A Case for Health Reparations

We present pathways, philosophies, and strategies for community-led healing to safeguard against air pollution.

It is a way of thinking about how we, as communities, heal and liberate ourselves. Indigenous Academic (Apalech Clan), Tyson Yunkaporta, says that it might already be too late for a “soft landing”. This is in relation to various violences we are experiencing, in particular where planetary system dysregulation intersects with nation state violence.

However, turning to our communities may provide us with a “softer” landing that trying to do this on our own. It won’t be perfect and it may even fall short, as the demand for harm is vast and generational. This work lays out pathways and theories to nurture our communities, create infrastructure for autonomous healing processes, and live through this epoch with dignity. Let’s also remember that our healing is communal, one community connecting with another, sharing stories and methods for healing is how we can reduce the harm. This already is part of Health Reparations. To extrapolate from the Black Panther’s “Each one Teach one” - “Each one Heal one”.