“Being Māori, being Indigenous, we have a long legacy of resistance and activism. My work is to step into that and ensure that (ideally) future generations don’t have to do this activism; that we do our job so well they get to have a joyful time.”
Climate activist India Logan-Riley is a formidable voice in climate change and justice. As co-founder of Te Ara Whatu, the indigenous youth climate organisation, Logan-Riley dreams of resilient communities where everyone is safe and joyful.
Logan-Riley is Māori – specifically Kahungunu, Rangitāne and Rongomaiwahine – and Indigenous to Aotearoa (New Zealand). As co-founder of the Indigenous youth climate activism group Te Ara Whatu, Logan-Riley is building on the work of relatives and elders, continuing a legacy of resistance to colonialism, development and environmental degradation.
In 2017, as a result of conversations at the UN Climate Conference, Te Ara Whatu was founded – a Māori youth-led initiative which campaigns internationally at climate conferences and also campaigns at a national level to ensure that indigenous perspectives are part of the climate crisis planning of the New Zealand government. Te Ara Whatu means The Woven Path, but its layers of meaning capture the broader ‘kaupapa‘ (Māori approach and belief systems) that the fight for climate justice connects to. Te Ara Whatu knows that Māori and Pasifika communities are at the frontline of climate change and so focus on global climate change solutions that also protect Indigenous practices and sovereignty. They have spoken out on how rising sea levels will disproportionately affect Māori communities in New Zealand, in particular since their communities are already over-represented in poverty statistics.
In 2021 Logan-Riley was awarded the Bright Award from Stanford University, which recognises individuals who have a special impact on “environmental preservation and global sustainability”.
In an interview with Tom Allen, Impact Boom, Logan-Riley describes what first inspired her to get into climate activism “…People ask me, ‘why are you in the climate change space? Why are you an activist?’ I say, ‘why not?’ There’s no other way that we can do things. Being Māori, being Indigenous, we have a long legacy of resistance and activism. My work is to step into that and ensure that (ideally) future generations don’t have to do this activism; that we do our job so well they get to have a joyful time.”
She also talks about her involvement with the campaigning collective ActionStation, describing it as “an incredible organisation, because it works across multiple issues.
“We look at economic fairness, family well-being, climate justice, and honouring Te Tiriti, the Treaty that Māori signed with the Crown back in 1840. It means we get to work across really cool campaigns, but also collaborate and use them to enhance each other. The things we’ve worked on in the past are prison abolition and reform, justice, sexual harm, and seeing if there are better policies and support in those areas.”
The most motivating part of her work, says Logan-Riley, “is what we can do for the youth in the community who are interested in Indigenous and climate activism.
“What I’m really passionate about is uplifting a generation of Indigenous change-makers and telling our young people, ‘The knowledge that you were raised with and the ancestry that you have is all that you need to be in this movement…By existing and speaking our language they’re helping address the climate crisis.”
@indiamiro
