Shift Key with Robinson Meyer and Jesse Jenkins How Julian Brave NoiseCat Changed His Mind About Climate Politics
Oct 15, 2025
Julian Brave NoiseCat, a writer, Oscar-nominated filmmaker, and former climate organizer, shares insights from his new book, 'We Survived the Night.' He discusses the evolution of his views on climate politics, emphasizing the importance of persuasion over direct action. Julian illustrates how Native American stories, particularly coyote trickster narratives, connect personal and political history. He also delves into the complexities of Native identity, the dynamics of political recognition, and the challenges faced by Indigenous nations in environmental stewardship.
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Politics As Trickster Drama
- Julian realized political change relies heavily on persuading elites and gamesmanship, not only mass protest.
- He connected this to indigenous trickster narratives, seeing politics often driven by cunning and subterfuge.
Living With His Father Shaped The Book
- Julian moved in with his estranged father while writing the book and found parallels between his dad and coyote trickster figures.
- That domestic arrangement shaped the book's interlaced structure of memoir, reporting, and coyote stories.
Oral History Mirrors Ancient Climate Events
- Oral histories can preserve environmental events across millennia, linking myths to verifiable geology.
- Ignace's research shows coyote stories mirror a real ice-dam break that formed the Fraser River ~11,000 years ago.
