Thesis Defence: Transforming “white settler environmentalism” in the Okanagan: Settler activists working towards solidarity with syilx sovereignty and climate justice
May 20 at 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Erin Delfs, supervised by Drs. Anita Girvan and Virginie Magnat, will defend their thesis titled “Transforming “white settler environmentalism” in the Okanagan: Settler activists working towards solidarity with syilx sovereignty and climate justice” in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies – Community Engagement, Social Change and Equity theme.
An abstract for Erin Delfs’ thesis is included below.
Defences are open to all members of the campus community as well as the general public. Registration is not required for in-person defences.
Abstract
We are living in a global climate emergency, driven by interlocking structures and processes of settler colonialism, white supremacy, racism, heteropatriarchy, capitalism, and ableism (Armstrong and Klein 2023; IPCC n.d.; United Nations, n.d.; Combahee River Collective 1977). syilx communities have been taking care of the land and lifeways of syilx territory in sustainable ways for thousands of years (Maracle et al. 1993; Cohen and Chambers 2021; Armstrong 2009). Yet, manifestations of environmentalism and climate activism in the Okanagan commonly center (often white) settler experiences, perspectives, laws, and priorities over those of syilx communities. I utilize the concept “white settler environmentalism” (WSE) to encompass and interrogate these settler-centric approaches and practices of climate activism. Though syilx knowledge keepers like Jeannette Armstrong have called on settlers to show up for syilx sovereignty and climate justice (Armstrong and Klein 2023), many settler activists in the Okanagan are unsure about how to do this. Furthermore, even when settlers act with good intentions, we are wont to perpetuate WSE characteristics (e.g. white saviorism and fragility, self-centeredness, and conflict avoidance) which risk harming syilx people and hindering syilx-led actualizations of climate justice. This thesis demonstrates a process I am engaging in alongside fellow settler activists and settler-dominant activist groups in the Okanagan as we work on transforming processes and practices of WSE into processes and practices of solidarity with syilx sovereignty and climate justice. I explore this topic primarily through (1) building a set of practices to transform WSE and work towards collaboration with syilx communities from a personal level; and (2) facilitating teach-and-learn-in workshops with other settler activists to collectivize this work. These methods extend from a theoretical framework of transnational Indigenous, Black feminist, and activist voices grounded in syilx scholarship, and are further guided by methodologies of web-weaving (Cohen 2001), emergent strategy (brown 2017), and transformative praxis (Smith 2005). Settlers in the Okanagan are encouraged to use this thesis to reflect critically on their complicities in WSE, consider what they have to offer to syilx sovereignty and climate justice, and practice showing up to syilx-led collaborations in respectful, reciprocal, and generative ways.
