Chapter 15 : Tribal and Indigenous Communities. Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: The Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II

Grassland, forest and riparian ecosystems on mixed-ownership federal lands adjacent to the Crow Indian Reservation: Developing a protective shield for sustainability of the environment and culture from the impacts of climate-related disturbance

“…In other words, such solutions have not always been infallible under processes of adaptation to change, but they reflect a deep understanding of how ecosystems respond to change, either natural or human-caused. Native American peoples have moved villages, substituted materials (for consumption or ceremonies), traded with others, or reduced dependence on items in short supply due to changes in the environment, (Jantarasami et al 2018), demonstrating close ("kincentric") sociological distances between each other (Salmon 2000) as well as less psychological distance from the environment, in Spence and others' terms (Spence et al 2012).…”

“…In particular, Indigenous health places Tribes at increased risk of incurring the economic and cultural costs of adapting to a warming world. The negative impacts of climate change on tribal peoples are predicted to disrupt the access to and availability of traditionally harvested flora and fauna that are intimately tied to their expression of cultural identity, threatening places (including sacred sites), customs, and relationships that are central to their lifeways (Jantarasami et al 2018). In anticipation of such threats, Tribes in the U.S. have been proactively identifying and addressing climate impacts, by initiating planning that aims to protect value-based species within ecosystems and sacred landscapes and waters that are at risk.…”

“…Continued reduced availability of flora and fauna due to an ecologically threatened forest likewise affects the health of the communities within the reservation. Environmental degradation from severe weather events and a continued warming trend reducing streamflows pose a significant economic threat to tribal members engaged in farming and ranching (Gowda et al 2018;Jantarasami et al 2018).…”

“…Claims in the second category relate to multi-stakeholder collaboration and serve as facilitators of knowledge exchange, so they become relevant for comprehensive adaptation planning in questions with multiple perspectives. Because many of the impacts of climate change will fall disproportionately on minority and low-income communities, particularly affecting Indigenous communities (Jantarasami et al 2018), Native American peoples have the right to be included in environmentally responsible policymaking that counters those impacts, not just by virtue of their rights as a minority population but also because they are key rights holders in outcomes. Tribal sovereignty and the trust responsibility may not always protect American Indian Tribes from external threats, but these legal principles have enabled protective case law (e.g., Womble et al 2018) and control of policymaking that would otherwise contradict their unalienable and inherent rights (Saavedra Buckley 2019).…”

Assessing Climate Data and Information Needs of Indigenous Communities in the Arid Southwestern United States

“…Projected changes to climate pose signi cant threats to these systems, as such changes will not only impact key infrastructure and economic sectors, but also threaten signi cant cultural resources, and community health and wellbeing (Donatuto 2011;Lemelin et al 2010). Climatic change threatens traditional agriculture and subsistence practices, as current and projected warming air temperatures impact habitat conditions necessary to sustain culturally important native plants and wildlife of which these communities depend (Jantarasami et al 2018). Additionally, historically limited economic development opportunities and isolated, rural land bases add to their particular climate vulnerability to changes in water resources (Cozzetto et al 2013).…”