Unit 5 Lesson 5: Building Solidarity - Action Plans for Global Indigenous Justice

🎯 Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

Synthesize learning from previous lessons to develop concrete solidarity actions
Design actionable plans for supporting global Indigenous movements from Aotearoa
Critically evaluate the ethics and effectiveness of different solidarity approaches
Connect local Māori sovereignty struggles to global Indigenous justice movements

📚 Key Concepts

Solidarity vs. Charity: Supporting movements on their terms, not imposing solutions
Accountability: Who leads, who follows, and how power is shared in solidarity work
Sustainable Action: Building long-term commitment rather than performative gestures
He waka eke noa: We are all in this together - interconnected struggles require collective action

🚀 Lesson Structure

Part 1: Tuwhera (Opening) - 10 minutes

Karakia + Whakataukī: "Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini" - My strength is not that of an individual, but that of the collective.

Unit Reflection: Students share one key insight from Unit 5 and one question they still have about global Indigenous solidarity.

Part 2: Case Study Analysis - 20 minutes

Activity: Students analyze three real-world solidarity examples:

Standing Rock: International support for Dakota Access Pipeline resistance (2016-2017)
Amazon Watch: Partnerships between Indigenous Amazonians and global allies
Pacific Climate Warriors: Coalition of Pacific Indigenous activists on climate justice

Discussion Questions:

What made these solidarity efforts effective?
What challenges or tensions arose?
How did Indigenous communities maintain leadership and control?
What role did social media and digital organizing play?

Part 3: Solidarity Ethics Framework - 15 minutes

Teacher-Led Discussion: Co-create a "Solidarity Ethics Framework" with the class:

Key Questions for Solidarity Work:

Leadership: Who is leading this movement? Are we following their direction?
Resources: How are we sharing resources without creating dependency?
Visibility: Are we amplifying Indigenous voices or centering ourselves?
Long-term commitment: Are we in this for the long haul, or just for optics?
Learning: Are we educating ourselves, or expecting Indigenous people to educate us?
Accountability: Who holds us accountable when we mess up?

Part 4: Action Planning - 25 minutes

Group Project: Students work in small groups (3-4) to design a solidarity action plan addressing one of these areas:

Supporting Standing Rock or similar pipeline resistance
Amplifying Amazon Indigenous voices on rainforest protection
Connecting Māori climate activism to Pacific Climate Warriors
Supporting Indigenous language revitalization globally
Land back movements (connecting Aotearoa, Australia, North America)

Action Plan Components:

Specific goals (what are we trying to achieve?)
Action steps (what will we actually do?)
Timeline (realistic, sustainable commitment)
Resources needed (time, money, skills, connections)
Accountability (how do we ensure we're being helpful, not harmful?)
Evaluation (how will we know if our solidarity is effective?)

Part 5: Presentations + Feedback - 20 minutes

Activity: Each group presents their action plan (3-4 minutes each)

Peer Feedback: Using the Solidarity Ethics Framework developed earlier, students provide constructive feedback:

What strengths does this plan have?
What potential challenges might arise?
How could the plan better center Indigenous leadership?
Is the commitment sustainable for high school students?

Part 6: Whakamutunga (Closing) - 10 minutes

Reflection: Students complete a "Solidarity Commitment" reflection:

What is one concrete action I will take in the next month to support global Indigenous justice?
How will I stay informed and accountable to Indigenous-led movements?
What resources or support do I need to sustain this commitment?

Karakia Whakamutunga

📊 Assessment

Formative: Observation of group discussions, quality of questions during case study analysis

Summative: Action plan (group grade) + individual reflection (individual grade)

Rubric for Action Plans:

Indigenous Leadership: Plan centers Indigenous voices and follows their direction
Concrete Actions: Specific, actionable steps (not vague "raise awareness")
Sustainability: Realistic timeline and resource assessment
Accountability: Clear mechanisms for ensuring ethical solidarity
Evaluation: Thoughtful criteria for measuring effectiveness

🎓 Teacher Notes

Preparation:

Research current Indigenous-led campaigns to provide real, timely examples
Prepare digital or printed case study materials (Standing Rock, Amazon Watch, Pacific Climate Warriors)
Have action plan template printed or available digitally

Differentiation:

Support: Provide sentence starters for action plan components, model one example together
Extension: Students research and contact actual organizations to refine their plans based on feedback
EAL: Pair with confident English speakers, provide visual examples of action plans

Cultural Considerations:

Ensure Māori students feel centered and have space to connect global movements to local Māori sovereignty struggles
Be mindful that some students may have family connections to the movements discussed
Emphasize that solidarity is about supporting, not leading or centering ourselves

Extension/Homework:

Students implement one action from their plan and document the process, reflecting on what they learned about solidarity in practice.

🔗 Connections to NZC

Social Studies Level 5: Understand how people participate collectively in response to community challenges
Key Competencies: Participating and contributing, relating to others, managing self
Values: Community and participation, ecological sustainability, equity

💬 Whānau Connection

Students share their solidarity action plan with whānau and discuss: "What movements for justice do we support as a family? How can we practice solidarity in our own community?"