Community Activator Series: Angela Koe

Angela Koe-Blake was born and raised in the Northwest Territories (NWT) by Renie Koe and her surrounding family, who taught her about the importance of their traditional lifestyle. Angela participated in our FutureXChange Traditional Knowledge gathering in October and was eager to share her experience.

Angela brainstorms ideas around how to engage her community in a discussion around climate change.

What does climate action look like to you?

Angela: As a community, we can work to create affordable and efficient ways to create change. Offering education and training to local people is a great start for us to learn about different ways of taking climate action.

What do you want to share with others after attending the Traditional Knowledge gathering?

Angela: We are so fortunate to have had the opportunity to connect, watch and learn from all the Elders. We were joined by Tetl’it Gwich’in Elder Mary Teya and Gwich’in youth from across Canada to discuss the importance of Traditional Knowledge. It was important for us to start off the FutureXChange Program with a Traditional Knowledge gathering because some of us have never had the opportunity to be surrounded by knowledge keepers.

The highlight of our gathering was listening to our guest speakers Erika Tiyza and Brandon Kyikavichik from Old Crow, YT. They talked about their experiences travelling on the land and the changes they’ve seen over the years. It was eye opening to hear about how rapidly these changes are happening and yet, we are still fighting our governments for land rights.

I’ve been lucky enough to paddle the Wind River - one of five rivers in the Peel Watershed that drains into the Yukon, flows into the Beaufort Sea through the Peel and the Mackenzie River, where most northerners depend on the clean, untouched water. It is important to me to protect our land and waters, because disruptions will eventually affect us internally and externally. Seeing, feeling and hearing the peace in the watershed opened my eyes to how rich we are and the work our ancestors did to harvest each season. It helped me understand why we fight, why we stand up and use our voice to protect our land and waters. It gave me a reason to ask my ancestors to guide and protect me to do whatever I need to do to make sure our future generations have these same experiences and learn our Traditional Knowledge.

It’s important for us to learn how to respect the land, to provide from the land and listen to our Elders. Reading their books and listening to their recordings is integral in order for us to become the next generation of Indigenous guardians and stewards of the land. The knowledge is embedded in us. We already have all the resources and passion we need to help our people and secure our future.

Learn more about our FutureXChange Program and our Community Activators here.

Inuvik, NWT.