Colonialism, justice, and Indigenous knowledge: A critical analysis of climate change adaptation scholarship on U.S. territories

Abstract

Adapting to climate change is crucial for islands, as they are disproportionately vulnerable to climate threats that are often exacerbated by processes of colonialism. Non-self-governing territories face additional barriers due to their liminal political statuses being neither independent nations nor fully incorporated states. This causes territories and the peoples who live there to have minimal self-determination in decision-making processes. Indigenous communities in territories are further marginalized by power structures that favor Western scientific-technical climate solutions over Indigenous ontological approaches. To foster just adaptation, scholars studying non-self-governing territories must consider these forms of marginalization. This review focuses on the five U.S.-controlled unincorporated territories. Through a systematic review, I examine whether and how climate adaptation research on U.S. territories discusses the following three themes: (1) colonialism and political status, (2) justice, and (3) Indigenous knowledge. The analysis reveals that while justice is discussed in most studies, colonialism and political status are less commonly grappled with, and Indigenous knowledge is highly understudied. Further, different concepts of justice are incorporated to varying degrees with emphasis being placed on recognition, procedural, and distributive justice, while restorative and transformative justice are rarely considered. By analyzing the current state of climate change adaptation research on U.S. territories, I produce insights into the omissions and inclusions of key themes in existing research. I argue that adaptation scholars must pay greater attention to non-self-governing territories where colonialism and climate change are reproducing injustices. Finally, I propose new directions for adaptation research on colonized islands and territories more broadly.