Indigenous communities adapt

Indigenous Peoples have deep relationships and histories with the land and water, and rich knowledge systems that guide 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 Indigenous leadership on climate adaptation 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

• Indigenous communities adapt: preparing for climate impacts
• Tools and data
• Reports
• Resources
• Artists and youth

Indigenous communities adapt: preparing for climate impacts

Learn more in this video about how Indigenous communities in B.C. are leading climate adaptation on their territories.

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 communities, 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

• Indigenous Climate Resilience Forum - An annual three-day virtual event designed to inform, connect, and support Indigenous communities in building resilience to the impacts of climate change. Links to previous forum summary 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

Here are educational and public awareness materials for staying safe during extreme weather events.

Extreme heat

• Be prepared for hot weather information sheet (PDF, 2.1 MB)
• Stay safe during extreme heat events poster (PDF, 1.6 MB)
• Stay cool and safe during heat waves colouring sheet (PDF, 733 KB)

Wildfire smoke

• Be prepared for wildfire smoke information sheet (PDF, 2.4MB)
• Protect yourself from wildfire smoke poster (PDF, 2.2MB)
• How to stay safe from wildfire smoke colouring sheet (PDF, 1.6MB)

Artists and youth

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