Waking from Paralysis: Revitalizing Conceptions of Climate Knowledge and Justice for More Effective Climate Action

• Author: Josiah Hester,Jonathan Gilbert,Jennie Rogers,Nyree Zerega,Marvin Shingwe Biness Neme Defoe,Jennifer Dunn,Daniel E. Horton,Aaron I. Packman,Michael Waasegiizhig Price,Dylan Bizhikiins Jennings,Edith Leoso,William M. Miller,Rajesh Sankaran,Beth Redbird,Margaret G. O’connell,Megan Bang,Pete Beckman,Pamala Silas,Nancy C. Loeb,Kimberly R. Marion Suiseeya,Philomena Kebec,Patricia Loew,Weston Twardowski,Anne-Marie Boyer,Alexandra Anderson,James Schwoch,Katie Moffitt
• Published date: 01 March 2022
• Date: 01 March 2022
• DOI: 10.1177/00027162221095495
• Subject Matter: Inequalities

166 ANNALS, AAPSS, 700, March 2022

DOI: 10.1177/00027162221095495

Waking from

Paralysis:

Revitalizing

Conceptions of

Climate

Knowledge and

Justice for

More Effective

Climate Action

By

KIMBERLY R. MARION

SUISEEYA,

MARGARET G. O’CONNELL,

EDITH LEOSO,

MARVIN SHINGWE BINESS

NEME DEFOE,

ALEXANDRA ANDERSON,

MEGAN BANG,

PETE BECKMAN,

ANNE-MARIE BOYER,

JENNIFER DUNN,

JONATHAN GILBERT,

JOSIAH HESTER,

DANIEL E. HORTON,

DYLAN BIZHIKIINS JENNINGS,

PHILOMENA KEBEC,

NANCY C. LOEB,

PATRICIA LOEW,

WILLIAM M. MILLER,

KATIE MOFFITT,

AARON I. PACKMAN,

MICHAEL WAASEGIIZHIG

PRICE,

BETH REDBIRD,

JENNIE ROGERS,

RAJESH SANKARAN,

JAMES SCHWOCH,

PAMALA SILAS,

WESTON TWARDOWSKI,

and

NYREE ZEREGA

1095495ANN THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYWAKING FROM PARALYSIS

research-article2022

Despite decades of climate science research, existing

climate actions have had limited impacts on mitigating

climate change. Efforts to reduce emissions, for exam-

ple, have yet to spur sufficient action to reduce the

most severe effects of climate change. We draw from

our experiences as Ojibwe knowledge holders and com-

munity members, scientists, and scholars to demon-

strate how the lack of recognition of traditional

knowledges (TK) within climate science constrains

effective climate action and exacerbates climate injus-

tice. Often unrecognized in science and policy arenas,

TK generates insights into how justice-driven climate

action, rooted in relational interdependencies between

humans and older-than-human relatives, can provide

new avenues for effectively addressing climate change.

We conclude by arguing for a shift toward meaningful

and respectful inclusion of plural knowledge systems in

climate governance.

Keywords: climate justice; traditional ecological

knowledge; climate change; science;

Indigenous Peoples; climate governance

Our discussion of climate change began

with music.1 In front of a Zoom room of

community members, tribal leaders, scientists,

engineers, social scientists, and humanists,

three boys—not quite yet teenagers—waited

Kimberly R. Marion Suiseeya is an environmental

social scientist in the Department of Political Science at

Northwestern University. She specializes in global envi-

ronmental politics, environmental justice, and political

ecology. She is also a faculty fellow with the Center for

Native American and Indigenous Research, coleads the

Presence to Influence project, and coleads the Buffett

Institute’s Working Group on the Disproportionate

Impacts of Environmental Change.

Margaret G. O’Connell is a PhD student in the

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at

Northwestern University. She uses lifecycle and techno-

economic analyses to study water systems and is inter-

ested in conducting transdisciplinary work that

integrates the connections among issues of water, cli-

mate change, and justice into these analyses.

Correspondence: kimberly.suiseeya@northwestern.edu

WAKING FROM PARALYSIS 167

Edith Leoso is a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa in

Wisconsin and has worked as the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer since 2005.

Marvin Shingwe Biness Neme DeFoe is a member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior

Chippewa, where he also serves as Tribal Historic Preservation Officer.

Alexandra Anderson is an undergraduate student studying political science and environmental

policy and culture at Northwestern University. She is a Farrell Fellow and research assistant

with the Presence to Influence project.

Megan Bang is a professor of the learning sciences and psychology at Northwestern University

and is currently serving as the senior vice president at the Spencer Foundation. She is of

Ojibwe and Italian descent.

Pete Beckman is a distinguished fellow at Argonne National Laboratory and the codirector of

the Northwestern University/Argonne Institute for Science and Engineering.

Anne-Marie Boyer is a PhD candidate in the media, technology, and society program at

Northwestern University’s Department of Communication Studies. She is a graduate assistant

with the Buffett Institute’s Working Group on the Disproportionate Impacts of Environmental

Change.

Jennifer Dunn is a professor of chemical engineering at Northwestern University. She coleads

the Buffett Institute’s Working Group on the Disproportionate Impacts of Environmental

Change.

Jonathan Gilbert is the director of Biological Services Division (BSD) of the Great Lakes

Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, providing technical advice to member tribes on subjects

such as fish and wildlife management, forestry, invasive species, wild rice, climate change,

pipelines, and mining.

Josiah Hester is an assistant professor of computer engineering at Northwestern University. He

works toward a sustainable future for computing, informed by his Native Hawaiian heritage.

Daniel E. Horton is an assistant professor in the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences at

Northwestern University.

Dylan Bizhikiins Jennings is a professor at Northland College and a Bad River Tribal Member.

Philomena Kebec is the community development officer for the Bad River Band of the Lake

Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians. She is a Bad River Tribal Member.

Nancy C. Loeb is a clinical professor of law and the director of the Environmental Advocacy

Clinic at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

Patricia Loew is a citizen of Mashkiiziibii—the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe—and

is a journalism professor and the inaugural director of Northwestern University’s Center for

Native American and Indigenous Research.

William M. Miller is a professor of chemical and biological engineering and director of the

Center for Engineering Sustainability and Resilience at Northwestern University.

Katie Moffitt is a recent graduate of Northwestern University, where she worked as a Farrell

Fellow and research assistant on the Presence to Influence team.

Aaron I. Packman is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northwestern

University and director of the Northwestern Center for Water Research.

Michael Waasegiizhig Price is the traditional ecological knowledge specialist at the Great Lakes

Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission headquartered in Odanah, Wisconsin.

Beth Redbird is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at Northwestern

University. She is also a faculty fellow with the Institute for Policy Research and the Center for

Native American and Indigenous Research.