The Alliance team was honored to attend the 2022 National Tribal & Indigenous Climate Conference, hosted by the Institute of Tribal Environmental Professionals in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Speakers from Tribal nations and Indigenous communities across North America and the world shared knowledge about Tribal science, Traditional Knowledge, education, collaboration, adaptation, and resilience.
The Climate Science Alliance team learned so much in just a few days during this year’s National Tribal & Indigenous Climate Conference (NTICC), hosted by our partners at the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP). Speakers from all over the world gathered in-person and virtually from August 29 through September 2nd to share knowledge(s) on a huge variety of topics, from cultural burning and coastal resilience practices to Indigenous food sovereignty and intergenerational education, and more. Attendees also had the opportunity to go on field trips to the Indigenous Food Lab in Minneapolis and to the Lower Phalen Creek Project in Saint Paul.
Climate Science Alliance Co-Director and Community Resilience Lead Althea Walker and Tribal Capacities and Partnerships Program Manager Will Madrigal Jr. gave a presentation on the framework of our Tribal Working Group in a session on cultivating collaborations.
At the Climate Cafe session, team members Diane Terry, Audrey Carver, and Nizhoni Tallas shared resources with conference attendees including the quilt made from reflections of the 2022 Southwestern Tribal Climate Change Summit (SWTCCS).
In addition, they also shared examples of Tribal Resilience Projects from our region including the the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians’ 2019 Climate Adaptation Plan and the Manzanita Band of the Kumeyaay Nation’s Tribal Resilience Project. Nizhoni presented her poster on her reflections as the Climate Science Alliance’s Climate Resilience Intern, made possible with sponsorship by ITEP, in which she described her contributions to the Tribal Working Group, Resilient Restoration project, and the 2022 SWTCCS and multiple community events.
A huge thank you to the ITEP team for an incredible conference, and to the Dakota and Ojibwe peoples, upon whose ancestral homeland the conference took place.