Climate Science Alliance activities are informed and guided by community members and creating long-term relationships built on principles of sustained and meaningful engagement.
Sustained and meaningful engagement is more than just being a good partner, it requires respect, reciprocity, and relationships.
Together, we strive to facilitate regular conversations on how we can cultivate meaningful and authentic collaborations with Indigenous communities and improve equity and inclusion for our staff, our projects, and within our network. Our work is successful when we are able to lift others’ voices up, make sure that climate conversations are accessible and relatable, and ensure that Indigenous ways of knowing are at the forefront of climate adaptation work.
In 2021, the Climate Science Alliance and the Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (SWCASC) co-hosted the Southwest Adaptation Forum (SWAF), which included an engaging training experience for climate practitioners interested in fostering meaningful engagement with Tribal communities. Adapted from the 2021 SWAF Attendee Workbook, each section of this resource guide provides important information, key resources, and listed actions to take prior to reaching out to build new relationships with Tribal communities.
By sharing resources from this important discussion, and continuing to update it, our hope is that others will do their due diligence in expanding their understanding and moving their work forward in a good way where all people are valued for who they are and what knowledge they hold.
Resource Menu
UNDERSTANDING TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY
Understand different aspects of sovereignty, including political Tribal sovereignty, Indigenous data sovereignty, and the rights of nature.
Building Understanding
-
There are currently 574 federally recognized Tribes
-
“Indian reservations are lands reserved in treaties, by executive order, or congressional acts. They are not gifts from the federal government to Tribes; they are products of massive land cessions by Tribes that created the United States” - Dina Gilio-Whitaker
-
On March 3, 1819, the Civilization Fund Act ushered in an era of assimilationist policies, leading to the Indian boarding-school era, which lasted from 1860 to 1978. Thousands of Native American children were forced to attend boarding schools created to strip them of their culture.
-
On May 9, 2019, the Yurok Tribal Council passed a resolution declaring the rights of the Klamath River and provided a legal avenue for the Klamath River to have its rights adjudicated in Yurok Tribal Court
Tribal Nations and the United States: An Introduction
by: National Congress of American Indians
Provides a basic overview of the history and underlying principles of Tribal governance and information for the public at large to understand and engage effectively with contemporary Indian Nations.
by: High Country News
Nearly 11 million acres of Indigenous land. Approximately 250 Tribal nations. Over 160 violence-backed treaties and land seizures. Fifty-two universities. Discover the bloody history behind land-grant universities.
The Native Land Digital Map highlights traditional territories, treaties, and languages across the United States, Canada, and beyond. Use this interactive resource to understand and acknowledge the traditional lands on which you work and live.
List of Federal and State Recognized Tribes
The following state-by-state listing of Indian Tribes or groups are federally recognized and eligible for funding and services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The list also includes Indian Tribes or groups that are recognized by the states, when the state has established such authority. This acknowledges their status within the state but does not guarantee funding from the state or the federal government.
American Indian Law in a Nutshell
by: William C. Canby, Jr.
by: Vine Deloria, Jr.
by: Dina Gilio-Whitaker
Resources
What You Can Do
Identify who’s homelands you reside and work on.
Upon acknowledging who’s land you're on, take the time to learn about the people and communities that are still alive and present.
Identify treaties and court cases related to local Tribes to learn more about how their sovereignty came to be.
Offer equal authorship to your Tribal partners on the publication that are created from the project experience.
Tribal governments are sovereign nations and community leaders should be afforded the same respect and regard as you would give to the leaders of any country.
PARTICIPATING IN ACTIVE LISTENING
Understand the importance of active listening when engaging with Tribal communities.
Building Understanding
-
Each Tribal nation has different discourse styles, including length of response time, traditional protocols to follow and vocabulary.
-
Incentives and gift-giving are considered common practice to express appreciation for the exchange of time. This is often demonstrated in bringing food / having parking passes for meetings, and ensuring the comfort of guests and the space that you have invited them to.
Active Listening: The Story of Water
by: Melodie Lopez
Guidance and Responsibilities for Effective Tribal Consultation, Communication, and Engagement
by: Members of the West Coast Tribal Caucus of the West Coast Alliance
A guide for agencies working with West Coast Tribes on Ocean and Coastal Issues.
Tribal Relations & Traditional Knowledge
by: Crystal Leonetti
A presentation by the first Indigenous woman to ever serve as a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Native American liaison.
Changing the Narrative About Native Americans: A Guide for Allies
by: Reclaiming Native Truth (Echo Hawk Consulting and First Nations Development Institute)
The Reclaiming Native Truth initiative is designed to eradicate harmful and toxic narratives, stereotypes, structural and institutional racism, dehumanization, and the invisibility of Native Americans.
Resources
What You Can Do
In your meetings and interactions, observe how others “listen”. Write down what you can learn from their listening skills.
List a few ways of how you might demonstrate active listening.
When you wish to ask a question or add to the conversation, consider counting slowly to 10. Consider if a response is needed at all.
List a few things that we accomplish as a whole when we listen.
WISDOM AND RECIPROCITY: COLLABORATING WITH TRIBAL NATIONS
Understand the importance of centering reciprocity while establishing and maintaining partnerships with Tribes.
Building Understanding
-
Members of the Havasupai Tribe in Arizona gave blood samples in 1989 for research on type 2 diabetes, only to find out later that the researchers had used the DNA samples for studies on schizophrenia, ethnic migration and population inbreeding without the individuals’ approval.
-
The Onondaga Nation Land Claim case is remarkable because the suit asks only for a declaratory judgment that the land was illegally taken from the Nation and that the Nation continues to have legal title to the land. The lawsuit is not a land “claim,” because to the Onondaga, the land has far greater significance than the notion of property. The Nation is primarily interested in demanding the restoration of the land from the destruction of SuperFund sites in the area around Syracuse, especially Onondaga Lake, a sacred site.
Wisdom and Reciprocity: Collaborating with Tribal Nations
A panel offering wisdom from several different perspectives on the importance of centering reciprocity while establishing and maintaining partnerships with Tribes.
Wisdom and Reciprocity: Tips on Building Effective and Meaningful Collaborations with Tribal Nations
This document encapsulates takeaways from the 2021 Southwest Adaptation Forum panel on wisdom and reciprocity. It is by no means an exhaustive list and comes from the lens of climate adaptation planning, but our hope is that it provides basic guidance for scientists and practitioners interested in collaboratively partnering with Native Nations.
Guidelines for the Use of Traditional Knowledges
by: Ann Marie Chischilly
Part of a webinar series from the Ecological Society of America TEK Section that facilitates a virtual space to welcome and hear from Indigenous voices who work to sustain and nurture traditional ecological knowledge in their communities. This presentation was made by Ann Marie Chischilly from Northern Arizona University and its Office of Native American Initiatives, and the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals.
Guidelines for Considering Traditional Knowledges in Climate Change Initiatives
by: Climate and Traditional Knowledges Workgroup (CTKW)
A framework to increase understanding of issues related to access and protection of Traditional Knowledges (TKs) in climate initiatives and interactions between holders of TKs and non-Tribal partners.
How to Include Indigenous Researchers and their Knowledge
by: Virginia Gewin
Researchers from Native American and Indigenous communities explain how colleagues and institutions can help them to battle marginalization.
by: K. Chief, J.J. Daigle, K. Lynn, and K.P. Whyte
This collaboration, by more than 50 authors from Tribal communities, academia, government agencies, and NGOs, demonstrates the increasing awareness, interest, and need to understand the unique ways in which climate change will affect Tribal cultures, lands, and traditional ways of life.
Indigenous Stewardship Methods and NRCS Conservation Practices
by: USDA National Resources Conservation Science
A guidebook for NRCS employees that provides a framework for working with Indigenous communities across the conservation landscape.
Decolonization is not a Metaphor
by: Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang
“Decolonization brings about the repatriation of Indigenous land and life; it is not a metaphor for other things we want to do to improve our societies and schools."
Recognition and Support of Indigenous California Land Stewards, Practitioners of Kincentric Ecology
by: First Nations Development Institute
It is important for regional, national, and international organizations to support Indigenous peoples in their efforts to advance the rights and opportunities of the stewards of biocultural diversity and sustainable land management practices. This will happen only when we begin to know, support, respect, and love the practices that value relationship-based kincentric stewardship as practiced by people for over a millennium. This can start today by acknowledging this deep knowledge, uplifting and advancing this work, supporting Native-led organizations and leaders, and ultimately, reinstating stewardship and ownership of California’s lands to Indigenous peoples.
Resources
What You Can Do
Recognize that communities maintain data sovereignty
Ensure there is Native Nation hiring preferences in your program, from internships to evaluators.
Support community events such as Earth Day to become a familiar face and to find opportunities to build relationships.
Consider reading Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, in which she describes the awakening of acknowledging and celebrating our reciprocal relationship with one another and the rest of the living world.
PLANNING FOR FULL AND EQUAL PARTNERSHIPS & LONGEVITY OF COLLABORATION
Understand the importance of consultation and relationship building prior to project collaboration and before any times of crises.
Building Understanding
-
“The Modoc in northeastern California were forced into a treaty ceding their lands in exchange for their relocation to the Klamath reservation in 1864. With the land unable to provide sufficient food for all the Indians, a band of Modoc returned to their ceded lands at Tule Lake and engaged in an armed conflict with the US Army for several months before their defeat in 1873. Survivors were exiled to the Quapaw reservation, resulting in a Modoc diaspora between Oklahoma and Oregon” - Dina Gilio-Whitaker
-
In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act, which distributed public domain lands to raise funds for fledgling colleges across the nation. The Morrill Act worked by turning land taken from Tribal nations into seed money for higher education.
Planning for Full and Equal Partnership and the Longevity of Collaborations
From the 2021 Southwest Adaptation Forum, a panel discussion on the importance of consultation and relationship building prior to project collaboration and before any times of crises.
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
by: UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs of Indigenous Peoples
Establishes a framework of minimum standards for the survival, dignity, and well-being of the Indigenous peoples of the world and elaborates on existing human rights standards and freedoms as they apply to the specific situation of Indigenous peoples.
A Global Assessment of Indigenous Community Engagement in Climate Research
by: Dominique M. David-Chavez and Michael C. Gavin
This global assessment provides an evidence base to inform our understanding of broader social impacts related to research design and concludes with a series of questions and methods to support responsible research practice with Indigenous communities.
Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples
by: Linda Tuhiwai Smith
In this important book, Linda Tuhiwai Smith meets a formidable challenge. In 200 pages she presents a cogent critique not only of anthropology, but of the cultural evolution of the entire Western concept of research. The author describes the devastating effects of such research on indigenous peoples and articulates a new Indigenous Research Agenda which aims to replace former Western academic methods.
Building Alliances for Equitable Resilience
by: Resilient Nation Partnership Network, FEMA
This resource is the result of collaboration by 26 partners in the fields of equity and resilience. Through it, FEMA seeks to inspire the whole community to make equitable and resilient practices part of their day-to-day activities. Readers will find guidance, perspectives, personal stories, resources and more.
Resources
What You Can Do
You are on someone's homelands, wherever you’re located. Go beyond land acknowledgement and find ways to personally relate to the people and the land that you are on.
Build relationships before you even have an idea for a project collaboration. Take the time to meet with all involved and impacted Tribes and communities.
Identify ways you can continue your professional relationship after the grant or project concludes.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
US Bureau of Indian Affairs: Frequently Asked Questions
by: United States Department of the Interior
Learn More About or Connect with these Organizations
Additional Readings and Authors You Should Know
Red Alert!: Saving the Planet with Indigenous Knowledge
by: Daniel Wildcat
Mankiller: A Chief and Her People
by: Wilma Mankiller, Michael Wallis
All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life
by: Winona LaDuke
The Militarization of Indian Country
by: Winona LaDuke
by: Dominique M. David Chavez
White Allies, Let’s Be Honest About Decolonization
by: Kyle Whyte
Land Acknowledgement: You're on California Indian Land, Now What?
by: California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center, CSUSM American Indian Studies
KEY TERMS
Acculturation: Belief that all peoples in the United States would join into the Melting Pot of America.
American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978: Rescinds 1885 U.S. government policy banning American Indian religions. The Act required policies of all governmental agencies to eliminate interference with the free exercise of Native religion, based on the First Amendment and to accommodate access to and use of religious sites as well as protect and preserve the traditional religious rights and cultural practices of American Indians, Alaska Natives, Aleuts and Native Hawaiians.
Assimilation: Refers to the adoption – voluntarily or involuntarily – of certain aspects of a dominant culture by an individual or a group of people outside of the culture. For the purposes of this conference, it refers to the federal policies designed to absorb Native American people into the dominant society.
Boarding school: Efforts to educate Native Americans in European-American culture and lifestyles began from 1492. These efforts were sustained in colonial America and the Civilization Fund in early America. In 1879, the U.S. government mandated attendance at Boarding Schools for all Native American students with the intent of complete assimilation.
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA): The federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior (formerly Dept. of War) tasked with managing the administering all lands held in trust by federally recognized Tribes and individual Native Americans. It also oversees federal programs and services for officially enrolled citizens of federally recognized Tribes.
Bureau of Indian Education: Established under the Department of Education in 2006, the BIE’s mission is to provide quality education opportunities from early childhood through life in accordance with a Tribe’s needs for cultural and economic well-being, in keeping with the wide diversity of Indian Tribes and Alaska Native villages as distinct cultural and governmental entities. Further, the BIE is to manifest consideration of the whole person by taking into account the spiritual, mental, physical, and cultural aspects of the individual within his or her family and Tribal or village context.
Communication: Passing of information from one person to another or to a group of people. There are several forms of communication; including verbal, nonverbal, electronic and silence.
Federally recognized Tribe: Refers to Native nations located in the United States that are officially recognized as Tribes by the U.S. government and specifically the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Currently there are more than 570 federally recognized Tribes in the United States.
Historical Trauma: “The cumulative emotional and psychological wounding across generations, including one’s own lifespan, because everything up to a minute ago is history.” from Dr. Maria Brave Heart Yellow Horse.
Indigenous Peoples: This term refers to First Nations, American Indian, Aboriginal peoples including from federally-recognized Tribes, state-recognized Tribes, non-recognized Tribes who have historical, spiritual connection to their traditional homelands.
IGA: Intergovernmental Agreements are often used to establish protocols between local, state and federal programs with Tribal partners.
Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978: Congress passed ICWA in response to the alarmingly high number of Indian children being removed from their homes by both public and private agencies. The intent is to "protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian Tribes and families"
Indian Country: Legally defined as encompassing all land within the boundaries of American Indian reservations under the jurisdiction of the U.S. government, all dependent American Indian communities and all allotments owned by individual Native Americans.
Indian Education Act of 1972: Recognized that American Indians have unique, educational and culturally related academic needs and distinct language and cultural needs; deals with pre-school to graduate-level education and focused national attention on the educational needs of American Indian learners, reaffirming the Federal government’s special responsibility related to the education of American Indians and Alaska Natives. Was reauthorized in 2001’s No Child Left Behind legislation.
Indian Reorganization Act of 1934: Introduced the teaching of Indian history and culture in BIA schools. This Act was introduced by Indian Commissioner John Collier who created the “Indian New Deal” that began the end of forced assimilation and began a new era of Tribal governance.
Indigenous Data Sovereignty: The right to determine the means of collection, access, analysis, interpretation, management, dissemination and reuse of data pertaining to the Indigenous peoples from whom it has been derived, or to whom it relates. (Snipp 2016; Kukutai & Taylor 2016).
Johnson O’Malley Act of 1934: Congressional Act passed to create local services in education and social services to Native students. Among the most important pieces of this legislation is the inclusion of Native parents to program development.
Lateral Violence: The effects of historical trauma can include violence, self-hate and oppression within and toward members of one’s own Tribal members and other Tribal communities.
Merriam Report of 1928: Commissioned by the Department of the Interior, this report detailed the several abuses and ineffectiveness of boarding schools.
Microaggression: Racial microaggressions are brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color.
Self Determination and Education Act of 1975: Gave authority to federally recognized Tribes to contract with the BIA for the operation of Bureau-funded schools and to determine education programs suitable for their children among other provisions to support Tribal sovereignty. Tribal consultation moves from theoretical to practice after this law.
State Recognized Tribes: State Tribal recognition does not confer the same benefits as federally recognized Tribes; it acknowledges Tribal status within the state but does not guarantee funding from the state or federal government. State-recognized Indian Tribes are not necessarily federally recognized; however, some federally recognized Tribes are also recognized by states. Federal recognition remains the primary way in which Tribes seek to be recognized.
Sovereignty: Politically this refers to the inherent right of Native nations to govern themselves, their affairs and their lands.
Traditional: For the purpose of this workshop, “traditional” will refer to Indigenous lifeways, values and ideas that were thriving before 1491.
Indigenous/Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Evolving knowledge acquired by Indigenous and local peoples over hundreds or thousands of years through direct contact with the environment.
Traditions: Created when we hand down statements, beliefs, legends, customs and information from generation to generation; either by word or practice.
Treaty: An agreement under international law entered into by sovereign states and international organizations.
Treaty Rights: For this workshop, rights bestowed upon Native nations (i.e. education, land use, medical care) in exchange for land given to the U.S. government.
Tribal Collaboration: For these sessions, collaboration with Tribes refers to the process of building relationships and trust with Tribes concurrently with formal and informal representatives.
Tribal Consultation: There is no one standard definition of consultation that goes across all federal/state departments. Tribes view consultation as more than notification nor listening sessions; but as meaningful dialogue and consent.
UNIDRIP: United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted in 2007. It establishes a universal framework of minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of the Indigenous peoples of the world and it elaborates on existing human rights standards and fundamental freedoms as they apply to the specific situation of Indigenous peoples.
This resource guide is a living reference document and was partially adapted from the 2021 Southwest Adaptation Forum Attendee Workbook.*
Resources compiled or created with assistance and contributions from:
Althea Walker, Alex Warneke, Alyssa Samoy, Amber Pairis, Anita Govert, Ana Lutz-Johnson, Ann Marie Chischilly, Austin Nunez, Carolyn Enquist, Connor Magee, Corwin Carroll, Cynthia Naha, Dara Marks-Merino, Gloria Tom, Helena Deswood, Julie Maldonado, Karletta Chief, Kelly Jendrisak, Kyle Whyte, Melodie Lopez, Nikki Cooley, Rachael Novak, Selso Villegas, Sharon Hausam, Shasta Gaughen, Stephan Tangen, Stephanie Carroll, Travis Lane, Will Madrigal, Jr.
Photos by
taken on the homelands of the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians.
The 2021 Southwest Adaptation Forum was supported by Grant No. G18AC00320 from the United States Geological Survey. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center or the National Climate Adaptation Science Center or the USGS.