Indigenous Youth and Decolonial Futures

Energy and Environmentalism among the Diné in the Navajo Nation and the Lepchas of Sikkim, India

Bibliographic Data

ID7096947
AuthorsM D Gergan (0000-0003-2132-4752, Vanderbilt University, corresponding author), Andrew Curley (0000-0002-7392-3565, School of Geography Development & Environment University of Arizona Tucson AZ USA, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume55
Issue3
Pages749-769
Publication date2021-07-26
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAntipode (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0066-4812 • E-ISSN: 1467-8330
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/anti.12763
OpenAlexW3186742198
LanguageEN
Citations received26
References cited51

In India and the United States, Lepcha and Diné youth are articulating decolonial futures that diverge from past aspirations. Rather than demanding big infrastructure such as dams or power plants, Indigenous youth forward decolonial visions that reimagine the landscape and energy technologies. In this article, we suggest that Lepcha and Diné activists are articulating a youthful decolonial futurity—a vision for the future where their generation and the ones to follow can flourish in their own territories and on their own terms. We propose youthful decolonial futurity as a prefigurative politics specific to Indigenous youth, who view their activism as integral to creating a future where their communities have more control over decision‐making processes and their ancestral territories. What emerges is a consideration of the role of Indigenous youth in building a language and politics of decolonisation against the roles of power brokers, elites, and naysayers

Decolonization · Environmental ethics · Environmentalism · Futures contract · Indigenous · Navajo · Political ecology · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Sociology · Vision · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Anthropology · Ecology · Gender Studies · Law · South Asian Studies and Conflicts · Water Governance and Infrastructure

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