Speaker: Princess Johnson, Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition
How (and why) are you taking action on climate change solutions in, for, and with your community?
Princess Johnson: Slana, greetings from Alaska. My name is Princess Darai Johnson, and I'm the board president of Native Movement and a founding member of the Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition. I'm also a mother, and I work with my community to take action on climate change and provide solutions because, um, myself and others are in love with Alaska, or one mother earth, and want to see a livable and just planet for all future generations.
Describe a moment when you felt the real-world impact of your work in climate solutions.
Princess Johnson: One of the things that is really inspiring to me here in Fairbanks is for over 5 years, our community organized to get a Fairbanks um people's Climate plan passed, and it took a lot of effort, a lot of organizing, a lot of really getting more climate friendly um officials elected for us to finally pass the People's Climate plan last year. Um, last summer actually, and that is an effect and that continues to show that the power is still with the people on the local level, and we're excited to get to work.
Who or what inspires/inspired you to care about climate change and climate solutions?
Princess Johnson: So, I am Netzaiwin and growing up I always listened to what our elders had to say about our connection to the land, the animals, our caribou, our salmon, our mother earth, and the nature of our, our spiritual relationship, our obligation as human beings, um, to care for our mother earth, and I Um, truly believe that it's a, a value, a shift in values and relationships, um, that needs to change on a global scale. So for me, it's really my own community, and my elders and our, um, epistemologies, the way that we see ourselves related to our mother earth, um, that inspired me to do this work.
