflect Spirit of the Sun’s goal to positively affect the lives of not only Native youth and elders, but also other marginalized groups that have been negatively impacted by the long-lasting effects of colonialism. “We want to help these kids become more resilient and give them the tools, resources, and support they need to move through climate change.” “Our intention is to try to heal ourselves from the intergenerational traumas that many Native and BIPOC folks experience,” Shannon says. “For example, I have boarding school survivors on both sides of my family. We believe that creating new positive memories can override traumatic memories. Through our programs, we talk about all these positive Indigenous principles and values. Our youth cooking classes, for instance, are focused on ancestral foods, the stories behind them, their health benefits, and the need to bring them back.” That traditional ecological knowledge is also key for helping younger generations prepare for their role in mitigating the challenges of climate change. Both experts and research highlight the importance of Indigenous wisdom for biodiversity preservation, regenerative agriculture, and other holistic management approaches. “A lot of it is genetic memory, which ties us to all our experiences and our ancestors,” Shannon says. “We have to remember the traditional ecological knowledge that will help us move forward. We want to help these kids become more resilient and give them the tools, resources, and support they need to move through climate change. Our programs are focused on uplifting youth to make them proud of who they are and give them hope about the future.” The post Native Youth Learn to Heal Their Communities Through Mycelium appeared first on Civil Eats.

The Terrifying Allure of Mona Island

Why had immigrants, seekers and pilgrims been drawn for centuries to the treacherous shores of Mona Island? I set off to find out.

Every year, I spend a month or two in Puerto Rico, where my mother’s family is from. Often I go in winter, with the other snowbirds, finding solace among palm trees. But I’m not a tourist, not really. I track the developers that privatize the shoreline; I follow the environmental reports that give our beaches a failing grade. I’m disenchanted with the Island of Enchantment, suspicious of an image that obscures the unglamorous conditions of daily life: frequent blackouts, meager public services, a rental market ravaged by Airbnb. Maybe that’s why I turned away from the sunshine and started to explore caves with my friends Ramón and Javier, seeking out wonders not yet packaged for the visitor economy. I’ve been learning to love stalactites and squeaking bats, black snakes and cloistered waterfalls — even, slowly, the darkness itself. The Greater Antilles and the Yucatán Peninsula form one of the most cavernous regions in the world, and many of these grottos contain precolonial inscriptions. But no other site can match the density of designs found on Mona, a semiarid mesa halfway between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The island is ringed by sheer cliffs and honeycombed with miles of subterranean passageways. Most of the inscriptions are tucked away in the so-called dark zone, far from access to the upper world, congregating around rare pools of freshwater. More accessible chambers harbor other histories: an Incan vase filled with gold coins, shards of a Spanish olive jar stained with the oldest wine in the Americas. In one cave, a foreign visitor from the 16th century carved a kind of commentary alongside ancient petroglyphs: “plura fecit deus.” “God made many things.” I kept repeating the phrase to myself like a mantra, trying to impose divine order on the contradictions of the New World, the only world I’ve ever known. Mona now “belongs” to Puerto Rico (and thus to the United States), but the island has always retained a certain rugged self-possession, rising fatherless and fully formed from the sea like an American Aphrodite. The archaeologist Ovidio Dávila famously described the island as “a floating fortress”: remote, inhospitable, an arsenal of mysteries. But Mona also teems with life: flowering cactuses, swirling flocks of seabirds, orchids and iguanas and frogs found nowhere else on Earth. Hawksbill turtles from as far away as Panama crawl onshore to nest under the summer moon. Enormous basket sponges and gorgonian corals cling to the sea wall. Many migrant species rarely seen from Puerto Rico proper come close to shore: dolphins, pilot whales, tiger sharks, bluefin tuna, flying fish. Mona’s remote beaches receive tribute from faraway waters, as if this might be the secret center of the world. But for many Puerto Ricans, Mona is a legendary backwater, the punchline for a whole genre of jokes: Your political enemies “couldn’t even win the mayor’s race on Mona,” the socialists should “go live with the iguanas,” the Supreme Court might consider setting up “its little theocracy” over there. Like Robinson Crusoe, even locals who should know better view this other island as a blank slate for exile or utopia. Of course, Mona wasn’t always an abstraction. Before Europeans wandered west, Indigenous people settled the island as early as 3000 B.C. When Columbus first came to Mona in 1494, there was a community cultivating a marvelous variety of fruits and tubers from a thin fringe of arable soil on the island’s western side. Indigenous people continued to survive on Mona for another hundred years — much longer than elsewhere in the region — taking refuge in the island’s mysterious interior. Since then, the island has hosted a vivid procession of conquistadors, conversos, maroons, priests, pirates, prisoners, guano miners, military men, treasure hunters, scientists and refugees. ‘God made many things’ — so many more than the Old World predicted!Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.

High-Profile Geoengineering Experiment Shuts Down

A beleaguered solar geoengineering project failed to conduct field tests because of opposition from environmentalists and Indigenous residents

High-Profile Geoengineering Experiment Shuts DownA beleaguered solar geoengineering project failed to conduct field tests because of opposition from environmentalists and Indigenous residentsBy Chelsea Harvey & E&E NewsThe idea of spraying substances into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight has raised concerns among some scientists. Credit: chuchart duangdaw/Getty ImagesCLIMATEWIRE | Harvard University ended a solar geoengineering research project after years of setbacks derailed efforts to infuse small parts of the sky with sunlight-blocking aerosols.The principal investigator, Harvard researcher Frank Keutsch, is “no longer pursuing the experiment,” the university announced Monday.Known as SCoPEx, short for “stratospheric controlled perturbation experiment,” the project focused on a form of geoengineering often referred to by scientists as solar radiation modification. The idea — largely hypothetical for now — is that humans can artificially lower the Earth’s temperatures by spraying reflective materials, such as sulfates, into the atmosphere. These reflective aerosols could then beam sunlight back out to space, cooling the planet and combating the effects of climate change.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.It’s a contentious idea. Proponents of solar geoengineering research argue that scientists should explore all possible avenues to address the planet’s rapidly rising temperatures. But scientists caution that solar geoengineering could carry a wide array of unintended side effects, including negative impacts on the Earth’s ozone layer or weather patterns.Experts have also warned that solar geoengineering, if begun on a large scale, would be difficult to safely stop. Most reflective aerosols don’t last very long in the atmosphere, meaning they’d need to be sprayed constantly in order to maintain a cooler planet. If the spraying suddenly stopped, global temperatures could skyrocket so rapidly that they could threaten life on Earth — a phenomenon known among geoengineering experts as “termination shock.”The Harvard project has been winding down for months. Researchers announced their intention to suspend the experiment last August, according to Monday’s statement.Keutsch said he felt it was "time to focus on other innovative research avenues" in the solar geoengineering field."I have learned important lessons about governance and engagement throughout the course of this project – and created an instrument that can be used for vital stratospheric research unrelated to solar radiation management (SRM)," he said in an email to E&E. "At the same time, the field of SRM has undergone a signification transformation in the last few years, expanding the community and opening new doors for research and collaboration."A SCoPEx advisory committee also released its final report Monday, summarizing its efforts to develop a comprehensive governance and oversight framework for the project over the last few years and outlining recommendations for future research initiatives. The report emphasized the need for scientists to engage meaningfully with local communities that could be affected by geoengineering projects.It’s a lesson the SCoPEx team learned the hard way. In 2021, the researchers planned to carry out one of its first tests in the Arctic city of Kiruna, Sweden. But the team suspended its plans after opposition from environmental groups and Indigenous communities in the region.The potential side effects of geoengineering remain poorly understood, and most scientific research on its outcomes has been theoretical and often conducted with the help of computer models.SCoPEx, which officially launched in 2019, was among the first to propose real-world field experiments on geoengineering. The researchers planned to start with small, highly controlled trials, releasing small amounts of calcium carbonate, sulfates or other materials from a high-altitude balloon. They would then collect measurements on how the aerosols behaved in the atmosphere.The researchers settled on Sweden for their first trials in 2021. Yet the project quickly erupted in controversy after environmental and Indigenous groups expressed their concern about the potential risks associated with solar geoengineering and the project’s lack of engagement with local communities.Critics have increasingly raised concerns about the need for governance and oversight for geoengineering field trials. In 2022, climate tech company Make Sunsets began releasing weather balloons filled with sulfur dioxide in the Mexican state of Baja California, the world’s first documented solar geoengineering effort. The act was met with widespread concern and outrage, and the startup announced last year that it would halt its operations in Mexico after the Mexican government declared it would prohibit geoengineering in the country.Despite the controversies, some top scientists have continued to cautiously advocate for more research — as long as it’s closely governed and heavily regulated.In 2021, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released a report recommending that the federal government develop a national research program focused on solar geoengineering. But the report also recommended clear governance frameworks and a heavy emphasis on local engagement and social concerns about potential risks.The SCoPEx advisory committee’s final report echoed those recommendations. Over the last few years, the committee developed a five-step framework for the SCoPEx experiment that could be applied to future projects. The steps include conducting comprehensive reviews on engineering safety, finances, legal issues, the project’s scientific merit and societal engagement with the research.Contemplating societal engagement occupied much of the advisory committee’s time and effort, the report noted. The committee further outlined four core principles for social engagement in future projects. Engagement efforts should: begin as early as possible, include social scientists, avoid making advance assumptions about local communities’ concerns and develop a plan to respond.While SCoPEx has come to an end, Harvard will maintain its Solar Geoengineering Research Program. The university noted that the program will continue to “explore the many dimensions of this issue, including the science and engineering, governance, and political and social implications.”Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2024. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals.

Illegal Logging Threaten Costa Rica’s Kéköldi Indigenous Territory in Talamanca

Environmental organizations filed a claim before the Ministry of the Environment and Energy (MINAE) due to illegal logging and the invasion of the Kéköldi indigenous territory in the town of Cocles de Puerto Viejo, Talamanca. On March 9, several officials of Sinac La Amistad Caribe Conservation Area visited the area and filed a complaint with […] The post Illegal Logging Threaten Costa Rica’s Kéköldi Indigenous Territory in Talamanca appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

Environmental organizations filed a claim before the Ministry of the Environment and Energy (MINAE) due to illegal logging and the invasion of the Kéköldi indigenous territory in the town of Cocles de Puerto Viejo, Talamanca. On March 9, several officials of Sinac La Amistad Caribe Conservation Area visited the area and filed a complaint with the Bribri Prosecutor Carlos Matamoros. In the complaint, they stated that the machinery is working in front of the Super Negro, in the town of Cocles, and they’re allegedly planning to build a parking lot. The neighbors claim that these works are inside the forest zone, Natural Heritage of the State, and coastal marine area. Although MINAE momentarily halted the work, it eventually resumed as they said the land did not fall under any of the protected categories. The neighbors denounced that MINAE “does nothing” and that it is common to see destruction in the area, as this is endorsed by the regulatory plan that has been highly questioned. They also indicated that they would continue to expose such incidents to the authorities and through social networks and the media. According to Bloque Verde, this denunciation of the destruction of the coastal forest and natural patrimony of the State for a supermarket parking lot revealed another terrible discovery: the forest is disappearing from the inside out, in dribs and drabs, using the technique called “socola” of the forest. This situation was exposed in a video made by a neighbor of the place when she entered what used to be the forest and found to her surprise that everything was covered, and she also noticed that they were leaving some visual barriers so that no one would notice what was happening. This is evidence that they have been systematically destroying the undergrowth for months. The area is located within the Kéköldi de Cocles Indigenous Territory, so the ecologists alerted the Bribri community, which claims these properties. According to ecologists, the systematic elimination of the undergrowth, which implies the gradual cutting of smaller vegetation in forested areas to isolate trees of larger diameter, is largely affecting the dynamics of ecosystems. This terrible practice has destroyed thousands of hectares of forest in our country to convert the forest into wooded pastureland or agricultural crops. Environmentalists accuse public institutions of allowing the destruction of the country’s natural resources by failing to act appropriately and by not taking the necessary measures to protect them. The post Illegal Logging Threaten Costa Rica’s Kéköldi Indigenous Territory in Talamanca appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

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