Indigeneity and Forced Displacement: Identity and Ontological Security in a Time of Climate Crisis

The climate crisis is already leading to forced migration for communities around the world, with a reasonable expectation that such relocation will become more commonplace in coming years. This paper considers what forced migration may mean for the ability of indigenous communities forced to leave their physical homelands to maintain their indigenous identities and sense of ontological security. In discussing indigeneity, I refer to cultural indigeneity as that experienced through ongoing shared identity and cultural practices, and political indigeneity, which affirms a right to existence and self-autonomy. Through participant interviews and ethnographic analysis of how indigeneity is experienced by two minority populations in Fiji – people from the island of Rotuma, and those from Banaba who relocated from Kiribati due to resource over-extraction – I identify some possible characteristics that may be key to supporting the ontological security of indigenous peoples and their identities in foreign locations. These include agency, legal recognition and support to continue practicing cultural activities.