Yellowhead Institute

After another year of wildfires, floods, heat waves, and climate-related evacuations, Indigenous communities continue to bear the brunt of the climate crisis. Indigenous youth, in particular, are confronting the loss of land-based knowledge and culture while facing growing economic uncertainty.

In this co-authored Brief, Serena Mendizabal, Aubrey-Anne Laliberte-Pewapisconias, Bushra Asghar, Farron Rickerby-Nishi, and Doug Hamilton-Evans examine the federal government's proposed Youth Climate Corps pilot and what it would take for the program to support Indigenous-led climate solutions. They argue that the Corps could create meaningful employment opportunities for Indigenous youth and strengthen community resilience – but, only if it is grounded in Indigenous sovereignty, governance, and knowledge systems, and designed to support existing Indigenous-led work rather than impose new solutions.

Artwork by Taylor Jolin - taylorjolin.ca

Read the full Brief on our website: https://yellowheadinstitute.org/2026/the-youth-climate-corps-and-the-indigenous-green-jobs-revolution/

In Week 2 of Misko Aki Knowledge Exchange (MAKE), we continue to explore themes of “Hyperlocal Worlding.” In this session, led by Dr. Autumn BlackDeer, we examined understandings of queerness and feminism as they relate to colonialism. Here’s a brief recap of our session reflections and learnings.

💡 What does it mean to decolonize conceptions of queerness?