Introducing... Environmental Justice by Oshki Migizi KweDanielle ...
Introduction
Introducing... Environmental Justice by Oshki Migizi Kwe Danielle Boissoneau
right: The Farm by B
E
nvironmental justice - what a loaded term, huh? This phrase carries so much meaning that it almost loses its meaning amongst the international climate conferences, industry and government, activism and how all of it affects the people who live on the land. This also speaks to the ambiguity of the English language. What does “environmental justice” really mean? Maybe what’s actually important is what does this term mean to you? Do you live the implications of a toxic environment, do you work to change the environment you are living in or maybe, you work to live with the environment in a way that empowers the original people of the land and yourself. How does the displacement of Indigenous peoples affect your understanding of environmental justice? What are ways that we can build with each other to (re)create real justice for our environment? I’m excited to read this issue because the people contributing have some of the answers to the questions that I pose in this introduction. Even if all of these questions aren’t answered in the following pages, maybe these are questions that can inspire you to passionately create your own answers. I’m excited to read this issue because there are so many brilliant voices joining in on the conversation of what environmental justice really means. The English language is based in labelling persons, places and things and I feel this really takes away from my own understanding of what it means to live in a way that honours the sacredness of place. I can tell you what I think environmental justice is. My thoughts are rooted in feelings of deep love for the land and water. The roots are buried deep within my heart. My heart lives and breathes the air that is cleansed by the trees that are rooted in the land that I love so much. Justice for the land and water, what I understand our environment to be, means freedom, it means being able to drink the water, it means living with the land so that everyday, I can hear the heartbeat of my ancestors who have been been buried deep within her. Justice is the ability to co-exist in peaceful, loving ways with ourselves, each other and the land and water, despite the overwhelming presence of fear and destruction. Justice is confronting the fear and destruction with an absolute passion for life. Justice is (re)building the foundations that were destroyed through greed and hatred and it is knowing that we are capable! We have what it takes to make our passions come alive. We are rooted in power when we come together and refuse to allow the fear, the hatred, the destruction to rule our hearts and minds any longer. Our power comes from the love we have for ourselves, each other and the land and the water. Miigwech to The Peak for inviting my thoughts on Environmental Justice. Miigwech to The Peak for creating spaces for these ideas. Miigwech to all of you for reading this issue. I hope that you (the reader) are inspired to create change, even if it is within yourself, because we are all so incredibly valuable in this beautiful movement of change. ∆
OSHKI MIGIZI KWE DANIELLE BOISSONEAU Danielle Boissoneau is Anishnaabe kwe from Garden River, Ontario. She currently resides in Hamilton, Ontario where she enjoys smashing hetero-normative patriarchy while decolonizing her heart, mind, body and soul. Danielle is a walking contradiction.
SPECIAL NOTE:
The Peak Collecitve would like to celebrate and thank our new collective member Sarah Hafuth for the knowledge and experience she brings to the collective and this issue. Welcome, Sarah.
2 Environmental Justice
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR NEXT ISSUE: Transformative Justice & Alternatives to Police and Prisons
The next issue of The Peak will explore how communities are impacted by criminalization and incarceration and they have have been resisting the violence of the prison system. We will explore work being done in homes, prisons, community spaces, work environments, classroom, within ourselves, etc. Themes: • Restorative justice projects • Alternatives to retribution and incarceration • Prisoner Justice work • Resistance to police violence • Prisoner-led movements for justice • Criminalization of Black and Indigenous people, people with disabilities/disAbled people, sex workers, trans people, and other targeted communities • Healing cycles of trauma and abuse We publish articles, interviews, art, poetry, news stories, and all sorts of other stuff! Submisson deadline: January 18th 2016 Submissions should be sent to [email protected] in .odt or .rtf formats, please. Word Count: We recommend a word count of 1500 with a maximum of 2000. If you have questions regarding this please contact us. The Peak awards honorariums for accepted submissions, including: art, illustrations, photos, cover art , profiles, short essays, reviews, report backs, feature stories, analysis, interviews, research based,interviews.
Introducing... Environmental Justice by Oshki Migizi Kwe Danielle Boissoneau
right: The Farm by B
E
nvironmental justice - what a loaded term, huh? This phrase carries so much meaning that it almost loses its meaning amongst the international climate conferences, industry and government, activism and how all of it affects the people who live on the land. This also speaks to the ambiguity of the English language. What does “environmental justice” really mean? Maybe what’s actually important is what does this term mean to you? Do you live the implications of a toxic environment, do you work to change the environment you are living in or maybe, you work to live with the environment in a way that empowers the original people of the land and yourself. How does the displacement of Indigenous peoples affect your understanding of environmental justice? What are ways that we can build with each other to (re)create real justice for our environment? I’m excited to read this issue because the people contributing have some of the answers to the questions that I pose in this introduction. Even if all of these questions aren’t answered in the following pages, maybe these are questions that can inspire you to passionately create your own answers. I’m excited to read this issue because there are so many brilliant voices joining in on the conversation of what environmental justice really means. The English language is based in labelling persons, places and things and I feel this really takes away from my own understanding of what it means to live in a way that honours the sacredness of place. I can tell you what I think environmental justice is. My thoughts are rooted in feelings of deep love for the land and water. The roots are buried deep within my heart. My heart lives and breathes the air that is cleansed by the trees that are rooted in the land that I love so much. Justice for the land and water, what I understand our environment to be, means freedom, it means being able to drink the water, it means living with the land so that everyday, I can hear the heartbeat of my ancestors who have been been buried deep within her. Justice is the ability to co-exist in peaceful, loving ways with ourselves, each other and the land and water, despite the overwhelming presence of fear and destruction. Justice is confronting the fear and destruction with an absolute passion for life. Justice is (re)building the foundations that were destroyed through greed and hatred and it is knowing that we are capable! We have what it takes to make our passions come alive. We are rooted in power when we come together and refuse to allow the fear, the hatred, the destruction to rule our hearts and minds any longer. Our power comes from the love we have for ourselves, each other and the land and the water. Miigwech to The Peak for inviting my thoughts on Environmental Justice. Miigwech to The Peak for creating spaces for these ideas. Miigwech to all of you for reading this issue. I hope that you (the reader) are inspired to create change, even if it is within yourself, because we are all so incredibly valuable in this beautiful movement of change. ∆
OSHKI MIGIZI KWE DANIELLE BOISSONEAU Danielle Boissoneau is Anishnaabe kwe from Garden River, Ontario. She currently resides in Hamilton, Ontario where she enjoys smashing hetero-normative patriarchy while decolonizing her heart, mind, body and soul. Danielle is a walking contradiction.
SPECIAL NOTE:
The Peak Collecitve would like to celebrate and thank our new collective member Sarah Hafuth for the knowledge and experience she brings to the collective and this issue. Welcome, Sarah.
2 Environmental Justice
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR NEXT ISSUE: Transformative Justice & Alternatives to Police and Prisons
The next issue of The Peak will explore how communities are impacted by criminalization and incarceration and they have have been resisting the violence of the prison system. We will explore work being done in homes, prisons, community spaces, work environments, classroom, within ourselves, etc. Themes: • Restorative justice projects • Alternatives to retribution and incarceration • Prisoner Justice work • Resistance to police violence • Prisoner-led movements for justice • Criminalization of Black and Indigenous people, people with disabilities/disAbled people, sex workers, trans people, and other targeted communities • Healing cycles of trauma and abuse We publish articles, interviews, art, poetry, news stories, and all sorts of other stuff! Submisson deadline: January 18th 2016 Submissions should be sent to [email protected] in .odt or .rtf formats, please. Word Count: We recommend a word count of 1500 with a maximum of 2000. If you have questions regarding this please contact us. The Peak awards honorariums for accepted submissions, including: art, illustrations, photos, cover art , profiles, short essays, reviews, report backs, feature stories, analysis, interviews, research based,interviews.
