International climate gatherings such as the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP) have become important spaces for discussing responses to climate change. Although Indigenous Peoples have participated in these conversations for decades, increased recognition of Indigenous rights and knowledge has not necessarily resulted in greater decision-making power. “We are blessing the space for them, and they don't even realize it;” Uplifting Indigenous Peoples Rights, Knowledge Systems, and Feminisms at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change  examines this gap by centering the experiences of Indigenous climate leaders who attended COP27. Through their stories, the article considers both the colonial barriers Indigenous Peoples continue to encounter and the ways they create their own forms of climate leadership through relationships, ceremony, community, and self-determination.

The research draws on the experiences of nine Indigenous climate leaders who participated in COP27. Rather than approaching participants simply as research subjects, the authors use Indigenous Storywork, which understands stories as sources of knowledge and teaching. Storywork also involves responsibilities for those who receive and carry another person’s story. This approach allows participants’ experiences to guide the analysis and reflects the article’s larger argument that Indigenous Peoples should have greater authority over how their knowledge is understood and represented.

Participants describe several barriers within international climate negotiations. Although Indigenous Peoples are increasingly visible at COP, they are often positioned as observers rather than decision-makers. They must also navigate institutions and processes structured around colonial languages, governance systems, and understandings of climate action. Participants discuss the emotional labour involved in continually advocating for Indigenous rights and explaining Indigenous knowledge within these spaces. They also raise concerns about proposed climate solutions, including renewable energy projects that may continue extracting resources from Indigenous territories without respecting Indigenous governance. From this perspective, replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy does not necessarily create climate justice if the relationships surrounding extraction remain unchanged.

At the same time, the stories demonstrate that Indigenous Peoples are not simply responding to exclusion. They are actively creating and practicing different forms of climate leadership. Participants describe relationships with Land, Water, animals, community, and future generations as central to their understandings of climate responsibility. They also discuss supporting Indigenous youth, creating spaces for ceremony, sharing knowledge, and developing relationships with Indigenous Peoples from other parts of the world. These practices challenge approaches that understand climate action primarily through formal policy or technological solutions.

The article provides several concrete examples of Indigenous climate action already occurring within communities, including land defence, food sovereignty, buffalo restoration, water protection, traditional ecological knowledge, and community education. Participants also emphasize the importance of Indigenous women, Two-Spirit people, youth, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers within climate leadership. At COP27 itself, carrying medicines, speaking Indigenous languages, sharing songs, participating in ceremony, and gathering in the Indigenous Peoples’ Pavilion allowed participants to bring parts of their communities and cultures into an international space. These practices were not separate from their political work but part of how participants understood and practiced climate leadership.

Based on these stories, the authors offer three recommendations for strengthening Indigenous climate leadership within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). First, climate policy needs to move away from colonial and technological “false solutions” and meaningfully recognize Indigenous rights, knowledge, and governance. Second, Indigenous networks and solidarity should be better supported, particularly by creating opportunities for Indigenous youth and communities to build relationships across Nations. Third, greater attention needs to be given to the mental health and wellbeing of Indigenous climate leaders, especially given the emotional demands of representing communities and continually advocating within colonial institutions.

Ultimately, this article demonstrates that meaningful Indigenous participation requires more than increasing Indigenous representation within existing climate institutions. Indigenous Peoples are already leading climate action through their communities, knowledge systems, relationships, and responsibilities to Land. The stories shared by participants show both the difficulties of working within international climate negotiations and the possibilities Indigenous Peoples create within and beyond these spaces. By using Storywork to center their experiences, the article asks readers to understand climate leadership not only through policy outcomes, but also through relationships, responsibility, cultural continuity, and Indigenous self-determination.

This is a summary of the article "Storywork at COP 27: Indigenous Climate Leadership, Solidarity, and Decolonizing Climate Action." The full manuscript is under review for academic publication.

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