Posted by h3xtacy on May 17, 2026
This month I’ve been thinking about the similarities between Indigenous Futurism and Solarpunk.
The internet is littered with writings about both, and cursory internet searches turn up several blog and a reddit post linking the two movements, and a mention on a local organization’s website.
Some of the similarities I’ve noticed are:
respect for the earth and it’s resources
future oriented in a hopeful way – not dystopian
horizontally inclined regarding power relationships
positive opinions of relationships with the nonhuman
ancestral and sustainable technology oriented
appropriating technology/hacking
both products of communities and people highly educated by western methods
focus on decolonization
both have valid concerns about being co-opted by dominant western culture
I don’t have the time to do a deep dive and write a proper essay on this, but I’m glad it’s something that has gotten some notice and I hope that the two movements grow parrael and possibly also symbiotically. They are two of the only genuinely hopeful artistic and cultural zeitgeists in 2026 and I gain a lot from interactive within their spaces and count myself as an Indigenous Futurist.
Will hopepunk, solarpunk, and indigenous futurism save us?
Idk man, only if we make them.
As an offering to the ever-renewing energy of Spring I planted a small milpa on May 1st, and put some kale and tomatoes in dirt for good measure. Some of humanity’s oldest technologies are the practices of cultivating relationships to plants and my relationships with plants have been some of the most important in my life.
I was arrested for an extremely stupid and silly reason lately and the police, among the usual treatment of trans prisoners (being put in solitary, not having access to toiletries or a cup to drink water out of, deadnaming me and changing my name on my medical records), mentioned that the FBI was interested in me. In the off chance they weren’t just being assholes and trying to scare me I might be looking forward to some of the normal low level surveillance and harassment that comes with being noticed by the feds. Nothing new, I’ve lived through that before and since all transgender people have been declared domestic terrorists just for existing it’s almost not worth mentioning here, but it’s always useful to document legal issues and considering the shambles the FBI is currently in who knows what that might look like.
Upcoming projects:
I’m working on some new installation art pieces based on health access data from trans and queer people in Washington State and STI infection rates that will hopefully debut later in the year, depending on what the collaboration process looks like.
I am on the advisory board of the King County Trans Resource Guide. We are trying to collect information from friendly social service providers and medical providers. The project timeline is very short for the first printing of the physical guide. Please pass on this info to organizations and service providers who may be interested. Links: bit.ly/kcmedicalserv and bit.ly/kcsocialserv
I am still looking for paid work. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have anything you might want to pay me for.