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We Anishinaabe people have a word for the process of determining our destiny: Ji misawaabandaaming. This process is essential for our survival as Indigenous peoples. To achieve tribal sovereignty and self-determination, we must address the future of our energy economies and the future of our food economies. In this millennium, we must undergo a conscious transformation and take technological and economic leaps to develop tribal energy and food security.
In Anishinaabe Akiing we have a prophecy about this time - this is when we choose between two paths, one wellworn but scorched or one that is green.
The United States has the largest and most inefficient energy and food economy in the world. Tribal communities have long supplied the raw materials for nuclear and coal plants, huge dam projects, and various oil and gas industries. Our communities also historically provided the agricultural foundation for the American food system, and yet, today we produce less and less of our own food.
With this new millennium, carbon limits have been reached, and energy technology markets are turning to renewable energy. This is also a time when, with less access to cheap fossil fuels, we face tremendous challenges in an industrial food system. Tribal communities must answer these questions: Do we want to determine our own futures or lease them out for royalties? Do we want to be at the table or on the menu?
Three issues are intersecting right now that have huge implications for our peoples: declining world oil production, climate change, and food security. We Indigenous nations now have an opportunity to control our destiny, because we can, and also because we are about to see a massive destabilization of the larger global economy.
For instance, scientists and economists agree that, if we don't do anything to address climate change now, we will soon be spending 20% of the world's gross domestic product to deal with problems created by climate change. That is a lot of money.
Here's a concrete example - for every one degree in temperature increase,...