Assembly of First Nations BC Regional Chief A-in-chut (Shawn Atleo) was in Montreal on April 4 to receive training from former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore to deliver the message behind the Academy Award-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”
Gore will work with 200 Canadians from across the nation on how to best deliver the facts about halting global warming’s deadly progress. The regional chief is eager to give a First Nations perspective on the threat of climate change.
“Climate change is an issue that resonates strongly with First Nations people. We are taught of our connection with the land, and with all living things and we are already feeling the effects quite acutely,” said A-in-chut.
“One need only look at the Pine Beetle epidemic that has ravaged our forests and the resulting fire hazard looming this summer, impacts on fish stocks, or the threat of floods from global warming-induced extreme weather.”
Once training is completed, A-in-chut will be ready to deliver a message laced with cold hard facts, but filled with hope that it is not too late to halt the effects of global warming.
“We can and must, right now, take measures to tackle the problem,” said Atleo. “From time immemorial, the elders talked of our existence being based on a symbiotic relationship with nature, one that strove for balance and harmony with our surroundings. Just as we didn’t create the conditions that created climate change, nor did we create the challenges facing all First Nations people in our struggle to care for our land and people, but we only need to be guided by the teaching of the ancestors, stand up and accept our responsibility, to ensure the well being of future generations.”
