“The realm of possibility is very limited in the minds of people making the decisions for the future of the planet,” says activist and U.N. speaker Martinez.
Xiuhtezcatl Martinez embodies with abundance what the world requires at the intersection of the crisis we find ourselves in. As an Indigenous protector for the climate crisis, his views draw on existing ratified science and a wealth of Indigenous knowledge. Indigenous philosophies are pitted against the legacy of Western endeavors and extractive capitalism that have so aided the crisis against which he readily draws his arms to fight. Except his arms are in the form of the emphatic gestures he makes that accompany the poetic delivery of his songs. His battle reflects his background in music, perhaps more specifically, hip-hop, and his true fight as an Indigenous protector.
Martinez’s paternal lineage is from Mexica, an ancient capital of Aztec culture—now modern-day Mexico City. Indigenous culture gives itself to a communal understanding that a respect of nature is not a feeble moral view but a necessity for a rightful balance in the natural world. It is carried out through a shared collective knowledge that is passed down and evolved throughout generations. As a sensitive and nuanced knowledge base, some consider it to be a cornerstone to understanding a resolution, in part, to the climate crisis we find ourselves in. For example, the U.N. highlighted in 2019 just how crucial they consider the involvement of Indigenous populations in the fight against climate change to be, and it has been a continued area of much-needed engagement in tackling ecological issues. Although Indigenous communities represent just 5 percent of global populations, they safeguard 80 percent of all biodiversity on Earth. Martinez makes reference to this important Indigenous view through an extract of a lyric he penned in 2021, loosely translated as: “The rain can touch and falls on all of the gifts that are mine, all of my gifts and things that are truly of value in this world.” A sentiment with bountiful teachings, he says further on reflection: “So this connection to the land, even though this wasn’t my ancestral homeland, my paps would make sure we went out and would sit, listen, and gain a reverence for the natural world around us and as an extension of us.”
But it’s a radical shift to an already separated species from this natural world. “We, at times, often isolate this reality of living off the land,” Martinez says. “But that is our collective knowledge as humanity. It hinges on the natural world, thriving and surviving off the natural world, and sustaining life on Earth.”
It is a very plausible and logical view to say that most people identifying as citizens of the West are absent from this connection to nature. A value on commodity versus life is an uncomfortable reality that sits in the minds of Indigenous populations and is a legacy of past governmental and corporate actions. However, it is filtering into the consciousness of Western nations as we enter what many see as the 10 years that will make or break the climate crisis. On this, Martinez offers: “The realm of possibility is very limited in the minds of people making the decisions for the future of the planet. It’s more than just having an Indigenous voice; actually, this ancestral wisdom and oral history holds as much value as science. That’s tough and challenging to the establishment.”
Martinez has addressed the United Nations multiple times and been involved in cases that seek to undermine current policy that abets the climate crisis, experiences that place him in the perfect position to discuss a myriad of issues. His fight has been prevalent since the age of six, and his artistry, perhaps a more recent exploration, encompasses Martinez’s mission. He reflects on the existing establishment when he tells me:
‘‘This kind of change we want to see in the world is not going to happen just in nonprofit spaces and at the U.N. I’ve been in all of those spaces and have seen the limitation of the impact we can make in those circles. Now that I’ve moved through it, I’ve been able to do a lot more cultural organizing through music and grassroots here in L.A. and supporting frontline workers and asking, okay, what does returning Indigenous lands look like in practice? And how does that affect the climate? For example, studies in America have shown that 60 to 70 percent of the U.S. and Canada’s emissions have been curbed and not edited due to Indigenous resistance.”
There is now a great need for Indigenous voices on the front line of the fight against climate change. Mounting evidence shows how current Western practices of extractive capitalism need radical change in the minds of those in establishments, whether political or corporate. The models that uphold our current systems around commerce have never been so under threat, yet those who offer the greatest insight to what is at threat have never been so overlooked. However, Indigenous cultures draw on much dialogue that seems to be the antithesis of philosophies within Western nations. Through his work, Martinez truly sits at a rare bridge for relative thought in a sense of what change is required in tackling climate issues through the participation of Indigenous peoples: “A lot of these structures and places are not built to hold Indigenous wisdom or information,” says Martinez. “A lot of these traditional structures of power, like government, are the antitheses of extractive capitalism. The realm of possibility is very limited in the minds of people making the decisions for the future of the planet.”
It often leaves Indigenous communities in America with no other option than to act through grassroots movements and community organization, historically a method that can prove extremely effective. Martinez’s niche, however, was to use existing legal systems to leverage the battle in a way that would be understood by the establishment.
The first, Julianna v. United States, was a precedent-setting suit brought against the U.S. federal government for their inaction on climate change. The latter, Martinez v. Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, was a state-level suit of personal importance to Martinez. Martinez’s home in Colorado was under threat from companies extracting fossil fuels in close proximity to local populations. “When I was 12 or 13, I would see, in our local struggle to fight the fossil fuel industry in my hometown of Colorado, that the natural gas industry was rampant. There were really intense damages and impacts to these communities because of these loopholes in the policy that had been passed to protect communities. There were loopholes that allowed there to be oil and gas rigs right next to people’s properties, schools, housing developments, and hospitals, and all the science was proving the negative health impacts this was having, especially on children and the elderly.”
While Juliana was dismissed, presiding judge Andrew Hurwitz alluded to the change that is required when he summarized the case by saying, “As the opinions of their experts make plain, any effective plan would necessarily require a host of complex policy decisions entrusted, for better or worse, to the wisdom and discretion of the executive and legislative branches.”
As Martinez has found, the question on this legacy is how existing legal systems can better adapt to serve the current crisis. Reflecting on this, Martinez says, “So, what to do? How do we cope with that? How do we do our best to still work within the system, whether that is suing the government or pushing the boundaries? How I see that lawsuit—it’s a conversation starter, something that can continue to expand people’s imaginations around the possibilities. Because we have, with the climate lawsuit, made it further than anyone thought was possible. Have we done what we needed to do? No. I’ve spent one-third of my life waiting for results. What are we actually going to see? We are beholden to these judges. Perhaps it’s a cynical understanding of how I’ve seen law in the United States, but I do know and believe that there are other people out there, in the same way that they’re organizing in the streets, that use the system against the perpetrators of this violence, though it seldom takes place. But there are instances in which more people are creating a greater cultural precedent. That is what pushes the envelope. When there are enough people challenging the system and these realities.”
What Martinez speaks about is profound, yet littered throughout history are examples of this cultural change that is needed to directly oppose and challenge current societal systems. He cites the recent challenges made through a cultural uprising demanding change following the brutal death of George Floyd at the hands of police. “Through the uprisings that happened in the last two years following the murder of George Floyd, everyone in the climate space was woken up to the reality of climate change. People have realized that these institutions are too white and the funding too concentrated on these white-led, nonintersectional communities. Everybody has work to do to diversify and actually commit themselves to justice work. What would that actually look like? Not just stopping climate change or natural disasters, but who are we building these alternate futures for?”
This change of view that he holds of the current establishment is a possibility, but only if the culture demands it. Through culture, Martinez lies at the crossroads of the climate movement and artistry. Art is often a reflection of the times and provides cultural reflection and context to historic movements, such as Nina Simone’s “To Be Young, Gifted and Black,” for example. “In my own understanding of history, music has been such a beautiful catalyst for changing and appreciating how we view the moments we are in and how we demonstrate and paint these possibilities of what the future can be. Music plays a critical role in doing that,” says Martinez.
It is through this role that Martinez sees his potential as an assisted catalyst for change. “Music is my avenue, but I think art in general is so powerful when it is applied in revolutionary contexts,” says Martinez. “Music, whether its Bobby Wine, Fela Kuti, or Bob Marley, can be liberatory. People are afraid of the liberatory power of music. That’s why different musicians are silenced. I’m a deep lover of music, especially rap music and hip-hop and how that’s colored the context of political uprisings that have happened. These movements have laid the groundwork for how I see myself.”
Martinez has also authored several books. In his most recent, he was called by the Pocket Change Collective, which publishes a series of informative books authored by leaders within a field or movement, to contribute in 2020. He wrote Imaginary Boarders, and he sees the book as a “great start” in understanding the multifaceted issues that are incumbent to changing the state of play of the climate crisis. As Martinez summarizes, “It’s 77 pages; it’s literally a pocket book. Writing that book caught me at a really important moment. It reflects a lot of how I see the world more currently. I think it offers this hopeful but realistic prospect of what it means and can be to look at and understand the climate crisis from a more holistic approach. Contextually, it’s more relevant than some of my previous writing. It really stands at the intersection of climate organizing, art, and music, and the intersection of racial climate justice as well. It feels up to par with the moment that we are in.”
Moving forward, Martinez is continuing his actions in aiding the climate movement and his artistry. He tells me, “I really believe in the youth and nurturing the next generation of leaders, storytellers, and creatives. I’m doing some really beautiful work with a school in L.A. called Semillas School. I’m proud to be a fellow and looking forward to putting things together for their summer school. I’m also looking at the preservation of our language by looking at art. A big focus of this year is working on this next album. We just put out an album in the summer.”
Xiuhtezcatl Martinez will never underplay the climate crisis. The actions that are required to enact meaningful change and the results that would follow in its entirety are his rhetoric. As we have seen through Black Lives Matter, systemic issues that come from the legacies of colonialism may not necessarily be in the minds of the establishment. These legacies continue to affect action that would turn the tables for the movement and start to pay reparations to nature through a shared moral understanding. What is required now is not another summit, but an overhaul of developed nations’ consideration for nature and their place within the natural world and to act on broken promises. Highlighting this through his work, whether it be as a land protector or a hip-hop artist, Martinez sits front and center with the most prominent figures in this movement, unpacking these legacies and implementing ideas and change that steer away from the extraction of nature and move humanity toward a more equitable lifestyle, at one and in harmonious understanding with the natural world.
Image by Josue Rivas
