Witnessing the Importance of Indigenous Leadership in the Climate Change Fight
By Josh Landis
In celebration of Earth Day, we invite you to be witnesses of the wisdom, power, and importance of Indigenous knowledge and leadership when it comes to fighting the effects of climate change.
For millennia, Indigenous tribes and peoples thrived on the land now called the United States. They created complex societies and systems of trade, diplomacy and coexistence spanning from coast to coast with achievements not fully comprehended even today. For these thousands of years, the original inhabitants of this continent harnessed, harvested, protected and lived alongside the abundance of nature in ways that did not deplete or degrade the environment and ecosystems upon which all life depends.
Today that legacy of care and stewardship is still alive, but it is challenged and burdened by the changes and impacts and injuries visited upon the Indigenous nations by European explorers and colonizers. There is a long, painful, and tragically repetitive history of betrayal and mistreatment by colonizing powers and white, European settlers. Enforcing property rights and capitalistic law — while also preventing Indigenous people from partaking in and benefitting from those very rules — translated into heartbreaking abuse and oppression for generations.
In Their Element honors the experiences of Indigenous people of the past and introduces us to people whose lives and identities today are inseparable from the land — specifically, individuals engaged in the fight against climate change. They realize and see firsthand that it is not something to worry about in the future — but a profound change that is happening right now. Throughout In Their Element, viewers hear directly from Indigenous leaders who are protecting and responsibly utilizing their earth, air, fire and water to further their goals and priorities.
The journey includes a stop in the Southwest, where hydraulic fracturing and fossil fuel extraction are releasing harmful — though invisible — gases and contaminants next door to people, businesses, and schools. Through the knowledge and efforts of tribal members, leaks and environmental health impacts are no longer going unreported. The reporting also includes a trip to southern Louisiana, where rising sea levels and land degradation are changing a way of life before our very eyes. The story is also told from northern California, where a sacred river is under threat from drought and pollution. Finally, the reporting turns to the elements themselves, looking at ways in which preventative fire techniques and cultural burning have traditionally been used to care for forests, and also exploring how they might help save lives and properties that are in harm’s way today.
Josh Landis is an Executive Producer for the digital series In Their Element. In addition, he is an award-winning journalist who wrote, produced, and reported for the nation’s preeminent television news divisions before founding the nonprofit syndicated newswire, Nexus Media News. He has filed stories from across the U.S., the Middle East, South Asia, New Zealand, and the South Pole. At ABC News, he was a staff writer for Peter Jennings and head writer for World News with Charles Gibson. At CBS News, he co-created The Fast Draw, the only regular, animated news series to air on a national network. In addition to his network television work, Landis was a professional photographer whose work appeared in The New York Times, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, and other publications. He is a graduate of Tulane University and a former adjunct professor at the City University of New York.
