As I wind down from day 4 of COP29, I can’t help but feel many mixed emotions about our future as humans.

I’ve filled my days here with as much as possible. I’ve been trying to go to press conferences with climate justice activist leaders and the International Indigenous People’s Forum sessions, while also trying to comprehend the processes of these yearly COP meetings. Physically being here at COP29 doesn’t help to understand the process, only individual research and asking seasoned COP attendees can help. I came to the understanding that this almost 30-year-old conference will have developed a language, process, and dynamic that only those in the know can fully understand. But, I still can’t help but notice the immense differences between the negotiations and the grassroots sessions.

COP29 has been deemed the “finance” COP, and while world leaders are negotiating, climate justice activists are calling for the Global North to pay their fair share into the loss and damage fund, so that the Global South can be protected from and adapt to climate change. A yearly fund of 1 trillion dollars is the goal, as 300 billion would pay for climate adaptation, 300 billion for climate mitigation, and 400 billion for the loss and damage fund. Without these funds, the Global South will not effectively be able to survive climate change.

I’ve filled most of my days by listening to Indigenous People from the Global South, and the effects of climate change are a reality for them. What I see is a huge disconnect between Indigenous people and the rest of COP29. As an Indigenous person myself, I know that Indigenous people have the lowest carbon footprint; I know they know how to live with nature and not harm it. I know that this has been the reality for thousands of years.

But, what Indigenous Peoples are being asked at COP29 is to somehow measure this. It should be easy for researchers to calculate carbon footprints, sustainability reports, and history. What’s not easy is measuring how much a sacred site or traditional knowledge costs. For Indigenous People, this is an easy answer, it is priceless. It is the entire reason for existence, although researchers, diplomats, and academics want specific numbers.

This disconnect is very evident at COP29 as I see most of the sessions are about climate finance, carbon credits, carbon offsets, carbon markets, etc. Climate justice activists know that this is all a scam and a romantic solution to climate change. While countries negotiate these non-transparent carbon credits, they could be investing this money into renewable energy infrastructure and Indigenous communities. Instead, they choose to cope with the fact that they don’t want to stop fossil fuel emissions.

All of this finance talk is not addressing how Indigenous people don’t need funds to mitigate climate change, what they are missing is funds to adapt to something that is not their fault.

These specific finance numbers that are wanted from Indigenous people hinge on their land being healthy, their water flowing, and their knowledge being kept alive. Their culture is entirely place-based and climate change threatens that. Finance is not being asked for so that they can move, finance is being asked for so they can survive in the places they’ve lived for thousands of years.

Ultimately, I’ve felt at a loss with all of this, as I see these disconnects leading to misunderstandings and symbolic solidarity with Indigenous people. I see that Indigenous people are deeply listened to at these COP meetings while behind their backs our world leaders negotiate how to keep getting away with only being profit-focused and keeping the status quo.

Now, after hearing other struggles around the world, I was reminded why I love being Indigenous when I attended an Australian Indigenous people’s session about the importance of Indigenous leadership and approaches to climate solutions. An Indigenous woman leader stated, “We will be fine with all of these changes coming, we’ve survived changes before, what we’re trying to do is help others understand how to live without so much chaos around them, and to just be.”

Indigenous people know that climate change is not their fault, they know that they need funds to survive, and they know that most likely their calls for help will be met with false solutions. What is needed most right now is trust. Trust that Indigenous people know what they’re talking about, that they’re the experts in their communities, and they know the answers to ensuring their survival. The calls for Indigenous people to measure their impacts on the world so that world leaders can fund their survival is just another tactic to stall the real solution.

Jen is a Climate Generation Window Into COP delegate for COP29. To learn more, we encourage you to meet the full delegation, support our delegates, and subscribe to the Window Into COP digest.

Jen (Nape Mato Win) is an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. Since the KXL pipeline threatened treaty territory of the Dakotas, Jenna has been passionate about a world beyond fossil fuels and centering Indigenous voices, culture, and history. Jen is also a beadwork artist, Indigenous gardener, and received a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Augsburg University. She believes that positive cultural and ancestral based knowledge are vital components to Indigenous resiliency. Currently, Jenna is the Environmental Justice and Stewardship Programs Manager at Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi, an East Side St. Paul, Minnesota – Indigenous led environmental nonprofit that stewards the sacred site known as Wakan Tipi.

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Trusting Indigenous Communities is Imperative