Indigenous communities adapt

Indigenous peoples have deep relationships and histories with the land and water, and rich knowledge systems that are guiding their work to respond to and prepare for climate change - from food security challenges to wildfire and flood risk reduction to species and ecosystem protection and energy security.

Indigenous communities have observations of the land going back much farther than written records of weather patterns and climate-related events, giving them insights into these changes and providing principles for good stewardship, adaptation and resilience.

There are many examples of leadership across the province: 

• Kitsumkalum’s Fish and Wildlife Operations Department working with youth to better understand climate change’s impacts on food security
• Community-based climate monitoring by Tsay Keh Dene and Carcross Tagish
• Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s work to understand their community’s vulnerabilities to climate change (PDF, 61.6MB)
• Kanaka Bar Band’s Climate Resilience Strategy 
• In the spring of 2022, the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) released the BC First Nations Climate Strategy and Action Plan

On this page

• Videos
• Tools and data
• Reports
• Resources
• Artists and youth
• Indigenous advisory groups

Videos  

Tools and Data

• Indigenous Climate Hub
  Provides climate change resources and tools for Indigenous peoples and acts as a hub for Indigenous climate change leaders
• Climate Change Adaptation Planning Toolkit For Indigenous Communities - Center for Indigenous Environmental Resources
  Provides tools and resources to support Indigenous individuals and communities interested in undertaking climate change adaptation planning
• ReTooling for Climate Change
  Adaptation tools and resources for Indigenous Nations, local governments and others to prepare for the impacts of climate change
• Plan2Adapt
  Tool for generating maps, plots, and data describing projected future climate conditions for regions throughout British Columbia
• BC Community Climate Funding Guide
  An all-in-one searchable index of funding opportunities for climate action projects from a wide variety of funding programs and sources, including Provincial government, Crown corporations, Federal government, non-governmental organizations, financial institutions and Indigenous organizations

Reports

• Food Security Report (PDF, 5MB) - Indigenous Food Sovereignty and Food Security in a Changing Climate
• Climate Emergency Survey findings (PDF, 225KB) - First Nations Leadership Council summarizes findings from Indigenous engagement reports produced by Indigenous organizations and the provincial government
• BCAFN Climate Emergency - Includes climate emergency resources and funding opportunities and links to the Climate Emergency Survey Report, the Climate Change and Water monthly newsletter, and First Nations Climate Innovations videos

Resources

Educational and public awareness materials for staying safe during extreme weather events:  

• Be prepared for hot weather info sheet (PDF, 2.1 MB)
• Stay safe during extreme heat events poster (PDF, 1.6 MB)
• Stay cool & safe during heat waves activity sheets (PDF, 733 KB)

Artists and youth

• Indigenous Youth Climate Art Contest winners
  Includes artist biographies and artwork
• Indigenous Climate Resilient Futures Zine

Indigenous advisory groups

• B.C. Indigenous Climate Adaptation Working Group 
  Established in 2020, this working group provides technical advice and guidance on a broad range of matters related to the Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy (CPAS)
• First Nations Leadership Council - British Columbia Technical Working Group on Climate Change
  This working group provides strategic advice and reviews progress on climate change actions undertaken by the Province. Staff from the Province and First Nations Leadership Council identify shared priorities in the CleanBC Roadmap to 2030, CPAS, and the BC First Nations Climate Strategy and Action Plan