EP 5: Sarra Tekola on Intersectionality, Self-Care, and Decolonization as Eco- and Social Healing by Big Planet, Big Feels

Sarra Tekola, is a climate justice activist working on her PhD in Sustainability at Arizona State University. Madi first became familiar with her work in 2015, when Sarra was a prominent “kayaktivist” blocking Shell oil rigs from leaving port in Seattle to drill for oil in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea. Around this time, she also conducted research for the EPA, NOAA, and the Washington State Department of Ecology. Since then, Sarra has co-founded the organization Women of Color Speak Outand founded a Black Lives Matter chapter in Pheonix, Arizona, where she attends Arizona State University in pursuit of a PhD in Sustainability. There, she is conducting research that focuses on addressing the cognitive dissonance that stems from colonial trauma in Western countries, and explores decolonization as a climate solution. At the same time, she remains engaged in social justice and climate justice activism on the ground. Sarra has been featured on Democracy Now, CNN, Rolling Stone, and Outside Magazine for her work. We covered a wide range of topics such as her own forms of self-care, developing better communication surrounding climate change, her research, experiencing racism in the environmental movement, intersectional activism, and more. So many nuggets to take away from this; we are grateful to Sarra for sharing her thoughts and experience.

Image Source: Women of Color Speak Out