our
Letter to polis
Overview
In November of 2020, Spirit of the Sun joined with several community partners to write a letter to Governor Jared Polis in defense of the land and the people, who are continuously at risk through the injustices of climate change. During a time of unrest in the midst of the pandemic and a public resurgence in the fight for black lives, we acknowledged the undeniable link between the colonial systems perpetuating harms against both people and land. For our ancestors and those to come, we pledged to continue to fight for policy change that not only address these injustices but also values our Indigenous lifeways in the pursuit of justice.
"Climate justice, environmental justice and racial justice are not separate from one another. The fight against one is the fight against all three."
November 2020
Dear Governor Polis:
A good ancestor respects the rights of nature to protect the interests for the next seven generations. A good ancestor holds the responsibility of traditional knowledge, cultural resilience, and lived experiences to pass traditions to conserve “resources” as sources of life-giving for all in our biodiversity, which must be protected and supported through stewardship.
We placed this ad attached above in several print news outlets and online platforms to get your and other state leaders attention. We ask you to be a good ancestor and to prioritize climate justice for Colorado. Please begin direct work on specific policies, rule-makings, and deadlines for quickly implementing equitable and enforceable climate policy to reduce carbon pollution to meet our State’s climate goals. Invite disproportionately impacted frontline communities into the process, and listen and learn from their offered wisdom. Climate change negatively impacts all our lives, wildfires are one example but it is hitting Indigenous, Black, Latinx, low-wealth, rural, and working families hardest, compounding ongoing and worsening inequities.
Spirit of the Sun and our Indigenous justice allies appreciate your initial draft of Colorado’s Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap, yet we think it lacks the specific policies, rule-makings, and near-term deadlines for urgent climate action.
We encourage you to include some real timelines, equity analysis, and deadlines for adopting strong, enforceable and equitable policies to meet our ambitious and needed carbon pollution reduction goals.
We understand meeting our climate action goals under Colorado law includes identifying and reducing pollution in disproportionately impacted communities; we ask you and your administration to lean into that quickly. We would like to see a legitimate and meaningful process capable of incorporating the priorities of our community and other disproportionately impacted frontline communities and believe equity needs to be included as part of mission and decision making criteria.
We need your leadership. Please be a good ancestor and leave a more livable just and equitable climate for future generations.
Sincerely,
Spirit of the Sun, Inc
Eve Partridge, Kia Ruiz, Hollis Lyman, Soltahr Tiv-Amanda, Kirsten Lang, Emma Luther, Jennifer Latham, John Fielder, Karl Ford, Judith Hudson, Alexandra Parsons, Rose Pejman, Anna Sutterer, Celeste Razavi-Shearer, Zuza Bohley, Cadence Pearson, Kay Miller, Danielle Chaet, Ellen Wermuth, Benu Amun-Ra, Willow Paul
CC:
Eve Lieberman, Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor
Maria De Cambra, Director of Communications and Community Engagement to Governor
Will Toor, Director, Colorado Energy Office
John Putnam, Deputy Director, Dept of Public Health and Environment,
Zach Pierce, Climate Policy Advisor to Governor
David Oppenheim, Legislative Director
Air Quality Control Commissioners
AQCC Staff
