Melina Laboucan-Massimo
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Melina Laboucan-Massimo (born 1981) is a
climate justice Climate justice is a type of environmental justice that focuses on the unequal impacts of climate change on marginalized or otherwise vulnerable populations. Climate justice seeks to achieve an equitable distribution of both the burdens of clima ...
and Indigenous rights advocate from the Lubicon Cree community of Little Buffalo in northern
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
, Canada. Growing up with firsthand experience of the effects of oil and gas drilling on local communities, she began advocating for an end to
resource extraction Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...
in Indigenous territories but shifted focus to supporting a
renewable energy transition An energy transition (or energy system transformation) is a major structural change to energy supply and consumption in an energy system. Currently, a transition to sustainable energy is underway to limit climate change. Most of the sustainab ...
after a ruptured pipeline spilled approximately 4.5 million litres of oil near Little Buffalo in 2011. Laboucan-Massimo is a former campaigner with
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...
. She is the founder of Sacred Earth Solar and co-founder of Indigenous Climate Action, which support Indigenous-led clean energy and climate action projects in Canada. From 2010 to 2014, she co-organized the annual Tar Sands Healing Walk in Alberta, and in 2015 she helped construct a 20.8-kilowatt solar panel installation to power the local health centre in Little Buffalo. She is a Fellow at the
David Suzuki Foundation The David Suzuki Foundation is a science-based non-profit environmental organization headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with offices in Montreal and Toronto. It was established as a federally registered Canadian charity on Jan ...
. Her documentary series ''Power to the People'' has profiled renewable energy projects organized by Indigenous communities across Canada.


Early life and education

Melina Laboucan-Massimo was born in 1981 in
Peace River The Peace River () is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in the Peace-Athabasca Delta to form the ...
, Alberta, to a Cree father and Italian mother. Laboucan-Massimo grew up in Little Buffalo, and is a member of the Lubicon Cree First Nation. In 1988, her community held a six-day protest against the effects of local oil and gas drilling, and the experience influenced Laboucan-Massimo's interest in activism and social justice. As a youth, she began advocating for an end to
resource extraction Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...
in Indigenous territories, concerned about negative environmental and cultural impacts of the industry. In 2002, Laboucan-Massimo participated in the
City of Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region, and is in Treaty 6 terri ...
Youth Council. She completed a BA in Sociology at the
University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...
, and during her studies became interested in Spanish literature and Latin American history, particularly in relation to the political struggles of Indigenous peoples in Latin America. She undertook an internship through the
Canadian International Development Agency The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA; in French: ''Agence canadienne de développement international''; ''ACDI'') was a federal Canadian organization that administered foreign aid programs in developing countries. The agency was me ...
, and her work involved helping develop a teaching method to empower students to connect with each other, learn about different cultures and participate in global youth projects. After finishing her undergraduate degree, she travelled to Brazil, Mexico and Australia for various job and internship opportunities, finally moving to British Columbia to work with the Indigenous-focused ''Redwire Magazine''. In early 2009, Laboucan-Massimo was partway through a master's degree in Environmental Studies at
York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...
, but took a leave of absence from the program when her mother was diagnosed with cancer. Her mother's illness, which Laboucan-Massimo suspected was linked to the environmental effects of living and working near the
Alberta oil sands The Athabasca oil sands, also known as the Athabasca tar sands, are large deposits of oil sands rich in bitumen, a heavy and viscous form of petroleum, in northeastern Alberta, Canada. These reserves are one of the largest sources of unconventi ...
, inspired her to move home and find more opportunities for environmental activism.


Advocacy work

Laboucan-Massimo joined
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...
as a full-time campaigner in 2009. The following year, she became one of the founding organizers of the Tar Sands Healing Walk, a prayer walk and demonstration against the impacts of Alberta oil and gas extraction that took place annually from 2010 to 2014. When Greenpeace formally launched its schooner '' Rainbow Warrior III'' in 2011, Laboucan-Massimo performed a blessing on the ship with a Cree prayer and ceremony. On April 29, 2011, a ruptured pipeline spilled approximately 4.5 million litres of oil near Little Buffalo. The leak was Alberta's largest in forty years. In the aftermath of the oil spill, Laboucan-Massimo's focus shifted to directly supporting a
renewable energy transition An energy transition (or energy system transformation) is a major structural change to energy supply and consumption in an energy system. Currently, a transition to sustainable energy is underway to limit climate change. Most of the sustainab ...
. She worked on a photo essay with Greenpeace to document the oil spill effects on local communities, and in March 2012 she testified before a subcommittee of the
United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committee (United States Congress), standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name chang ...
, presenting an argument against the construction of the
Keystone XL pipeline The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010, formerly owned by TC Energy. It is now owned by South Bow, following TC Energy's spin off of its liquids business into a separate publi ...
. In July 2013, Laboucan-Massimo's younger sister Bella Laboucan-McLean, an aspiring fashion designer living in Toronto, died from a fall off a condo balcony after a night out with five other people. Although Bella's death was considered suspicious by police, the investigation became stalled for lack of new information or evidence. Subsequently, Laboucan-Massimo joined calls for a
national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls was a Canadian public inquiry from 2016 to 2019 that studied the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women crisis. The study included reviews of law enforcement documents as ...
in Canada, advocating for a more effective inquiry process created by and for the family members of those affected. A national inquiry was finally launched in late 2015. Laboucan-Massimo completed a master's degree in Indigenous Governance from the
University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...
with a focus on renewable energy, and in 2015, as part of her degree project, she helped with the construction of a 20.8-kilowatt solar panel installation to power the local health centre in Little Buffalo. In 2015 Laboucan-Massimo founded Sacred Earth Solar, an initiative supporting Indigenous-led solar energy projects across Canada, and also co-founded the organization Indigenous Climate Action, which advocates for Indigenous-led climate change solutions. She has supported
Secwépemc The Secwépemc ( ; Secwepemctsín: or ), also known by the exonym Shuswap ( ), are a First Nations people residing in the interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia. They speak one of the Salishan languages, known as Secwepemctsí ...
activists in their protests against the
Trans Mountain pipeline The Trans Mountain Pipeline System, or simply the Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMPL), is a multiple product pipeline system which carries crude and refined products from Edmonton, Alberta, to the coast of British Columbia, Canada. The corporation ...
expansion, providing solar panels to power their tiny houses built along the proposed pipeline expansion route for the purpose of asserting Secwépemc traditional law and land rights. In 2017 Laboucan-Massimo was one of the inaugural recipients of the David Suzuki Fellowship, which aims to support "solutions-oriented" scientific research and inspire community action. She used the C$50,000 grant and professional mentorship to expand on her master's degree research in renewable energy. Laboucan-Massimo became Indigenous Climate Action's
just transition Just transition is a concept that emerged in the 1980s through efforts by U.S. trade unions to protect workers' rights and livelihoods as economies shift to sustainable production, primarily protecting workers affected by environmental regulati ...
director in 2019. As of 2021, she was serving as a board member for Seeding Sovereignty and
NDN Collective NDN Collective is an Indigenous-led activist and advocacy organization based in Rapid City, South Dakota, United States.  Founded in 2018, NDN Collective works with more than 200 Indigenous-led groups in the U.S. NDN Collective's mission is ...
and as a member of the executive steering committee of the Indigenous Clean Energy Social Enterprise.


Media

Laboucan-Massimo has made guest appearances in documentaries ''
Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
'' (2012)'','' ''Beyond Crisis'' (2017), and ''The Condor & The Eagle'' (2019). In late 2019, Laboucan-Massimo's documentary series ''Power to the People'' aired on the
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) is a group of Television in Canada, Canadian Specialty channel, specialty television channels based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The channels broadcast programming produced by or highlighting Indigenous p ...
. In its thirteen episodes, she profiled a range of renewable energy projects organized by Indigenous communities across Canada.


Publications

* *


References


External links

*
Interview with Laboucan-Massimo
for podcast ''Energy Policy Now'' (August 2, 2022) *
Oil on Lubicon Land: A Photo Essay
on YouTube *
REDx Talks: Violence Against the Earth is Violence Against Women
on Vimeo {{DEFAULTSORT:Laboucan-Massimo, Melina 1981 births First Nations activists Writers from Alberta Canadian climate activists Canadian women environmentalists Canadian environmentalists Living people University of Alberta alumni University of Victoria alumni 21st-century First Nations women 21st-century First Nations people Cree people People from Northern Sunrise County