2013 Science Delivery Highlights
What Does Climate Change Mean to Tribes?
Addressing climate change realities through the practical lens of traditional ecological knowledge
Tribal resource managers are seeking planning tools related to climate change. Tribal communities often have intimate historical and cultural relationships with ancestral lands, and significant opportunities exist for collaboration and engagement in climate research between Tribal leadership and the science community. In order to chronicle and improve understanding of climate change impacts on Tribal conditions and cultural practices, Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center researchers are working with Tribal communities to identify resources of cultural significance throughout the Southeast – using the Template for Assessing Climate Change Impacts and Management Options (TACCIMO). This holistic approach for integrating science with archaeological, historical, and traditional knowledge can potentially identify and implement place-based, culturally appropriate strategies to assess climate impacts and adapt to projected change.
Right: Many tribes use black ash in traditional basketmaking. - Photo by Keith Kanoti, Maine Forest Service, Bugwood.org
External Partners/Collaborators: United South and Eastern Tribe (USET); South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative
Contact: Emrys Treasure, emrys.treasure@usda.gov
