On Saturday October 1st, the Harvest of All First Nations Corn Festival was held at the Yellow Barn, just outside of Boulder. The Climate Justice Leadership Alliance volunteered and helped keep the event as zero waste as possible through keeping the recycling and composting streams clean.
The event showed the power of community organizing and traditional ecological knowledge in reconnecting people to the land. Featuring earth-based decolonization strategies, environmental justice, interactive workshops, guest speakers, local indigenous vendors and a live band.
A few of the staff favorites were the Land Back Movement speaker Ava Hamilton, Mi Chantli break dancers, land blessings, Indigenous stories, the band Los Moccochetes, and numerous events focused around regenerative agriculture, food preservation, and Indigenous harvesting practices.
A student in attendance had this to say about his experience and lessons learned from the festival, “I thoroughly loved attending this harvest. Not just because I got to make an impact environmentally on disposing of waste but also I got to experience a completely different culture. Considering I come from the East Coast, I had never been able to experience. Sitting in on the LandBack focus group and attending the ceremony in honor of indigenous ancestors was truly incredible, and it was amazing to get to sit in on such a beautiful culture so close to the CU campus.”
Learning about climate justice is an ongoing journey. We all have more to learn and should capitalize on all opportunities for further growth. One way to start or continue on your journey is to join the Climate Justice Leadership team.