Indigenization – Exponential Jumps in Scale & Pacing Needed for a Just Transition

Lawrence Ellis April 1, 2023

Centering Indigenous wisdom, with exponential scale and pacing, is quintessential for the transition to a regenerative & sustainable, just, thriving world for all. In this workshop, Indigenous leaders share samplings of relevant traditional wisdom. We interact with workshop participants. Then we invite them to engage with an app that allows multiple levels of involvement, from minimalist to robust, on these and other issues. We end with an overview of an initiative that promotes Indigenization with/of Urban Sustainability Directors Network, with potential to impact 100+ million residents in Canada and the US. There will be concrete opportunities for follow-up during the rest of SOCAP23 and beyond.

Format

Workshop

Themes

Indigeneity, Indigenous, Racial & Social Equity, Racial & Social Justice, Climate, Climate Action, Climate Justice, Climate Protection, Environment, Environmental Justice, Environmental Protection, Regeneration, Sustainability, Equity, Justice, Just Transition, Mental & Physical Wellness, Pacing, Scale, Acceleration, Disruption

Purpose and Desired Outcome

The purpose of this workshop is to: * Amplify the centering of Indigenous voices, wisdom and practices in initiatives towards a regenerative & sustainable, just, thriving world for all * Highlight a few such initiatives * Illustrate ways to dramatically increase their pacing and scale * Invite audience members’ participation in all of the above — during and after the workshop The basic framework of the workshop is: * Share key elements of a traditional Indigenous practice briefly (e.g., Transformational Land Acknowledgment Rituals) * Interact with participants around the practice, inviting their experiences, questions, insights and more * Direct participants to an app that has a portal to that practice, with a range of options to engage more robustly (e.g., read educational information, exchange resources, join online or actual communities, for users to access Indigenous leaders of these practices, for Indigenous leaders to develop and strengthen cohort groups, etc.) * Repeat the above for another practice (e.g., Rights of Nature) * Briefly highlight a list of several other practices (e.g., Establishing Right Relationships between Indigenous Peoples and Settlers, Land Rematriation, Practices for Developing Allyship and Abolitionism, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and more) – and mention that each one has a corresponding portal in the app * Highlight how we’re taking each practice, and the meta-field of Indigenization overall, to new scales with velocity by combining Indigenous-led wisdom practices, collaborations (between Indigenous leaders and non-Indigenous anti-colonial & anti-racist allies and abolitionists), and tech platforms, with Urban Sustainability Directors Network (“USDN”) as a use case. Desired Outcomes include: * Deeper awareness of traditional Indigenous practices that can play a pivotal role in climate and environmental protection, climate and environmental justice, transforming systemic racism and colonialism, and more * Awareness of the theories of change supporting centering Indigeneity, from the value of placing most impacted stakeholders in the center of collaborative solutioning; to the wisdom of peoples who, for millennia, have lived with the Earth as a living system as medicine for these times; and more * Insights, questions, stories, etc. from participants about their experiences with and the impacts of traditional Indigenous practices * Initial engagement with a user-friendly app (IdeaBox from BrightIdea – Idea Box is the #1 customer rated software for idea management, BrightIdea is the #1 rated idea management platform) that allows audience members to delve deeper into topics presented. They access online resources and communities around those topics, choosing from multiple levels of engagement —- from minimalist (e.g., reading feeds with updates on user activities) to robust (e.g., initiating or deepening large-scale projects in their workplaces, communities, movements, etc.), to anything in between (e.g., share information and ideas, track what others are doing, collaborate on activities and projects, etc.) * An overview of a large-scale collaborative endeavor promoting Indigenization with/of USDN, with potential to impact 1700 sustainability directors in urban municipalities in Canada and the US and the 100+ million residents they serve —- all using Indigenous-led wisdom practices, collaborations (between Indigenous leaders and non-Indigenous anti-colonial & anti-racist allies and abolitionists), and tech platforms. (These will have been demonstrated small-scale in the workshop, and are being extended to an international scale with velocity with USDN as a use-case.) Information about parallel large-scale collaborative endeavors, on multiple continents, promoting Indigenization * Information about parallel large-scale collaborative endeavors, on multiple continents, promoting Indigenization * Tangible ways for participants to engage with these large-scale collaborative endeavors, including in their local communities * A concrete action plan for each participant (minimal commitment: one action; ideally many actions) inviting them to step into their boldness and greatness as Indigenization change agents * Access to a free app for them to log action commitments, track progress, update goals, and more * Periodic reminders encouraging follow-through on action commitments * Access to a platform for ongoing engagement with others – share ideas, track what others are doing, collaborate on projects, and more * Access to follow-up table-topic discussions on these topics later at SOCAP

Audiences

  • Allocators (Family Offices, HNW Individuals, Foundations)

  • Asset Managers

  • Intermediaries (Financial Advisers, Investment Bankers)

  • Corporate & SME

  • Entrepreneurs

  • Artists & Culture-makers

  • Government

  • Academia

  • Service Providers

  • Accelerators & Incubators

Speakers

  • NameGregg Castro (Rumsien-Ramaytush Ohlone)/T’rowt’raahl Salinan)
  • TitleCulture Director // Co-Chair
  • OrganizationAssociation of Ramaytush Ohlone // California Institute for Community, Art & Nature’s California Indian Advisory Board
  • StatusConfirmed
  • NameAlexis Bunten (Unagan/Yup’ik)
  • TitleCo-Director, Indigeneity Program // General Partner
  • OrganizationBioneers // Jumpscale
  • StatusInvited
  • NameCara Romero (Chemehuevi)
  • TitleCo-Director, Indigeneity Program
  • OrganizationBioneers
  • StatusInvited
  • NameK. Baja
  • TitleDirector, Direct Support & Innovation
  • OrganizationUrban Sustainability Directors Network
  • StatusConfirmed
  • NameLawrence Ellis (mixed African Descent - not initiated, African American, Cherokee and Munsee Descent - not enrolled)
  • TitleFounder // Lead Sustainability Advisor
  • OrganizationOne Planet Prosperity Network // a)plan coaching
  • StatusConfirmed
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