Angelo Baca: Climate Justice Week Transcript

From this indigenous perspective, it's my responsibility as the storyteller, as a traditional knowledge keeper, in a sense with these films, that we are trying to make sure that this relationship isn't severed, because the land is part of us and we're part of the land. 

Part of our collective healing for climate change, for preventing, really, the end of our existence as human beings, is to lift up those other people who have been doing it since time immemorial here in the place that you're at. One of the very simple things that you can do is support indigenous efforts to protect lands, waters, plants, animals. It doesn't really take that much, and you can do it through any means, whether it's creatively, financially, artistically, intellectually. Whatever your gifts are, those are needed. Because this is the time when you were put here to be with the rest of us. 

So now we can think about if this was the past, now, if we're using indigenous thought about this kind of philosophical relationship with everybody else, then we could see that she's the current generation, and back here are her mother, her grandmother, her great grandmother. And then going forward, her son, granddaughter, great granddaughter. So, there's always, because she's in the middle, the seven generations, forward and back. Thinking about those before you and thinking about those after you. So, if you kept going, it would be the same thing. That you are never working alone in isolation, and you should never feel that way.
 
There is no point to being hopeless. You are not alone, and you're always connected. So even when it comes it passes your way, that is how much time that you have in the world. In the grand scheme of things, you're not here for very long, right? So what is the work that you're going to do, the stuff that you're going to leave behind for future generations? Because all you're doing is borrowing the energy of the body of the earth that you have right now. Then you'll be returning it back, thinking about the bigger picture.