By: Allegra Villarreal, Peer Mentor and Consultant for CTN, Former Director of Professional Development, and STC, and ACC Teacher

A groundbreaking, Open Commons anthology, Indigenizing Education for Climate Action, provides Indigenous-centered strategies for tackling the climate crisis through education and advocacy. The book is the result of collaborative efforts by the members of the GEO-Indigenous Alliance, Space4Innovation, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon, the Namunyak Community Conservation, and Educreative Consulting. The collection features chapters from over 30 contributors representing Indigenous communities on six continents, including Dr. Autumn Asher Blackdeer, Dan Hawk, and Dr. Kathleen Butler.

Allegra Villarreal co-edited the anthology with Diana Mastracci Sánchez, both of whom were featured in CTN’s November 2022 professional development webinar. Their work has also been highlighted at in-person and virtual events over the past two months, including NISOD’s Fall ’23 Conference, the Geo-Indigenous Alliance Global Water Summit, and was the focus of a plenary session at this year’s  United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai.  Villarreal’s chapter, Testimonios as Storytelling for Climate Action, provides educators with strategies to facilitate the creation of student narratives, emphasizing the importance of dialogue, empathy, and critical consciousness, ultimately advancing a socially just approach to climate change education across disciplines.

You can access the book here, and read more from Allegra in her weekly newsletter.