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Representation of Indigenous peoples in climate change reporting

Author

Listed:
  • Ella Belfer

    (McGill University)

  • James D. Ford

    (McGill University
    University of Leeds)

  • Michelle Maillet

    (McGill University)

Abstract

This article examines how newspapers reporting on climate change have covered and framed Indigenous peoples. Focusing on eight newspapers in Canada, the USA, Australia, and New Zealand, we examine articles published from 1995 to 2015, and analyze them using content and framing analyses. The impacts of climate change are portrayed as having severe ecological, sociocultural, and health/safety impacts for Indigenous peoples, who are often framed as victims and “harbingers” of climate change. There is a strong focus on stories reporting on the Arctic. The lack of substantive discussion of colonialism or marginalization in the reviewed stories limits media portrayal of the structural roots of vulnerability, rendering climate change as a problem for, rather than of society. Indigenous and traditional knowledge is widely discussed, but principally as a means of corroborating scientific knowledge, or in accordance with romanticized portrayals of Indigenous peoples. Widespread disparities in the volume, content, and framing of coverage are also observed across the four nations.

Suggested Citation

  • Ella Belfer & James D. Ford & Michelle Maillet, 2017. "Representation of Indigenous peoples in climate change reporting," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 145(1), pages 57-70, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:145:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1007_s10584-017-2076-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-017-2076-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ford, J.D., 2012. "Indigenous health and climate change," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 102(7), pages 1260-1266.
    2. Daniel Wildcat, 2013. "Introduction: climate change and indigenous peoples of the USA," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 120(3), pages 509-515, October.
    3. Julie Maldonado & T. M. Bull Bennett & Karletta Chief & Patricia Cochran & Karen Cozzetto & Bob Gough & Margaret Hiza Redsteer & Kathy Lynn & Nancy Maynard & Garrit Voggesser, 2016. "Engagement with indigenous peoples and honoring traditional knowledge systems," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 135(1), pages 111-126, March.
    4. Julie Maldonado & T. Bennett & Karletta Chief & Patricia Cochran & Karen Cozzetto & Bob Gough & Margaret Redsteer & Kathy Lynn & Nancy Maynard & Garrit Voggesser, 2016. "Engagement with indigenous peoples and honoring traditional knowledge systems," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 135(1), pages 111-126, March.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Son, Ho Ngoc & Chi, Dong Thi Linh & Kingsbury, Aaron, 2019. "Indigenous knowledge and climate change adaptation of ethnic minorities in the mountainous regions of Vietnam: A case study of the Yao people in Bac Kan Province," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    2. David García-del-Amo & P. Graham Mortyn & Victoria Reyes-García, 2020. "Including indigenous and local knowledge in climate research: an assessment of the opinion of Spanish climate change researchers," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 67-88, May.
    3. Nia King & Katherine E. Bishop-Williams & Sabrina Beauchamp & James D. Ford & Lea Berrang-Ford & Ashlee Cunsolo & IHACC Research Team & Sherilee L. Harper, 2019. "How do Canadian media report climate change impacts on health? A newspaper review," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 152(3), pages 581-596, March.
    4. Danielle Emma Johnson & Karen Fisher & Meg Parsons, 2022. "Diversifying Indigenous Vulnerability and Adaptation: An Intersectional Reading of Māori Women’s Experiences of Health, Wellbeing, and Climate Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-40, May.
    5. Candis Callison, 2021. "Refusing more empire: utility, colonialism, and Indigenous knowing," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 1-14, August.
    6. Kimberly R. Marion Suiseeya & Margaret G. O’connell & Edith Leoso & Marvin Shingwe Biness Neme Defoe & Alexandra Anderson & Megan Bang & Pete Beckman & Anne-Marie Boyer & Jennifer Dunn & Jonathan Gi, 2022. "Waking from Paralysis: Revitalizing Conceptions of Climate Knowledge and Justice for More Effective Climate Action," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 700(1), pages 166-182, March.
    7. Meghan M. Shea & James Painter & Shannon Osaka, 2020. "Representations of Pacific Islands and climate change in US, UK, and Australian newspaper reporting," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 89-108, July.

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