Changing seasons of resistance: impacts of settler colonialism and climate change in indigenous worlds

Author

Elizabeth JacksonFollow

Graduation Date

Spring 2020

Document Type

Thesis

Program

Master of Arts degree with a major in Sociology

Committee Chair Name

Jennifer Eichstedt

Committee Chair Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Second Committee Member Name

Cutcha Risling Baldy

Second Committee Member Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Third Committee Member Name

James Ordner

Third Committee Member Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Keywords

Indigenous, Climate change, Decolonial theory, Resistance

Subject Categories

Sociology

Abstract

This paper looks at the relationship between neoliberal capitalism, genocide, the biopolitics of settler colonialism and the impacts of climate change on the cultures and traditional lifeways of Indigenous communities. It also explores Indigenous modes and methods of adaptation and resilience. Climate Change is almost certainly the most urgent social problem in the history of human life on planet Earth. Many Indigenous people are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to marginalization and their commitment to land-based practices. Using in depth interviews with Indigenous Peoples, primarily from the Pacific Northwest, and the analysis of existing literature, this paper will attempt to find answers to the question of how capitalism, the practice of genocide, settler colonialism and displacement of Indigenous peoples are connected. It will also seek answers to how these processes have contributed to the climate crisis and bring to the forefront how Indigenous people are resisting corporate and governmental attempts to continue capitalistic projects that emit greenhouse gases and deplete natural resources.

Citation Style

ASA

Recommended Citation

Jackson, Elizabeth, "Changing seasons of resistance: impacts of settler colonialism and climate change in indigenous worlds" (2020). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 375.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/375