The green settler: Maya B. Henderson, Jennifer L. Rice, ‘The Good Green Settler: An Examination of Settler-Colonial Climate Action in Seattle, Washington’, Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 2025 | settler colonial studies blog

The green settler: Maya B. Henderson, Jennifer L. Rice, ‘The Good Green Settler: An Examination of Settler-Colonial Climate Action in Seattle, Washington’, Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 2025

29Jul25

Abstract: Cities are important sites to address climate change; however, it is crucial that urban climate action does not reinforce systems of oppression that created the climate crisis in the first place. This article explores the tensions that exist when a settler-colonial city aims to define what it means to be climate friendly. We examine climate mitigation efforts of Seattle, Washington—a city that prides itself on its close relationship with nature and Indigenous peoples. By critically evaluating Seattle’s climate policies and programs, we demonstrate the presence of colonial logics in Seattle’s climate mitigation plans, showing how urban climate action can reinforce settler-colonialism through logics of control, efficiency, and universalism. We then demonstrate how a lack of attention to settler-colonial power dynamics justifies what we call the “good green settler” as who belongs in the climate-friendly city. Their presence further naturalizes the settler-colonial city as stewards of land, marginalizing Indigenous ways of knowing and being. We conclude by arguing that achieving true climate justice requires listening to populations that have historically and contemporarily been harmed by settler-colonialism, as they are most affected by climate change and their experiences hold world-changing knowledge.

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