Indigenous Climate Resiliencies in Latin America: Teaching Climate Justice and Local Activism Through Documentary Film
In March 2022, The University of New Mexico’s Latin American & Iberian Institute (LAII) hosted a free professional development workshop to explore how climate change impacts Latin American Indigenous communities, such as the Yaqui, Maya, and Wixárika, through the documentary film La Vocera, directed by Luciana Kaplan.
We were also very lucky to be joined by 350 New Mexico for this workshop.
Nancy Weeks Singham and Stefi Weisburd are members of the 350 New Mexico steering committee. 350.org was founded in 2008 as an international grassroots activist movement to push governments and institutions to prevent climate change while supporting climate justice.
Addressing the need to support local teachers in climate education, and recognizing the importance of youth voices on this issue, they are developing a climate change curriculum to help educate and activate middle school students. In this workshop, Nancy and Stefi will introduce the outline of their 4-day middle school "Climate Hope: From Knowledge to Action” pilot unit and point to a few other ways your students can engage in climate action.
Learn more at https://350newmexico.org, noting “Teaching Climate Change” resources.
The curricular unit developed by the LAII focuses on a broader collective resistance of Indigenous peoples in Latin America and their leadership in the fight for climate justice. The resources presented include an entire unit on the documentary La Vocera, and two additional lesson plans - one of which encourages students to create their own documentary on climate justice and resiliency in their own communities.
The resources presented at this workshop are targeted at middle school students but can be applied to all classrooms with adaptation.
