Environmental Criminology Indigenous Perspectives

 In class, I learned that environmental criminology is not just about pollution or illegal logging—it’s also about power, justice, and who gets harmed the most. From an Indigenous perspective, it reveals how colonial systems continue to harm Indigenous lands, cultures, and people.

⚖️ Disproportionate Impact

One key point teachers made is that Indigenous communities suffer the most from environmental harm, even though they contribute the least to it. For example, mining or dam projects often happen on Indigenous lands without consent, damaging ecosystems and displacing people. This shows the unequal burden placed on Indigenous populations, which is both unfair and unjust.

📜 Traditional Laws and Justice

We also discussed how Indigenous communities have their own traditional environmental laws, passed down through generations. These laws teach respect for nature and guide how land and resources should be used. However, modern legal systems often ignore or dismiss these Indigenous laws. As a result, environmental justice for Indigenous people often means recognizing and respecting their own systems of law.

🛡️ Land Defender Criminalization

One powerful lesson from class was that when Indigenous people stand up to protect their land, they are often treated like criminals. We learned about how land defenders—people who resist harmful development—are threatened, arrested, or even killed. This shows how justice systems sometimes punish the protectors instead of the polluters.

🏞️ Land Dispossession

Finally, I understood that many environmental crimes are connected to land dispossession—the taking of Indigenous land without proper consent. This has happened for centuries through colonization, and it still happens today through laws, development, and politics. Losing land also means losing identity, culture, and the ability to live sustainably.

✍️ Final Reflection

From what I’ve learned in class, environmental criminology from an Indigenous perspective is about more than just nature—it’s about justice, rights, and survival. It teaches us to ask: Who benefits from the harm? Who is silenced? Who is punished? If we want true environmental justice, we must listen to Indigenous voices, defend their rights, and stop treating land protectors like criminals.