CRICKET GUEST


KF: Tell me a little bit about yourself and what inspired your cli- mate activism?


Cricket Guest: I first started getting into activism when I was 12 years old. It started when I found online forums about feminism that included feminists of all ages sharing their views. This time in my life was very pivotal for me because it launched my skepticism and I began to look at the world differently and challenge systems that I didn’t know were harming me. I went from being the kid that was too shy to raise my hand even if I knew the answer to being voted “most likely to start a debate” by the end of high school. And this is because I started actively challenging systems and the people in them (i.e., my peers, my teachers, my family). My activism started with feminism, which in all honesty was a very white-centred feminism (as I am a white-coded native and still benefit from white privilege). It wasn’t until I read Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis that my world shifted again, and my activism became more intersectional. Later, when I was 16, I started learning about environmental issues, specifically how coloniza- tion and white supremacy within the agriculture industry has led to so much destruction of and pain for the land, animals and humans. For a lot of Indigenous people, their culture leads them to activism.


“EDUCATING STUDENTS ON THE REAL HISTORY OF CANADA IS A GOOD PLACE TO START. THE FORMATION OF “CANADA” IS SEEDED IN A HARMFUL AND TOXIC MENTALITY TOWARDS THE EARTH. THE MENTALITY IS THAT WE AS HUMANS HAVE OWNERSHIP OVER LAND. WE DON’T. WE DO NOT EXIST ON THIS LAND, AND THE LAND DOES NOT EXIST FOR US. WE EXIST WITH THE LAND. WE TAKE CARE OF HER AND SHE TAKES CARE OF US.”


As Indigenous people a lot of the time we don’t feel as though we have a choice about being activists; much of the time we’re born into it. In my case, it was the opposite; my activism led me back to my culture. I’m a white-passing Anishinaabekwe Metis. I was raised by my single white mom in a tiny town of largely white people. There was, therefore, a disconnect from my culture. My mother would try to take me to an Indigenous education centre in my town, but when I was about four it had its funding cut, and we were left without resources for me to learn about my culture. As I later began to learn more about the land and the destructive effects of capitalism, colonialism and patriarchy, it led me back to my people. It led me to the land defenders and their teachings, and suddenly I didn’t feel so radical or separate and different from ev- eryone else. Reclaiming and relearning my Indigenous culture has been crucial to my path in climate activism. It has also helped me connect the dots as to why I feel so passionate about justice for women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, animals and the land. They are all connected. Injustice and mistreatment of one of those groups leads to the injustice and mistreat- ment of all of those groups. They cannot flourish when we live in a society built on capitalism, colonialism and the patriarchy. They are toxins and work by disconnecting people from what is real.


KF: Could you share what role you think teachers, schools and teacher unions have to play in the climate justice movement?


CG: Educating students on the real history of Canada is a good place to start. The formation of “Canada” is seeded in a harmful and toxic mentality towards the earth. The mentality is that we as humans have ownership over land. We don’t. We do not exist on this land, and the land does not exist for us. We exist with the land. We take care of her and she takes care of us. But before we can move forward with climate solutions we need to look at our past to educate and acknowledge that the system isn’t broken; this system we are living in was designed this way, framed by colonization, imperialism and greed. Without ac- knowledging the source of our wounds we will never completely heal. In terms of the climate strike movement, I want to see BIPOC voices being elevated to the same degree as Greta Thunberg.


26 ETFO VOICE | SPRING 2020


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