Darren Ranco

The impacts of climate change on tribal traditional foods

American Indian and Alaska Native tribes are uniquely affected by climate change. Indigenous peoples have depended on a wide variety of native fungi, plant and animal species for food, medicine, ceremonies, community and economic health for countless generations. Climate change stands to impact the species and ecosystems that constitute tribal traditional foods that are vital to tribal culture, economy and traditional ways of life. This paper examines the impacts of climate change on tribal traditional foods by providing cultural context for the importance of traditional foods to tribal culture, recognizing that tribal access to traditional food resources is strongly influenced by the legal and regulatory relationship with the federal government, and examining the multi-faceted relationship that tribes have with places, ecological processes and species. Tribal participation in local, regional and national climate change adaption strategies, with a focus on food-based resources, can inform and strengthen the ability of both tribes and other governmental resource managers to address and adapt to climate change impacts.

Cultural impacts to tribes from climate change influences on forests

Climate change related impacts, such as increased frequency and intensity of wildfires, higher temperatures, extreme changes to ecosystem processes, forest conversion and habitat degradation are threatening tribal access to valued resources. Climate change is and will affect the quantity and quality of resources tribes depend upon to perpetuate their cultures and livelihoods. Climate impacts on forests are expected to directly affect culturally important fungi, plant and animal species, in turn affecting tribal sovereignty, culture, and economy. This article examines the climate impacts on forests and the resulting effects on tribal cultures and resources. To understand potential adaptive strategies to climate change, the article also explores traditional ecological knowledge and historical tribal adaptive approaches in resource management, and contemporary examples of research and tribal practices related to forestry, invasive species, traditional use of fire and tribal-federal coordination on resource management projects. The article concludes by summarizing tribal adaptive strategies to climate change and considerations for strengthening the federal-tribal relationship to address climate change impacts to forests and tribal valued resources.

The Trust Responsibility and Limited Sovereignty: What can Environmental Justice Groups Learn from Indian Nations?

During the 1990s, American Indian Nations assumed regulatory primacy over certain portions of federal environmental laws in the United States. For tribes that have not developed their own standards, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued policy statements aimed at incorporating tribal health and natural resources. While many communities of color have to fight to get heard in state and federal permitting processes, the U.S. EPA has made it an explicit mission to always include Indian Nations. Thus, “getting to the decision-making table”—a key goal of environmental justice groups—is presumably serving the interests of tribes seeking environmental justice. However, being involved in regulatory processes, as tribes are, may not be enough for Indian Nations or other communities of color. It is to this end that I write this article—should “getting to the table” be the ultimate goal for environmental justice groups, and how should this table be structured?