Fourth Southwestern Tribal Summit Convenes 170+ to Advance Stewardship From the “Mountains to the Sea”

In early May, over 170 attendees came together on Chumash lands in Ventura for “Mountains to the Sea”, the fourth Southwestern Tribal Summit. The day’s events consisted of panels, talking circles, and networking opportunities to explore overarching themes of respect, relationships, and reciprocity, focusing on how participants can put these principles into action through their work beyond the Summit to foster meaningful engagement and advance Tribal and community-led stewardship and restoration across the Southwest.

Photo by Condor Visual Media

Over 170 attendees joined us on May 7th for “Mountains to the Sea”, the 2025 Southwestern Tribal Summit to hear from panelists, participate in talking circles and hands-on art activities, and spend time outside in conversation with one another to advance our understanding of what it means to be stewards of the lands we call home.

Hosted by the Climate Science Alliance and the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals, this marked the fourth Southwestern Tribal Summit, convening this time with the theme of “Mountains to the Sea” grounded in engaging discussions and activities centered around the coastal nexus of land and water.

The 2025 Southwestern Tribal Summit was held on the ancestral lands of the Chumash in Ventura, California at Camp Arnaz. We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to gather on their lands and for the time and effort our Chumash partners put into sharing their knowledge with us. 

Supporters

This Summit was made possible by the generous contributions from our partners:

California State Coastal Conservancy, Collaborative of Native Nations for Climate Transformation and Stewardship, California Department of Water Resources, San Diego Botanic Garden, San Diego Foundation, and California Wildlife Conservation Board. We are exceedingly grateful for their support and contributions. 

Hosts and Partners

The “Mountains to the Sea” Summit was co-hosted by the Climate Science Alliance (the Alliance) and the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP).

The Alliance and ITEP had the incredible opportunity to work in collaboration with Native Coast Action Network, Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples, Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation, Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation, Great Basin Tribal Alliance, and Indigenous Strategies to put on this event. We thank The California Endowment and Desert Research Institute for supporting planning efforts.

❝It was such a beautiful experience; I’m so happy I had the opportunity to meet so many warm-hearted people. Thank you to everyone who created the space.❞ - Attendee reflection

Program

To foster more meaningful engagement with the knowledge being shared, the printed Summit program was styled as a workbook so that attendees could use it as a tool to record their thoughts, feelings, and networking experiences throughout the conference, and as a resource to learn more about Indigenous Data Sovereignty, suggested protocols for sharing within the talking circles, and more. See the program here.

Chumash Welcome

The Summit began with a welcome from our Chumash partners with the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation, Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation, Native Coast Action Network, and Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples. We were graced with their songs and storytelling to open the day.

Photo by Condor Visual Media

Tending the Fire

A fire was lit and tended to throughout the day, providing a space for attendees to step away, reflect, recharge, and reconnect during the days’ activities. We are grateful to the fire keepers who stewarded this space.

Panels 

Following the Chumash Welcome were three panels. The first panel was on Respect—for the five elements, for each other, for our ancestors, and for our more-than-human relatives. We listened to six panelists share their knowledge on this topic, reflecting on their unique perspectives gained from different regions across the Southwest.

Panel two was on Relationships—with the environment, with each other, and with future generations—and focused on staying grounded in trust, collaboration, and mutual support. Six panelists all shared their experiences with building and maintaining relationships for us to learn from.

Panel three focused on Reciprocity and highlighted how Tribal and non-Tribal partners can engage in intentional knowledge exchange built on mutual respect and purpose. This panel consisted of six panelists—three pairs of two partners—who have collaborated closely on restoration and stewardship efforts across the Southwest. 

Photos by Condor Visual Media

❝After listening to the panelists speak and hearing how everyone is striving to have a more relationship-based approach really shifted my perspective of what's possible. I feel oftentimes that partners would like to have a relationship but don't know how to make that happen. Knowing so many people see it as a priority and are willing to create these long-lasting connections made me have hope for the future of our communities in the work we do.❞ - Attendee reflection

Talking Circles

After the three panels, attendees got to stretch their legs and venture out to different areas of the Camp Arnaz campus to participate in six talking circles, facilitated by many of our wonderful hosts and partners. The talking circles allowed attendees to discuss what they learned from the panels, share what was in their hearts and minds, practice active listening and honor moments of silence. 

Photos by Condor Visual Media

While each circle was guided through the same themes of respect, relationships, and reciprocity, the groups built their own community and knowledge sharing within each circle, resulting in six unique discussions. Facilitators and attendees alike felt that through the experience of the talking circles their understanding of the topics of the Summit was deepened and they built stronger connections with other participants.

❝I felt the conversations we had during our talking circles felt very insightful and also allowed me to have more meaningful conversations.❞ - Attendee reflection

Knowledge Exchange

Throughout the day there were multiple opportunities to network with other attendees and the organizations they represented. There were over 30 different tables and booths where participants shared information, resources, handmade goods, and art for attendees to take home and share with their inner circles.

Real time translations (Spanish and English) provided at the Summit created an inclusive space for Kumeyaay partners from Baja California to participate in conversations and share their own Traditional Knowledge and artisanal crafts with fellow attendees. We thank our partners at Tipey Joa Native Warriors for fostering cross-border connections and collaborations at the Summit. Thank you to Translation Precision for their translation and interpretation services.

Participants also had the opportunity to pick up a paint brush and contribute to a collaborative painting led by a Chumash/Mexican American artist, while continuing conversations with one another and sparking new connections. Stay tuned for the final unveiling of the art piece!

Photos by Condor Visual Media

Relationships that started with a quick chat at a table or around the collaborative painting continued that evening at Social Night, hosted by ITEP, where attendees had the chance to relax, listen to music, and get to know one another through trivia and laughter around the campfire. 

Photos by Condor Visual Media

❝Speaking and meeting fellow young professionals in this field was very inspiring to me. Since, I am relatively new to this work it was really inspiring to learn about what these people are involved in and the passion they have for their work.❞ - Attendee reflection

Reflection

Attendees had the chance to reflect on what they were hearing and learning through the Summit Program. During the panels, the program prompted attendees to write down what they learned, coupled with how they will “take action”. Reflection within the talking circles was facilitated through open space for note-taking, with the addition of questions prompting further reflection on what it means to meaningfully engage with Tribal and Indigenous communities—highlighting the importance of bringing the key concepts of respect, relationships, and reciprocity into their daily work.

During the talking circles, the facilitators of each group wrote down words of power that they heard come up in their group’s sharing. After the talking circles adjourned, these lists were combined into a word-cloud-inspired poster and displayed at the social night. Words that came up most often—such as learning, listening, connection, and authenticity—were made larger and darker,  while other words of importance that were unique to each group—such as generosity, care, trust, and humor—were included but in smaller and lighter colors. 

Reflections were also fostered through a hands-on art project, in which participants were invited to take pieces of colorful yarn that represented various themes from throughout the Summit, such as green for place-based learning and red for tradition. They wove, braided, twisted, and tied these into individualized reflection pieces. Some attendees attached items—such as paper with written prayers, thoughts, and reflections—to their pieces as well. These yarn reflection pieces were gathered and are currently being crafted into a culminating art piece to represent everyone’s experience at the Summit.

❝I feel blessed to have relations with all living things❞ - Attendee reflection from the art activity

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This post was written in collaboration with Rebecca Barnet, Indigenous Climate Assistant at Desert Research Institute and Great Basin Tribal Alliance. Thank you Rebecca for your beautiful storytelling!

Thank you to the Condor Visual Media team for documenting the day’s events and helping to uplift the story of the Summit. Learn more about their work at: www.condorvm.com 

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On behalf of the Climate Science Alliance team—we want to thank each of the partners who contributed to the program, each participant who traveled to the Summit and shared their time with us, and each of the supporters for making this Summit possible.

We look forward to continuing sharing the story of the Summit. For Summit updates, we invite you to subscribe to our newsletter, Alliance in Action.