When it comes to tackling a challenge as vast and complex as the climate crisis, one of the most important things to keep in mind is to center the work around climate justice. This means to talk about the issue in human terms, to focus on the societal and political implications rather than solely on the science. Being a good climate activist means to show solidarity and demonstrate ally-ship with marginalized folks who will ultimately be the most impacted by the effects of climate change. Social justice issues are just as big of a contributor to the climate crisis as greenhouse gas emissions, so it is important that we raise the voices of those who are so often sidelined in the discussion.

To the effect of talking about the importance of representation, we had the privilege to sit down with Matthew Provost, a third-year Indigenous student majoring in First Nations studies with a focus on public policy and Indigenous methodologies, and minoring in communications. He comes from southern Alberta, more specifically the Blackfoot Confederacy and the Piikani and Kainai nations. Matthew has also just been recently elected as the VP of Student Services at SFSS!

We could tell you about what an awesome guy Matthew is, but it’s best if you continue reading below for our interview…

Cyan: Hi Matthew. Thank you so much for sitting down and talking with us today. Could you tell us a bit about how you’re involved at SFU?

Matthew: When I first came to SFU I started getting involved with the First Nations Student Association. I’ve been on their boards for the last three years, so pretty much since I started here. I have been advocating for Indigenous students so all the things that happen around campus I’ve been a part of, like the Aboriginal Reconciliation Council at SFU – I’ve been on their steering committee for two years. I’ve also hosted a lot of events for the FNSA, like Indigenous Day, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Awareness Week, lots of community events… I volunteer a lot of my time to the International Student Centre, helping out with cultural workshops (making hand drums and regalia). It’s really important to me that students have access to cultural knowledge while they’re at university, because obviously academic knowledge is important but there needs to be a balance for Indigenous students and more support. It’s also important to be culturally mindful and respectful, and being mindful of the space and things we take, even for me since I’m not from here. So I want to be mindful while I’m here and make sure I’m doing things in a good way, like by supporting the community that’s here and creating a reciprocal relationship.

Elyse: So as a follow-up question to that, can you tell us a bit about your personal relationship to the land?

M: So for me, land is especially important. But right now, I’m obviously not on my traditional land so I find that really hard because the land is where I find community and since I’m going to school out of province so sometimes I find that as a barrier to culturally connect. I was just talking to someone about this last night saying how I’m feeling kind of homesick. I haven’t been home since last May, so that’s the longest I’ve ever been away from my territory and I’m not really used to that so I definitely feel like there’s a connection to land specifically for me when it comes to ceremony, my language, my family, my community and it’s where I feel at home, like with my grandparents say on the reserve.

C: Why are you running for VP of student services? What are the main goals that you’re trying to achieve at SFU?

M: To be honest I really didn’t want to run… It took a lot of people to push me and encourage me to run… It was just incredibly supportive for me to actually feel like I could run, because as an Indigenous student I was having really bad imposter syndrome, like I didn’t deserve to be in those places [of leadership] because I didn’t fit in with the people. That was something that was really hard for me to get over and say “No, I deserve to be here just as anyone else and I deserve to run for these positions”… it took really thinking about what I want to do in this position. Working with the FNSA and seeing how things are running outside of the SFSS I’ve noticed a lot of barriers, with space issues, [with capacity], financial barriers, a lot of stress in just taking on the work to advocate and working on these issues is really draining – it takes a big cultural, emotional, spiritual, and physical toll on the things that we’re doing on top of studying, on top of being away from home, and worrying about our financial situation or our community… So the FNSA is finally getting a staff – we’ve been student run and student led with no support whatsoever from the SFSS up until the last couple years, with the SFSS neglecting their fiduciary responsibility to us… So all that said, that really drove me to be like “Hey, I want to make sure that there are some precedents set in SFSS, especially with space and with [Indigenous] students, that can fix the relationship and the dialogue that exists between the FNSA and the broader community. I feel like at SFU a lot of students don’t really know Indigenous students, which means that representation is really important, and for me I want other Indigenous students to feel comfortable in running for these positions, that they can feel empowered to do that work if they want to. If I get elected I want to make sure that all of the services are based in equity, diversity and inclusion, because I feel like our services are one-size-fits-all currently, so there needs to be an intersectional approach.

E: Why is representation so important?

M: I’m just going to be honest, there’s no representation at SFSS and I feel that they kind of have the mindset that “Oh yeah, we have the FNSA”, but to me that is not enough and I’m very blunt about it. There is no representation within the SFSS that currently works for me or any other Indigenous students.

C: And what is the importance of Indigenous representation in climate action, specifically?

M: Indigenous people have been fighting for the land since time immemorial. All of our ties are to the land. I think that Indigenous representation needs to be at the forefront of everything that’s done, especially when we’re talking about different protocols – like where you’re situated (the land that you’re on), and who you’re talking to about these issues. When you’re talking about reconciliation and Indigenisation you can’t take up that space and speak on behalf of those people if you don’t understand, if you haven’t experienced what they have, like what it’s like to live on a reserve or being in court fighting land titles, or being on the frontlines of Wet’suwet’en territory putting your body on the line… You know who even am I to speak on that when I’m not from here – all I can do is support and be vocal about things that are going on. With representation I think one of the most important things is to just be supportive, but then there’s also the question of fighting for representation but not pushing Indigenous people into spaces they’re not comfortable in. Just be very compassionate and respectful and ask questions. Expect protocol when asking people to speak or sing, or if you’re wanting Indigenous people to organize anything you should always offer tobacco. So representation comes with understanding, respect, and protocol.

E: Is there too much emphasis on Western science in communicating climate action? And what is the importance of traditional knowledge in tackling the climate crisis?

M: With traditional knowledge, it’s like we’ve understood what’s been going on for so long and we’ve always been talking about it, whether it’s with fracking or pipelines or dams on reserves, we’ve always been advocating for these things and I feel like sometimes it constrains with Western science… And I don’t know too much about it – there are a lot of good Indigenous people studying those things – but I just feel like it needs to be better. And with climate action I don’t want Indigenous people to feel like they’re tokens… it’s being organized without any Indigenous involvement…

C: Would you say that much organization around the climate crisis appropriates Indigenous knowledge?

M: Yeah, it’s like plagiarism, which we take quite seriously here – you can’t just quote word for word what Indigenous people have been saying for so long and they haven’t been taken seriously. So to appropriate and not acknowledge the struggle that’s been going on really bothers me – Indigenous people have died protecting their land, and people are jumping onto it and bandwagoning movements and they’re not acknowledging the work that has been put in – like with Standing Rock, Indigenous people were there for almost a year, compromising their jobs and their lives, getting arrested, compromising everything to go and protect the land – and if you’re not willing to acknowledge how much work is being put in or what’s on the line for Indigenous people then it’s not real [solidarity].

E: What do you believe is our most powerful tool in tackling the climate crisis and the conflict that is inevitably tied to it?

M: I honestly feel like it’s social media. People are able to access information better, to organize rallies and know where to go. It’s also good for knowing who to follow, where to get good and proper information from, so it’s just been a really good tool in communicating, especially for Indigenous people.

C: Final question to tie everything together a little bit – how can non-Indignous students support and make space for Indigenous students?

M: One thing that I always try to emphasize is being respectful, nothing should be said at anyone else’s expense. For example, if you’re a non-Indigenous student you most likely have Indigenous students in your class and if something problematic comes up related to Indigenous peoples, that’s where I think a lot of advocacy work can be done. I’ve done a lot of work advocating for students and safe spaces and have asked the questions: What do safe classrooms look like? What does a safe course content look like?  What does accountability look like?

If you’re dealing with racism or problematic things in general, you usually isolate yourself, then you wait until you find your community to express yourself. You then can rant about it and explain, what happened in class and other things like this, but if you’re not Indigenous and you do not hold your professor accountable, or you hear or see something that’s not appropriate and don’t act, this can be problematic in itself.

I always think if I don’t say anything now then what if there’s another Indigenous student, in this class this semester or way after, and this is their breaking point. If they were in this vulnerable place, and they were to hear something problematic or offensive to them, I worry they would drop out or something. I think to myself, what if this is their breaking point in dealing with racism?

In summary, be respectful and make space.If you have questions, I don’t mind questions but if they’re problematic and you find yourself asking, is this appropriate to ask? Then you probably shouldn’t be asking the question.

If you really want to know more I strongly recommend every student takes First Nations 101. There’s a lot of resources out there to help people with these questions and lots of Indigenous professors would be happy to answer questions by email or have a coffee. I’m also open to questions and to having a coffee with someone because I’d rather it be me then have someone who is uncomfortable or isn’t in a space to handle answering any potentially problematic questions that may be inappropriate.

Although in summary, we need to simply be aware and hold people accountable, in regards to respecting one another.

Addressing why people feel the need to be racist in general or by just checking in with us by saying, “I know that was super inappropriate what happened, are you okay?”, because by doing this it’s building relationships and I feel like that’s not always happening between Indigenous students and non Indigenous students. There’s still this discomfort there, so I think building upon those and reaching out and simply just being good people.

C:  So to reiterate, putting the responsibility on the non- Indigenous student to educate themselves and find the information. It shouldn’t be on Indigeous students to educate non-Indigenous students. 

M: Yeah, it shouldn’t be on me, and it shouldn’t be all on my community members or anything like that.

I feel like especially if there’s something problematic going on,  it shouldn’t be on that Indigenous student, if they’re in a class and they are dealing with some sort of issue, or considering if that student is knowledgeable enough to educate everyone else. In this situation, you’re kind of taking up that space because if I say something that someone doesn’t agree with, then I’m gonna have to deal with a bunch of racists. I don’t know who’s sitting in my class, I don’t know who my professor is or if I could be compromising my grade based on this. So to this, you really need to pick your battles about what you want to do or what’s going on. In general, bringing more self-awareness to the issue is important.

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