It's been an amazing week so far!!!
YUCCA is here in New York with our 50-person delegation of Indigenous, environmental, youth, and frontline advocates from New Mexico. On Sunday we joined an estimated 75,000 people from across the country and world to march in the streets of Manhattan and demand that the U.S. end its extraction and use of fossil fuels.
The mass mobilization took place ahead of the first United Nations Climate Ambition Summit that took place TODAY, Sept. 20, when U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres will urge world leaders to make commitments to phase out fossil fuels.
Our NM Declaration to the UN, US leadership, and our Governor and State Legislators
We carried with us the New Mexico declaration to the United Nations and federal and state leaders.
Endorsed by more than 20 NM Indigenous and environmental organizations, the declaration outlines actions the Biden and Lujan Grisham administrations must take to secure a just and livable future for New Mexico and the planet. These include stopping all new fossil fuel projects and revoking existing permits, immediately phasing out existing fossil fuel extraction, rejecting false solutions like hydrogen and carbon capture and sequestration, centering Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge, and declaring a climate emergency to pave the way for a just transition.
Although YUCCA has organized dozens of direct actions to bring awareness to the climate crisis in New Mexico and pressure political leaders in our state. We'd never been a part of something so HUGE! And for many of us, it was our first time participating in a mass demonstration.
Statements from our NM Delegation:
And our frontline delegation represented the demands of Indigenous communities here in New Mexico that are on the frontlines of extraction. Check out our delegation statements below!
“Coalitions like Frack off Chaco and NM No False Solutions are composed of organizers who are from their respective communities and we are leaving our homes in New Mexico to make our messaging known, “ said Alejandria Lyons, coordinator of NM No False Solutions. "If we want to preserve our collective knowledge for future generations then we have to protect the land to protect the people and the culture. The fossil fuel industry is a threat to our land-based ways of life, and these proposed ‘solutions’ give false hope to people when they are nothing more than climate finance scams.”
“Our homelands are not for sale and the Navajo Nation isn’t a waste site for corrupt officials and industries,” said Cheyenne Antonio, coordinator of the Greater Chaco Coalition for Diné C.A.R.E. “We demand that the Biden and Lujan Grisham administrations end fossil fuel extraction now!”
“Young people in New Mexico are rising up to say we will not sit by and watch our futures melt, burn and dry up,” said Jonathan Juárez, media justice organizer with Youth United for Climate Crisis Action. “You cannot extinguish our futures without a fight. We deserve and demand better from our leadership. Climate crisis impacts have reached every corner of our state. Our forests are burned, our fields are drying up, our water is declining and what's left is being polluted by industry. Our relatives in the Four Corners and Permian are suffering inexcusable health and environmental burdens from the poisons of oil and gas extraction. But we are not helpless. We will not be sacrificed for short-sighted profits. We are marching in New York and organizing every day back home to hold our government accountable for a swift and comprehensive just transition and an end to the fossil-fuel era. Our time has come."
“New Mexico has already failed its citizens in its lack of protection from exploitative industries,” said Jozee Zuniga, a Permian resident with Youth United for Climate Crisis Action. “Children in the Permian basin spend their afternoons playing under flares. Our grandparents have fracking operations in their backyards. It’s time for New Mexico to step up and put the health and wellbeing of New Mexicans, especially those living on the frontlines, first.”
“New Mexico has been ground zero for Amerikkka's climate crisis for over a century and we must bring an end to fueling these energy addicted fiends,” said Krystal Curley, executive director of Indigenous Lifeways. “Indigenous earth-based knowledge is the essence of our existence for millennia and is the solution to climate change. We cannot continue to support corporate politicians and corrupt systems. Fossil Fuels + Man Camps = MMIWR (missing and murdered Indigenous relatives) cases! Stop the Murder of Mother Earth and Indigenous Relatives! Stop Fossil Fuels NOW! No more extractive war crimes! No more Energy War Pigs!”
“The climate crisis is the most heartbreaking issue that we see today,” said Celina Montoya-Garcia (Ohkay Owingeh), land & body violence coordinator with the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women. “It's destroying the future of sustainability for our future grandchildren. Not only are the pipeline and oil industries depleting our life source, but they are also precipitating violence against ‘Our First Environment.’ Our life-givers are facing high rates of gender-based violence from non-Indigenous perpetrators working in temporary man camps. We must protect our Mother Earth. This isn't just an Indigenous issue; it's an everyone issue. Money doesn't water the food that feeds our community. Money doesn't water the corn that we hold in our palms for prayer. Our Mother Earth is perishing before our eyes. New Mexico has a plethora of renewable resources that are being ignored. Decisionmakers must stop fossil fuel production immediately.”
“The climate crisis is the most heartbreaking issue that we see today,” said Celina Montoya-Garcia (Ohkay Owingeh), land & body violence coordinator with the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women. “It's destroying the future of sustainability for our future grandchildren. Not only are the pipeline and oil industries depleting our life source, but they are also precipitating violence against ‘Our First Environment.’ Our life-givers are facing high rates of gender-based violence from non-Indigenous perpetrators working in temporary man camps. We must protect our Mother Earth. This isn't just an Indigenous issue; it's an everyone issue. Money doesn't water the food that feeds our community. Money doesn't water the corn that we hold in our palms for prayer. Our Mother Earth is perishing before our eyes. New Mexico has a plethora of renewable resources that are being ignored. Decisionmakers must stop fossil fuel production immediately.”
NATIONAL PHOTOS / VIDEOS/PRESS HITS
Survival Media (photos)
Act.TV (video clips)
Go to endfossilfuels.us/photos for more!
If you took photos and/or videos at the march, you can upload them here.
PRESS (early coverage – stay tuned for more!)