Native PeoplesNative Homelands Climate Change Workshop: Lessons Learned

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Impacts of Climate Change on Native Peoples The
Importance of Students
Nancy G. Maynard, Ph.D. Cryospheric Sciences
Branch, Earth-Sun Directorate NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center March 27, 2007
Space Shuttle Imagery - Earth Sciences and Image
Analysis, NASA-Johnson Space Center, 23 April
2002. "Moonrise."
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Outline of Talk

• Background
• Climate Change
• The US National Assessment
• Why a Native Peoples/Native Homelands Workshop?
• The Native Peoples/Native Homelands Climate
  Change Workshop 1998
• What did we learn?
• NASA, Climate Change Tribal Lands
• Imagery Data
• Educational Programs
• The Importance of Students in Ensuring Climate
  Adaptation Success by Native Peoples

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Climate Change The Scientific Basis A warming
world and other changes in the climate system

• Global average surface temperature increased in
  20th century - about 1 degree F
• 1990s - the warmest decade
• 2005 - warmest year in instrumented record (since
  1861)
• Northern Hemisphere temperature increase -
  likely the largest of any century during past
  1,000 years
• Snow cover and ice extent have decreased
• 10 decreases in extent of snow cover since late
  1960s (sat data)
• Widespread retreat of mountain glaciers in
  non-polar areas in 20th century
• No. Hemisphere sea ice extent decreased by
  10-15 since 1950s
• Predict ice-free Arctic summer ocean by 2040
• Global average sea level has risen and ocean heat
  content increased
• Arctic Accelerated Warming Significant Impacts
  e.g.
• Temperature risen 2X global average in past 100
  yrs 2-3X next 100 yrs
• Ice, snow, permafrost thawing significant

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The U.S. National Assessment of Climate
ChangeWhat was it?

• Congress mandated a U.S. National Assessment of
  climate change to identify current stresses
  issues, expected consequences of climate change,
  research information needs, coping strategies
• (Global Change Research Act of 1990)
• First Phase Series of twenty regional workshops
• Second Phase Workshops on specific sectors or
  issues including water, agriculture, ecosystems,
  wildlife, fisheries, health, public safety,
  infrastructure and economies.
• Assessment Report to White House and Congress

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Why a Native Peoples/Native Homelands Climate
Workshop/Assessment?Native Homelands

• Tribal land holdings in contiguous states
• 56 M acres or 3 of land
• Alaska Native Corporation hold 44 M acres
• Land ownership tribal jurisdiction beyond
  reservation boundaries
• Rights to fish, hunt, gather
• Historical and cultural interest areas
• Legal difficulties in creating and enforcing
• Water rights
• resource management
• Assessment needed to determine impacts
• on Native Lands
• Many Tribal land holdings located
• On already environmentally-stressed lands

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Why a Native Peoples/Native Homelands Climate
Workshop/Assessment?Native Peoples

• Native Peoples 1 of US population live in all
  states (reservations, cities, rural)
• 565 Tribes and Native governments
• U.S. has legal responsibilities to consult with
  American Indian Tribes on questions of policy
  directly affecting Tribal resources
• for protection of Native Homelands, sacred
  sites, and natural and cultural resources
• Native Peoples carry a wealth of traditions and
  knowledge about the Earth
• 1492 to Present Native Peoples displaced and
  having to deal with long community histories of
  change, adaptation and survival
• Indian communities have first-hand, detailed
  familiarity with the environment and its history
  over long periods of time
• Native Peoples who continue age-old subsistence
  cultural traditions - have important
  observations/information on climate impacts re
  seasonal resources

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Participants

• National workshop brought together
• First Nations Leaders
• Tribal Governments
• Traditional Leaders
• Educators and Scholars
• other Native American Indian Representatives
• Climate Scientists From Governments and
  Universities
• to provide a First Nations historical
  perspective and suggest responses to global
  climate change.

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The Four Workshop Questions

• What are current concerns and stresses on tribal
  lands?
• How might climate variability and change impact
  these stresses?
• What types of mitigating/coping strategies are
  available?
• What information and data are needed to address
  these climate-related issues?

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Issues Addressed

• Workshop addressed impact of climate change on
• traditional plants and medicines
• agriculture
• vegetation, fish and wildlife
• water usage, systems and resources
• energy
• natural resources
• economic development
• tourism
• traditional life ways
• cultural and ceremonial land
• air and water use and systems

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What Did We Learn?
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5 Key Issues Identified by Participants
Potential Climate Change Impacts to Native
Peoples/Homelands
And, some suggested Adaptation Strategies
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How Will Climate Changes Affect Tribal
Assets/Economies?

• Examples
• Reduced summer runoff likely to reduce flow in
  streams
• Impacts wildlife, campgrounds, use of streams
  for recreation, fishing, boating, available
  drinking water
• Drier summer likely to increase fire risk
• Close forest campgrounds and lakes to tourists
• Climate and ecosystem changes
• Disrupt wildlife and plant communities
• Warmer temperatures shift/loss of species (e.g.
  trees)
• Ideas to Adapt/Mitigate Economic Impact on
  Tribes
• Diversify tribal activities for economics
• Urgent Priority Economic Development Jobs

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Human Health and Extreme Events

• Increased temperatures Health impacts
• Traditional structures designed to take advantage
  of natural warmth and coolness of landscape
• many homes lack effective heating or cooling
  systems.
• Hot regions - increased heat stress (e.g., SW)
• Increase in air-conditioned facilities requires
  behavioral change toward indoor lifestyle
• New challenges for community health systems
• Increased forest fire incidences.
• Adaptation Potential - needed
• Education and health care
• focusing on climate-related health and
• wellness issues
• Data for monitoring and studying fires and
• Other extreme events (floods, etc)

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How Will Climate Changes Affect Rights to Water
and Other Natural Resources?

• Snowmelt and seasonal runoff patterns to change
  water availability allocations
• Long-term drought in SW predicted
• Less water available
• Long-term decreases in water resources to have
  significant consequences for resource-based
  sectors
• Water allocation is problematic in Western US
  climate change will increase issues
• Adaptation Potential
• Improve efficiency of water capture.
• Increased use of cisterns increasing in-ground
  storage of water
• Application of ancient water management
  techniques
• Zia Grid Gardens SW Ancient Native Subsistence
  Strategy

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Zia Grid Gardens Example of Adaptation to Arid
Conditions via Ancient Water Capture Strategy

• SW Assessment Study to Learn from Traditional SW
  Native Strategies to Deal with Water Shortages
• Study by UNM, Zia Blackfeet, Dine, Isleta Pueblo,
  Jemez, 2000
• Stone boarders
• Pebble mulch
• Terraces
• All slow water movement, allow percolation into
  soil retain water

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Water Capture In Situ Technologies

• Pebble-mulch
• Retain soil moisture
• Retain soil
• Cobble borders
• Impede water flow down slopes
• Redirect water flow to channels
• Terraces
• Retain water and soil as flows down slope
• Provide planting surface

From Study by UNM, Zia Blackfeet, Dine, Isleta
Pueblo, Jemez, 2000
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Subsistence Economies and Cultural Resources

• Many tribal communities support themselves
  through subsistence other means
• Traditions closely tied to subsistence foods,
  seasons, natural events and resources.
• Example Subsistence lifestyle in the Arctic and
  sub-Arctic already threatened by changes in
  global climate.
• Arctic loss of subsistence food (seals, fish,
  bear)
• Arctic loss of subsistence-based culture
• Adaptation Potential
• Incorporate new technologies, new materials, new
  way of doing things (But loss of culture,
  traditions?)
• Adaptation by migration restricted by land
  ownership

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Cultural Sites, Wildlife and Natural Resources

• Climate Change disrupting long history of
  intimate association with environment.
• Many tribes have ongoing traditions and
  ceremonies directly tied to the land, water,
  plants, animals and sacred sites of their
  homelands
• How to protect preserve these resources?
• Adaptation Potential
• Improve or alter land management practices to
  sustain useful plants and animals.
• Acquiring or development of new nearby non-Native
  lands to access traditional food sources.
• Increased involvement in resource management in
  these new areas.

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Research by Ron Scott, NASA Summer Intern,
Turtle Mountain Community College
Black Hills The Paha Sapa (Black Hills) are
located in Western South Dakota. This sacred land
was named so by the Lakota people because of the
dark appearance of the Ponderosa Pines from a
distance.
Landsat 7, Image courtesy of http//landsat.usgs.g
ov/gallery/detail/372/
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Coping and Adaptation StrategiesSuggestions by
Workshop Participants

• Need technologies and resources!
• Enhance education about science and technologies
  (e.g., TCU programs)
• Increase access to scientific and technical
  expertise, data
• Monitor ongoing changes and improve projections
  of future changes to better plan
• More partnerships with federal government et al
• Promote and enable local land-use and natural
  resource planning to better prepare
• Increase participation of Native Peoples in
  regional and national discussions and
  decision-making

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How Might NASA, Tribal Colleges/Universities
Partner to Study Impacts of Climate Change on
Tribal Lands?Increase Native American Climate
Coping Adaptation Strategies?
From J. Koski, 2006 NASA Summer Intern, Goddard
Space Flight Center

• Some Examples

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Why NASA Satellites?
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Mississippi River Flood 1993
Imagery Can Help with Flood Warnings, Assessment
of Flood Risk, Extent, Damage, Contamination,
and Search Rescue
http//svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/imagewall/LandSat/missour
i_flood.html
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Many Different Kinds of NASA-Tribal College
Partnerships Science, Technology, Engineering,
Mathematics

• Students
• Internships, Fellowships
• Teachers
• Curriculum Materials
• Mentoring
• Training
• Collaborations
• AIHEC
• AISES
• Goals of NASA Program
• Inspire more Native American students to STEM
• Attract more students to NASA
• NASA hire more Native Americans into workforce

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How Can Students Create Climate Coping
Adaptation Strategies for their Lands through
Tribal Colleges and Universities?
Some Examples!
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Faculty-Student Internship ProgramTohono Oodham
Community College

• Faculty
• Dr. Joe Marlow
• Student
• George Ackerman
• NASA Mentor
• Dr. Mike Bosilovich
• Research Project
• Tohono Oodham Monsoon Climatology

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Example 1Jessica KosckiKeweenaw Bay Ojibwa
Community College

• Potential Impacts of Sulfide Mining on the
  LAnse Indian Reservation

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Satellite Image of Proposed Mine
http//glcfapp.umiacs.umd.edu8080/esdi/index.jsp
Landsat 7 ETM/1999-08-28/Path 24/Row 27
Lake Superior
Eagle Project
Salmon Trout River
Yellow Dog River
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Example 2Ben DanielsCollege of the Menominee
Nation

• Global Warming the Future of the Menominee
  Forest

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ConclusionsMenominee Plan Has Great Potential
for Mitigation Against Global Warming Impacts on
Forest

• Uniqueness of land ownership
• Large amount of land
• Collectively owned by tribe
• Extent of micromanagement
• Labor intensive practices
• Attention to detail
• Smart forest management applying Menominee Plan
  could alleviate a potential disaster
• Tribal plan provides responses to warming impacts
  including changes in temperature, precipitation,
  invasive species, pests, fires, longer growing
  seasons

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Example 3Tyson Running BearCandeska Cikana
Community College

• The Oglalla Aquifer and Its Role in Agriculture

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Satellite Image of Extent of Agricultural
Production using Pivotal Irrigation

• NASA Aster Image of 38 square kilometers of
  Pivotal Irrigation in southern Kansas.
• Water provided by Oglalla Aquifer drawn up by
  Pivotal Irrigation.

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Example 4

• Ronald Scott Turtle Mountain Community
• College

Utilizing Remote Sensing Imagery to Construct a
Fire Damage Assessment for the Jasper Fire Burn
Area in the Black Hills of South Dakota
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Use of Remote Sensing

• The use of Landsat 7 satellite imagery was
  essential to the development of more efficient
  and complete fire damage assessments.

Landsat 7, 8/29/00, http//landsat.usgs.gov/galler
y/detail/383/
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Example 5

• Haleman Thor Hale
• Fort Berthold Community College

Using Remote Sensing to Illustrate the Effects
of the Garrison Dam and Lake Sakakawea on
Historical Tribal Lands and Communities
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The Garrison Dam Perspective
100,000 acres of Trees and Timber Valuable
Wildlife habitat lost Land use below dam changed
17 of ND woods and brush lost
Many communities lost
William Hanson ND GFP 1950
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Integration of Technology and Resource
Preservation
N
Lake Sakakawea
Missouri River
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Students are Key to Finding the Pathways toward
Successful Adaptation by Native Peoples to the
Impacts of Climate Change on their Lands!
Please Join Us.
Dr. Nancy G. Maynard Senior Research
Scientist Earth-Sun Directorate NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD 20771 (301)
614-6572 email Nancy.G. Maynard_at_nasa.gov
Space Shuttle Imagery - Earth Sciences and Image
Analysis, NASA-Johnson Space Center, 23 April
2002. "Moonrise."
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The Final Report
For copies contact http//www.gcrio.org/cgibin/ O
nLnDoc/ondocform.pl GCRIO User Services (845)
365-8930 phone [phone]
fax help_at_gcrio.org - email
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The Menominee Forest A Sustainably Managed
Forest Transitional line between 2 climate
zones Tribal Plan provides responses to warming
impacts
Research by Ben Daniels NASA Summer
Intern College of the Menominee Nation
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Tribal Economies Environmentally-Sensitive
Resources

• Economic development based on recreation and
  tourism
• Tourism recreation-based activities (the
  importance of)
• Rivers, lakes, mountains, forests, aesthetic
  beauty of tribal lands
• Campsites, trails, wildlife, migrating birds
  fish, flowering of plants
• Cultural historical sites ceremonies
• Often tied to seasonal cycles in plant animal
  life
• Honor weather-related events
• Tourism visiting reservations is dependent on
  perception of safe/healthy environment
• Example 1993 Hanta virus outbreak (associated
  with unusually heavy rains induced by El Nino
  conditions) not primarily on Indian lands, but
  lead to significant reduction in tourists in SW
  Indian lands
• Possible future climate interruptions of similar
  predator-prey relationships

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Why a Native Peoples-Native Homelands Climate
Change Workshop How It Really Began

• Pat Spears Bob Gough Special Role in Climate
  Change and Native America!
• 1998
• At Upper Mid-West Workshop (North Dakota)
• Pat Spears Bob Gough (ICOUP) gave very clear
  messages about potential impacts of climate
  change on Indian Country
• Message received by NASA scientist Maynard
  joined with Pat Bob, Verna Teller, and many
  others to organize workshop
• Verna Teller (Isleta) managed workshop in
  Albuquerque
• Dr. George Seielstad (UND) Made special effort
  to include Native America in discussions