Two Indigenous climate organizers on the importance of building community
By Bella Davis
On a warm March afternoon in Albuquerque, Reyes DeVore (Jemez Pueblo), standing in front of a mural depicting two young Pueblo people, spoke about what being a “good descendent” of ancestors who resisted Spanish colonization means to her.
A couple days later, in the bosque, Cheyenne Antonio (Diné) smiled as she detailed all the things that bring her joy, from metal concerts to gossiping with her elders.
We sat down with DeVore and Antonio in part to learn how they’re working through feelings of hopelessness as headlines about climate change are ever more bleak. They both work for local, Indigenous-led organizations focused on environmental threats to their communities.
DeVore was working in early childhood education when she traveled in 2016 to a North Dakota protest camp formed in part by members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to try to halt construction of an oil pipeline. Pueblo Action Alliance got started soon after. DeVore serves as the group’s program director.
Antonio works for Diné CARE, or Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment, bringing people together on the Navajo Nation to share how the oil and gas industry impacts their lives, and, together, take action on energy issues. After years of advocacy, Antonio, who is a University of New Mexico alum, and other Indigenous students and faculty successfully pushed the university to replace its old seal, which featured a conquistador and a frontiersman.
Our conversations touched on fears about climate change, how they keep going in their work and what building strong communities looks like for them. At times, the two were highly critical of the Trump administration. Listen to our conversations, or read extended versions below. (The interviews with DeVore and Antonio were done separately, but we asked both of them many of the same questions, so we’re presenting them side-by-side.)
On how people can respond to feelings of hopelessness as the Trump administration rolls back environmental protections:
DeVore: I would first tell them that their feelings are valid, and I think it is important for us to be realistic in that way of feeling, maybe this sense of hopelessness, even though it’s not a good feeling. I think it’s important for us to be transparent and bring awareness as to what this current administration is doing, not just to the livelihood of so many people, but also the mental state and well being of all of us. I think that being able to have those honest conversations with each other are very much needed at this time. So then that way, we don’t feel isolated in these times of feeling hopeless.
It’s a different type of fight when you are Indigenous or when you’re Pueblo, because you kind of have no choice but to continue to keep fighting, even when you feel defeated, even when we feel like our analysis or our lived experiences are being dismissed. I know that it is our right and our responsibility to continue to carry out the work, not just within [Pueblo Action Alliance], but to continue to protect what is sacred, to continue to counter the systems that don’t respect us. We can create those spaces, not just through [Pueblo Action Alliance], but wherever you are. I encourage people to do that, to create community with the people that they’re a part of, whether that’s in their schools or whether that is in their neighborhoods, or the Pueblo communities or the tribes that they come from. Because the last thing that we should be doing is just to continue to feel hopeless, because that is not going to get us anywhere. But with that too, I just want to remind everyone how important it is to take care of their bodies, listen to their bodies and to lean into what is supporting us to continue to move forward.
Antonio: I would say it’s time to rise up and definitely find ways to engage in community and return back to our base, as humans, as five-fingered beings. I think it’s important to recognize that we are a part of the ecosystem. There are more things than capitalism, capital. And definitely making sacrifices in order to fight for the future that we want, whether it be clean water, clean air, these things that we take for granted every day are the very things that we have to stand up and rise up for and I believe it’s going to have to take everyone.
I feel like during the Biden administration, we’ve become so comfortable and so separate. Now that we have a very much, like, very fascist administration, now we’re going to have to really work collectively and not work in silos. So I think that’s one of the privileges I would have to say that we have to really look at. But also the amount of technology that we have right now, getting comfortable with that, not purchasing more, really boycotting a lot of these systems that are very much putting us in these vulnerable places.
On the importance of centering traditional, Indigenous knowledge in conversations about the climate crisis:
DeVore: At the core of many of our communities, it’s always been about reciprocity. Especially with Pueblo people, what we take, we always give back. And when I say what we take, that means like when we’re hunting or when we’re gathering food or gathering water. There’s always something given back, whether that’s a prayer, whether that’s a song. There’s just this act of reciprocity that has been practiced for centuries, and that model has served Indigenous communities up until we began to see colonialism really take Indigenous land bases and commodify those resources. And so when there’s that imbalance happening, what we’re experiencing now is the climate crisis. And so it’s really important that Indigenous solutions are uplifted, and it’s not just a perspective. It is our lived experiences.
Antonio: We value life in all forms. The natural world. I think as humans we forget we’re a part of that. And it’s really important to stay grounded in our culture, because if we don’t, then we become the colonizer, and we’re no different from our abusers in this place. And when we are tied to our culture, we know exactly who we are. We know the songs, the prayers to connect to this land. And how blessed is that for us to recognize that we are native to this land, it’s ours, and we need to start acting like it’s ours and go back to the mountains. When are we going to help the land? When is it going to actually happen? I think that’s where we’re at now. And how do we reconnect to that resistance fire that was built from our ancestors a long time ago? That’s why, you know, I’m here. Who was that ancestor that made that choice?
Diné CARE is more than a job because it’s more of a cultural obligation. It’s a sacred duty. I’m just grateful that in this time and space right now that, in the time that we’re in, we’re here to defend the Diné people, we’re here to defend Diné sacred spaces, our water, our air, our plants, our animals, that we are not alone.
On what building community looks like:
DeVore: To me, building community looks like being able to be in a safe and healthy space, to be able to also address challenges as they come, to be able to work through conflict and challenges as they come, because that means that we’re able to mend and to heal and to grow together, so that way we can continue to be stronger as a community. And that’s easier said than done because as Indigenous people, we’re all coming with generations of trauma. There’s that saying that self care is community care. Community care is self care too. And so it’s really important that we, especially now with this current administration and what we’re facing as a people, that we lean into strengthening those relationships that we hold, or cultivating new ones where people can feel welcome, and also offering resources to people so then that way, they also are getting their needs met. And even the most basic needs, when it comes to food or creating art or making meals together. I think those things are often overlooked because we’re just looking at things at a larger scale, which we should. But also, let’s not forget all the small but simple things that can really have long lasting benefits.
This work isn’t just about ourselves. It’s about protecting community, and it’s about being good descendants of ancestors who fought against the Spaniards for us to be here, and it is a reminder that we aren’t going to center any one person when it comes to this fight, because when I think about the Pueblo Revolt, I think about all the different meetings and strategy that they all came together for.
Antonio: A community that grows together stays together, a community that hauls water together stays together. It’s really going back to the roots and having to have those conversations, those one-on-one conversations, the conversations we don’t want to have, but also giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, giving everyone a chance, learning to grow together, learning to organize community meetings. Having meetings at home, at the dinner table.
Having to really look at our own colonization is the task we all need to do in order for us to grow and going back to our humanness, our warriorness in our culture, the ways each of us, matriarchs, our women, have warrior spirit. All of us do. And so having to go back to that. Not Facebook warrior, keyboard warrior, as my uncle says, but really being that warrior and approaching your Republican uncle, your Republican dad, and getting back to educating. I think that’s where we’re at.
On finding personal joy:
DeVore: Being able to go home, back to Jemez, to be a part of my community, whether that is helping to cook when there are things happening, or being able to just sit with my family, or my grandma when she’s doing her pottery. Those things bring me joy. To have that culture to go back to, and to be able to offer that Pueblo childhood to my son and for him to learn early on, as opposed to how my childhood looked like. That definitely brings joy and a lot of gratitude to me.
Antonio: What brings me joy is live music, whether it’s my brother playing his acoustic guitar to my uncle singing at the Launchpad. Metal music, it just releases rage for me. Usually metal concerts you see a bunch of Natives everywhere, so I love that. One of the most precious things to me is sharing space with my elders, when we’re all gossiping around the table, catching up, going to bingo with my elders. I love it when we thrive. Seeing Native students graduate. Seeing Native folks be recognized. Indigenous brilliance is literally everywhere, and I just love to tap into it.
This story is part of a collaborative series between New Mexico In Depth and New Mexico PBS, called Indigenously Positive. Bella Davis was the host/producer for this episode; NMPBS Multimedia Producer Benjamin Yazza was the director/producer; NMPBS’ Joey Dunn was a producer and contributed camera work.
This story was originally published at New Mexico In Depth, a NMPBS partner.