Opinion: Indigenous Inclusion Key to Climate Justice
I’ve been invited to submit occasional columns to the Sierra Nevada Ally. Here’s an excerpt of my first one. - Howard
I believe that Nevada will emerge from the other side of the climate crisis stronger than we were when we entered it. A major cause for my optimism is a growing focus on climate justice among our leaders, including Governor Sisolak and his cabinet, the Biden Administration, key legislators, and a growing number of community organizations and businesses. Having spent more than a decade working in communities on these issues, I am honored to now help lead this change as the Chair of the Nevada Assembly’s Committee on Natural Resources, and Vice Chair of the Committee on Growth and Infrastructure. There are some exciting policy proposals in Carson City this year to advance both climate action and social equity.
…I’d like to highlight a critical first step toward climate justice: inclusion of and reparation for Native peoples. As the first communities who adapted to live in balance with this land for countless generations before the arrival of “settlers,” there is much we can learn from our Native brothers and sisters. To do that, we need them to invite them to sit on our decision-making bodies as equals. There are proposals in the Legislature this year to add Native representation to the interim Committee on Public Lands (AB 95), the Land Use Planning Advisory Council (AB 52), and the Board on Geographic Names (AB 72).