Overview

Google, IBM & Meta Certificates – 40% Off

One Coursera Plus subscription covers most Professional Certificates on Coursera.

This course centers Indigenous knowledge, sovereignty, and land-based practices as essential to climate justice. Students learn how Native communities have confronted settler colonialism, land dispossession, water injustice, pollution, fire suppression, fossil fuel extraction, and climate change while continuing to protect land, water, food systems, culture, and community. The course examines cultural burning as an Indigenous climate adaptation practice, explores how Native Americans have been impacted by and are resisting the causes and effects of climate change, and highlights Native-led environmental movements in California. Across these lectures, students are introduced to Traditional Ecological Knowledge, food sovereignty, Land Back, water justice, cultural fire, and Indigenous climate resilience. Together, the course frames Indigenous climate action as both resistance to environmental harm and a pathway toward decolonial, community-led climate futures.

Syllabus

Getting Started & Climate Justice and Action in Native California
- In this module, Dr. Brittani Orona introduces climate justice through Indigenous perspectives, with a focus on California Native communities and their environmental justice efforts. You will explore how historical and ongoing impacts of settler colonialism shape environmental challenges and responses. The module highlights traditional ecological knowledge, real-world examples of Native-led environmental movements, and the ways Indigenous knowledge intersects with science and technology. By the end, you will have a deeper understanding of the resilience, leadership, and contributions of Native communities in protecting their lands and addressing climate change.
Indigenous Climate Action
- In this module, Professor Elizabeth Hoover examines how Native American communities are impacted by climate change and how they are actively resisting its causes and effects. You will explore how settler colonialism has shaped both environmental conditions and the lived experiences of Indigenous peoples. The module highlights the specific ways climate change affects Native communities, as well as efforts to resist fossil fuel extraction and build climate resilience. By the end, you will be able to connect these experiences to broader climate justice issues and better understand the strategies Indigenous communities use to protect their lands and futures.
Cultural Burning and Climate Justice
- In this module, Professor Beth Rose Middleton explores the connections between cultural burning and climate justice. You will examine how fire suppression policies are linked to the suppression of Indigenous peoples and how these histories shape present-day environmental challenges. The module compares cultural burning with prescribed burning, highlighting key similarities, differences, and the contexts in which each approach is used. You will also explore the challenges and opportunities facing cultural burn practitioners. By the end, you will develop a deeper understanding of the ecological and cultural knowledge embedded in these practices and the importance of respecting and supporting Indigenous-led approaches to land stewardship.