Gitxsan Rez-ilience

The document defines 'rez-ilience' for the Gitxsan people as a strength-based, holistic ability to adapt to climate change by weaving ancestral knowledge with present challenges. It contrasts this with Eurocentric resilience, which focuses on recovering from shocks without accounting for deep spiritual and kinship relationships with the land. The author highlights how climate change is disrupting the Gitxsan seasonal round—affecting the timing of berry harvests, moose migration, and salmon abundance—and recommends that government climate policies adopt place-based, seasonal, and interconnected frameworks.

• The author proposes 'rez-ilience' as a distinct Indigenous understanding of resilience, defined as "Observing the changes occurring on the land, and working to uphold the teachings that have been passed down since time immemorial."
• Eurocentric definitions of resilience are described as being at odds with Indigenous worldviews because they focus on "adapting and changing while remaining within a critical threshold" and fail to recognize the "kincentric and relational nature" of Indigenous connections to the land.
• Climate change is disrupting the Gitxsan seasonal round, causing a "cascading effect" where shifts in plant blooming times and heat stress during the 2021 heatwave impact the availability of berries and the consistency of moose (Xadaa) locations.
• The decline in salmon populations is identified as a threat to both food security and the cultural identity of the Gitxsan, as salmon are a "culturally significant species" central to their stories and feast hall traditions.
• The document argues that current government climate policies are inequitable because they lack definitions inclusive of "community-land relationships, stewardship, responsibility, and kincentric bonds," often prioritizing extraction and capitalism over ecology.
• The author provides three specific policy recommendations: incorporating a "place-based lens" to adaptation, including "seasonal considerations in decision making," and managing for "Naadahahlhakwhlinhl (interconnections with all living things)."

APA

Canadian Climate Institute (2022). Gitxsan Rez-ilience. https://climateinstitute.ca/publications/gitxsan-rez-ilience/

Chicago

Canadian Climate Institute. Gitxsan Rez-ilience. 2022. https://climateinstitute.ca/publications/gitxsan-rez-ilience/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Canadian Climate Institute |title=Gitxsan Rez-ilience |date=20 June 2022 |url=https://climateinstitute.ca/publications/gitxsan-rez-ilience/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{canadianclimateinstitute2022gitxsan, author = {{Canadian Climate Institute}}, title = {{Gitxsan Rez-ilience}}, institution = {Canadian Climate Institute}, year = {2022}, month = jun, url = {https://climateinstitute.ca/publications/gitxsan-rez-ilience/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }