Indigenous Peoples
Indigenous Peoples
Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and other Indigenous peoples and communities are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The CASCs are working with Tribes and Indigenous communities to better understand their specific vulnerabilities to climate change and to help them adapt to these impacts. Browse our projects below.
Tribes and Tribal Organizations
Tribes and Tribal Organizations
The CASCs partner with Tribal Nations and Tribal organizations to better understand their specific vulnerabilities to climate change, to assist in their adaptation planning, and to identify and address their climate science needs.
Pacific Island Indigenous People
Pacific Island Indigenous People
The Pacific Island CASC partners with Indigenous communities throughout Hawai'i and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands to support their specific climate adaptation efforts.
Alaska Natives and Corporations
Alaska Natives and Corporations
The Alaska and Northwest CASCs partner with Alaska Native Tribes, regional Tribal consortia, and for-profit corporations established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) to support their specific climate adaptation efforts.
Filter Total Items: 123
An Action Plan for Cultural Resource Climate Adaptation Research and Funding
The Gulf of Mexico coast of Louisiana and Texas faces threats from increasingly destructive extreme weather, heat, subsidence, and coastal erosion. Inland areas also face stronger storms, floods, and shifts in land development patterns. Increasing drought and extreme heat in Texas and New Mexico also exacerbate fires and floods. All of these regions are culturally rich, rapidly changing areas wher
Assessing and Advancing Different Ways of Knowing in Climate Adaptation in the Midwest
The Midwest region faces unique challenges from climate change that affect forests, grasslands, lakes, rivers, wetlands, and the services and cultural values these ecosystems provide. These changes also occur in a wide range of land types and cultural settings, such as on and off Tribal reservation and treaty-ceded land, within and around towns and cities, and in farms and managed forests. The go
Coastal Indigenous Fisheries Assessment (CIFA) Using Archaeological and Ecological Perspectives
Many inland bodies of water in western Louisiana are receiving too much sediment and nutrient pollution from upstream which has caused declines in the health of many fisheries. These bodies of water include many traditional lake-based fisheries of the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana (CTL), and fisheries used by visitors, providing critical tourism and economic development dollars to the region. The
Cultivating Water Resilience with Indigenous Peoples in Arid Lands
Managing water resources in arid regions is increasingly important in the face of more frequent droughts and desertification that is occurring with climate change. These challenges of climate change intersect with potential environmental contamination from naturally occurring sources and legacy human activity (such as mining) and create a need for sustainable land and water management planning sol
Developing a Rio Grande-Río Bravo Basin International Research Conference
Stretching almost 1,900 miles from Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico, the Rio Grande/Río Bravo Basin (RGB) supplies drinking water for more than 6 million people and irrigation for about 2 million acres of land. The river also supports habitat for many at-risk and endangered species. Because of its size and diverse ecosystem services, the RGB faces complex shared-management challenges that will requi
Forecasting the Future of Ongeim’l Tketau (Jellyfish Lake), Palau in a Changing Climate
Palau’s Jellyfish Lake, locally known as Ongeim’l Tketau (OTM), is an iconic tourism site and an important area of biodiversity. This landlocked marine lake is part of the Rock Island Southern Lagoon UNESCO World Heritage Site, representing an expression of Palauan national pride, and has brought in millions of dollars to the local Koror State economy. OTM is also home to the unique Golden jellyfi
Future of Fire Phase II: Learning by Doing with Cultural Fire Practitioners
Despite the pandemic, Future of Fire postdoc Dr. Nina Fontana developed and contributed to a range of projects with cultural fire practitioners from 2021-2023. This funding will provide her an additional year to complete and grow projects started with partners as a Future of Fire fellow. Fontana’s work focuses on two broad areas: (1) improving best practices in teaching and learning about cultura
Impacts of Climate Change on Water Quality and Fish Recruitment in Native Hawaiian Fishponds
Loko iʻa, Hawaiian fishponds, are part of a rich history of indigenous aquaculture dating back to the 1400s. These unique ecosystems serve as key models of food sustainability across Hawaiʻi and the Pacific region. Hawaiʻi, among the most geographically isolated regions throughout the world, currently faces many challenges including environmental uncertainties, increasing urbanization, a growing p
Incorporation of Scientific Information and Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledges into Natural and Cultural Resource Plans: Status and Challenges
Federal and state agencies gather information; work with partners, stakeholders, and others; and then write planning documents that guide their natural and cultural resource management. To be useful, these planning documents must reflect current and anticipated conditions, and therefore must include information about climate change. However, there has been little research about what climate inform
Indigenous-led Restoration and Stewardship of Culturally Significant Plants for Climate Change Adaptation in the Northeast
Indigenous Nations are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, due in part to their reliance on healthy ecosystems to provide culturally significant plants that are used for traditional foods, medicines, and materials. Further, many Indigenous communities have an under-resourced capacity for climate adaptation, resulting in significant environmental justice impacts that range fro
Integrating Cultural Resources into Adaptation Planning in Tribal and Marginalized Communities
Climate change threatens to damage historical sites and disrupt cultural practices in communities around the world, including the South-Central United States. Researchers are now paying greater attention to the impact of climate change on these cultural resources, but currently little guidance exists for decision makers who are interested in protecting them. Because communities value and interact
Lauhala: Weaving Knowledges and Practices with a Climate Resilient and Culturally Significant Plant on Hawaiʻi Island
Hala is a much-loved plant by Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners and lauhala weavers, yet native coastal forests of hala are now considered rare in Hawaiʻi. Research on climate resilience indicates that hala has the potential to mitigate storm surges and act as a barrier between salt spray and crops growing near the shoreline. To provide opportunities for natural and cultural resource managers