The effects of rising global temperatures have been causing chaos around the world, and as Quannah ChasingHorse recently shared, they are impacting some communities' ways of life.
In a clip shared on TikTok by Washington Post Live (@washingtonpostlive), Quannah (@quannah.rose) shares her thoughts on how a warming planet is impacting her community.
@washingtonpostlive "Back home in Alaska, we're facing so much climate catastrophes every single year," Quannah ChasingHorse (@quannah.rose) said at #PostLive's "This is Climate: Tipping Points" summit. "I can claim to be an activist but at the end of the day, I'm a land protector because...I'm protecting my own ways of life and my culture and my identity as an Indigenous person," explained ChasingHorse. #fyp #quannahchasinghorse #landprotection #landprotector #activist #activism #climate #climatechange #sustainable #sustainability #indigenoustiktok #alaska #model #globalwarming #interview ♬ original sound - Washington Post Live
During part of a Post summit called "This Is Climate: Tipping Points," Quannah said, "Back home in Alaska, we're facing so much climate catastrophes every single year." She talked about the harsh living conditions and how Indigenous communities have traditionally survived by living off the land, with fishing being an important part of their way of life.
However, rising temperatures are impacting salmon populations, which has resulted in a ban on fishing in some parts of Alaska.
"My ways of life are at risk," Quannah explained. "... That's how we sustain our communities and are able to feed our families."
Being unable to fish has left Alaska Natives without an important source of food, and because groceries have become expensive in village stores, many people are struggling. Per the Post, Quannah also spoke to the importance of standing her ground and using her voice to advocate for change.
As the United Nations notes, rising temperatures — and the more intense extreme weather events linked to an overheating planet — pose a significant threat to Indigenous communities, who "are among the first to face the direct consequences of climate change, due to their dependence upon, and close relationship with, the environment and its resources."
This is true even though these communities contribute the least to the heat-trapping pollution that is causing our planet to warm up, per the U.N.
Moreover, these communities are important land protectors, helping to enhance the resilience of some ecosystems and drawing on traditional knowledge to help find solutions to problems that have arisen because of heat waves and unpredictable weather. For example, Colombia's Indigenous Zenú have turned to ancient practices to protect crop production.
Quannah's PSA highlights the difficulties faced by Indigenous communities — which will also "affect everyone else" if Earth's resources continue to be mismanaged, as Quannah told the Post — and resonated with many people.
"I appreciate you so much for speaking out about these issues in Alaska!" one person wrote.
"Thank you for sharing this important information," another said.
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