Lesson 5: Building Solidarity - Action Plans for Global Indigenous Justice
🎯 Learning Objectives
🎥 Media Anchor
Video: Building Collective Action
- What turns solidarity from awareness into coordinated action?
- Which commitments are needed to sustain alliances over time?
Students will be able to:
- Synthesise 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 analyse 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 organising 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 centreing 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 centre 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 centres 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 organisations 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 centred 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
- Emphasise that solidarity is about supporting, not leading or centreing 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?"
Kaiako Planning Snapshot
Social Studies — Global Indigenous Connections — Years 9–10
Curriculum alignment: Te Mātaiaho | Social Studies — Global connections; identity, culture, and organisation (Years 9–10). Achievement Objective: Students examine the significance of culture, language, and identity for diverse groups globally.
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga — Learning Intentions
- Identify shared experiences and strategies between Māori and other Indigenous peoples globally
- Analyse selected articles of the UNDRIP in relation to Aotearoa contexts
- Evaluate the role of global solidarity networks in advancing Indigenous rights and self-determination
Paearu Angitu — Success Criteria
- I can name two Indigenous peoples outside Aotearoa and describe a meaningful connection with Māori
- I can identify one UNDRIP article relevant to a current situation in Aotearoa
- I can describe how global Indigenous networks support local rangatiratanga
Inclusion & Accessibility
ESOL/ELL: world map with Indigenous nations labelled; bilingual key terms list. Neurodiverse learners: allow choice in presentation format (poster, oral, digital). Accessibility: all external resources checked for screen-reader compatibility.
Cultural context: draw explicit connections between tikanga Māori and global Indigenous practices. Whanaungatanga, kaitiakitanga, and manaakitanga are threads that connect Māori with Indigenous peoples worldwide.