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Co-hosts, Heather Castleden and Hōkūlani Aikau, sit down with water scientist, legal scholar, policy expert, and writer, Dr. Kelsey Leonard, to talk about how she upholds her responsibilities as “a protector of the shoreline”. A citizen of the Shinnecock Nation, Dr. Leonard uses all her training to address the impacts of climate change on her community. In this episode, we talk about the barriers and challenges to addressing climate change and how to bring about planetary health, which include how researchers are trained at universities and how Indigenous knowledge continues to be undervalued in these spaces. While critical of educational institutions, she reminds us to hold onto the values of love, humility and compassion.
Dr. Kelsey Leonard holds the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Waters, Climate and Sustainability and is an assistant professor in the School of Environment, Resources, and Sustainability in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo, where her research focuses on Indigenous water justice and its climatic, territorial, and governance underpinnings. Dr. Leonard seeks to establish Indigenous traditions of water conservation as the foundation for international water policymaking. She represents the Shinnecock Indian Nation on the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Planning Committee, which is charged with protecting America’s ocean ecosystems and coastlines. She also serves as a member of the Great Lakes Water Quality Board of the International Joint Commission.
This podcast is created by the Impact Chair in Transformative Governance for Planetary Health at the University of Victoria, with production from Cited Media. We are supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. You can find us at https://indigenousplanetaryhealth.ca/
