Pacific Northwest Tribal Climate Change Project Washington & Oregon Higher Education Sustainability Conference March 3, 2020 Haley Case-Scott U.S. Forest Service Resource Assistance Program Intern [email protected] Pacific Northwest Tribal Climate Change Project Building an understanding on the impacts of climate change on tribal culture and sovereignty and fostering opportunities for tribes to engage in regional and national climate initiatives. Pacific Northwest Tribal Climate Change Network: Regular email bulletins with information on climate programs, policies and events Monthly Network call on the third Wednesday of each month at 10 am Pacific. Climate change and indigenous peoples Some populations may have less capacity to prepare for, respond to, and recover from climate-related hazards and may be disproportionately affected by climate change. Tribal Sovereignty and Environmental Impacts At risk: Treaty and reserved rights -- access to sacred sites, cultural resources and traditional practices on ceded lands “Few contemporary tribes can afford the purchase of large tracts of new land, and federal laws hinder the transfer or expansion of tribal jurisdiction. Tribes therefore see their traditional cultures directly endangered by the magnitude of the projected climate change.” Houser et al. 2000 Culture and Sovereignty “If we lose the clam beds, well, that is who we are.” - Larry Ralston, Quinault Indian Nation Source: Quinault Indian Nation Why does culture matter? “Can you imagine a world where nature is understood as full of relatives not resources, where inalienable rights are balanced with inalienable responsibilities and where wealth itself is measured not by resource ownership and control, but by the number of good relationships we maintain in the complex and diverse life-systems of this blue green planet?” - Daniel Wildcat, Climatic Change 2013 Threats to Indigenous Culture and Lifeways “The rights of tribes are connected to specific lands with fixed boundaries, including reservations and federally managed lands that cover traditional territories and traditional-use areas.” - Williams and Hardison 2005 Photo by Warren King George. Printed in Indian Country Today Impacts on Indigenous Peoples and Homelands “Due to climate change, Alaska Native communities are facing a cultural loss as profound as that suffered by the Plains tribes when they were confined to reservations and forced to abandon the practices that gave their lives meaning.” Breach in Kivalina sea wall, fall 2006 Source: State of Alaska - Krakoff 2008 Guidelines for Considering Traditional Knowledges in Climate Change Initiatives http://climatetkw.wordpress.com An informational resource for tribes, agencies, and organizations across the United States interested in understanding traditional knowledges in the context of climate change. A framework to increase understanding of issues relating to access and protection of traditional knowledge in climate initiatives and interactions between holders of traditional knowledges and non-tribal partners. Guidelines for Considering Traditional Knowledges in Climate Change Initiatives 1. Understand Traditional Knowledges 2. Recognize the Right of Indigenous Peoples NOT to participate 3. Understand and communicate risks 4. Establish an institutional interface 5. Training for federal agency 6. Provide specific directions to uphold TK protections 7. Recognize multiple knowledge systems 8. Develop guidelines for review of grant proposals Perspectives on Traditional Knowledges Intergenerational World View of Community Interrelationships with the environment Often expressed Traditions, Rituals orally through Practices, and Moral Language, stories, Values legends, folklore, songs, taboos, and laws TK Transmitted interpersonally by Sharing Through showing to Rules and Practices individuals entrusted of Governance with care Image courtesy of Gary Morishima Many Tribes, Many Climate Change Initiatives Figure source: U.S. Department of Energy 2011 Swinomish Tribe: Coastal Tribes Facing Climate Change Fidalgo Island Swinomish tribal members beach seining on the western shore of the Swinomish Reservation. Photo by Jim Gibson, Swinomish Shellfish Biologist Swinomish Tribe: Examining Environmental and Community Health Indicators In a Climate Context Natural Community resources connection security Cultural Self- traditions determination Education Well-being Slide Source: Swinomish Tribe Climate Impacts affecting Indigenous Communities in the U.S. Tribal sovereignty Natural resources and culture Energy Public health Climate-related Mental health disasters Food security and Fossil fuel traditional foods extraction and transport Tribal economies Jamestown S’Klallam Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Plan Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation: First Foods Root peeling. Source: Benjamin Drummond and Sara Steele - Facing Climate Change: Stories from the Pacific Northwest - http://www.facingclimatechange.org/stories/plateau-tribes/ Tribal Mitigation Programs: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions Siletz Tribal Energy Lummi Nation Strategic Program Energy Plan Solar Fountain Source: Siletz Tribal Energy Program Haxton Way Installed Pedestrian Anemometer Path Tower on Lummi Source: Rocket Horse Reservation Photography Source: Jeremy Freimund, Gwee Shut Tribal Housing Lummi Nation Water Source: Siletz Tribal Energy Program Resource Division Manager Online Tribal Climate Change Guide http://tribalclimateguide.uoregon. edu/ For More Information Pacific Northwest Tribal Climate Change Project: http://tribalclimate.uoregon.edu/ Online Tribal Climate Change Guide: http://tribalclimateguide.uoregon.ed u/ Kathy Lynn, Coordinator, Pacific Northwest Tribal Climate Change Network 541-346-5777 [email protected].