"But Obama has since taken concrete steps “in direct response to requests from Alaska Native communities,” creating the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area to protect the “cultural and subsistence resources of more than 80 tribes as well as one of the largest seasonal migrations of marine mammals in the world of bowhead and beluga whales, walrus, ice seals, and sea birds,” the release said. “The United States also launched an interagency Economic Development Assessment Team in the Nome region of Alaska to identify future investment opportunities, with other regions to follow.” "
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"President Obama moved to solidify his environmental legacy Monday by withdrawing hundreds of millions of acres of federally owned land in the Arctic and Atlantic Ocean from future offshore oil and gas drilling."
Sources say U.S. and Canadian officials will reach a joint understanding on how to make the new protections as sweeping and politically durable as possible.
washingtonpost.com|By Juliet Eilperin
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Trained cultural monitors from the Klamath Tribe observe all soil disturbing activity during cleanup at the North Ridge Estates Superfund Site near Klamath Fall...s, Oregon. Their observations help ensure that antiquities are protected. Moni Hiswaqs from the Klamath Tribe shares why this is important.
A large quantity of asbestos-contaminated soil and debris is being removed to protect the health of people living in and near North Ridge Estates. More information at: www.epa.gov/superfund/north-ridge-estates
Moni Hiswaqs of the Klamath-Modoc Tribes talks about why cultural monitoring is important during earth disturbing activities at the North Ridge Estates Super...
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"But as the Arctic ice continues to shrink, bears are arriving in poorer condition and are staying longer, even as the number of tourists increases. Interaction between bears and humans is becoming more common, as it has in other parts of the Arctic, exposing the polar bears to more stress and the people to more danger."
Sixteen Young Leaders Who Will Influence the Future of the Arctic
Meet the people who stand apart when it comes to improving education, fighting climate change, boosting international collaboration and revitalizing Indigenous culture in the Arctic. They are the ones we’ll be watching in the years to come.
Last week the National Tribal Caucus gathered for their annual Fall/Winter meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico. NTC elected the following members to serve as the 2017 NTC Executive Committee: Evaristo Cruz from Ysleta del Sur Pueblo of Texas in Region 6, to serve as Chair, Paula Britton from Round Valley Indian Tribes in Region 9, as Vice-Chair, and Gerald Wagner from Blackfeet Tribe in Region 8 as Secretary. Chairman Cruz presented a Budget Matrix Program Guide which he helpe...d to create for tribes in Region 6 to develop annual budget recommendations. The document is intended to improve wide-spread participation among tribes at a tribe-by-tribe, regional and national level and provide consistent data to understand the amount of financial need for environmental protection in Indian country.
OITA PDAA Jane Nishida provided the latest updates on the upcoming transition to the new administration and reiterated OITA’s commitment to continuing to implement the three pillars of EPA’s Tribal Program, which include implementation of federal environmental programs, administering the Indian General Assistance Program, and a commitment to the consultation policy and protecting tribal treaty rights. Nishida also outlined the landing team process and led an open dialogue to address questions and concerns. The NTC also welcomed several guest participants from the Region 6 Tribal Operations Committee along with Ramona Montoya, the Environmental Divisions Manager from Pueblo of Isleta who provided an in-depth presentation on Isleta’s water quality programs.
Overall, a wonderful meeting full of meaningful and productive discussion.
Join me TONIGHT at 5pm EST on 24 hours of Reality: The Road Forward. I'll be talking with former Vice President Al Gore to discuss the #ActOnClimate legacy of the Obama administration.
"With its proximity to the Arctic, Alaska is warming about twice as fast as the rest of the United States and the state is heading for the warmest year on record. The government has identified at least 31 Alaskan towns and cities at imminent risk of destruction, with Shaktoolik ranking among the top four. Some villages, climate change experts predict, will be uninhabitable by 2050, their residents joining a flow of climate refugees around the globe, in Bolivia, China, Niger and other countries."
Michelle Sauve, Intergovernmental Affairs Specialist, Administration for Native Americans, Health and Human Services, Saint Regis Mohawk and French Canadian.
"I came to DC to be the director for a program called WINS – it’s the Washington Internships for Native Students at American University. What drew me to it was the opportunity to work with native students and to help shepherd them through an experience that I didn’t get to have as a college student. It provided full scho...larships for students to come and study at AU and do an internship in the Federal government, which was a sponsor. One of the traditions of that program was to do an annual pow wow, with different traditional regalia, different dance styles, different music – and the sharing of all that and their significance came out naturally, through conversations and interactions. These pow wows were always on the AU campus. One year there was a wedding that was coming out as we were having the pow wow, and they joined us in a social dance, so we did a round dance with the bride and groom. And that’s part of the reason why we wanted to have it on the campus, to say Native students are still here. They’re still a part of the country; to be able to expose AU students, alumni, whomever, and to connect with the DC community." #NativeFirstVoices
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Macy Rae Kenworthy, US Arctic Youth Ambassador, Inupiaq, Eskimo from Kotzebue, Alaska.
"I was raised to be humble and look outside of myself. That’s easy when your livelihood is based off the lands and you rely primarily on fishing and hunting for food source. We do have grocery stores, but they’re super expensive. And there aren’t a lot of job opportunities. When you’re living off the lands, you’re forced to pay attention. We’re taught, by example mostly, to take care of each other, and we see it a lot when people go out of their way to help those who need it by providing what we catch and sharing that with the community, or with the elders. In a small town, you know when someone is struggling, but you need to be able to step back and look around at the people surrounding you." #NativeFirstVoices
Shout out to EPA Region 9 for recently announcing $13 million in funding for Arizona tribes to support environmental programs, infrastructure for drinking water and wastewater and community education. Laura Ebbert, tribal program manager for the EPA’s Pacific Southwest region, shares how that funding will be applied.
Rachael Novak, Climate Science Coordinator, BIA. Navajo, Arizona and Utah.
"I’ve been running since I was very young, with my parents’ support. It’s a very common cultural and recreational practice in Native communities. One of my good buddies, Pete, also Navajo, is like a big brother. He encouraged me to do my first full marathon - on a trail. It started at 10,000 feet above sea level and went up to over 13,000. I was nervous. He said, “you can, and you should”. For some re...ason, something within me believed it. “I can and I should”. I don’t need to doubt myself, I’m capable. You’re running for people who can’t run – the elderly, the very young. So it’s not just an individual thing - it’s for the community - especially in the case of prayer runs. My friend Pete also talked me into running the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim about seven years ago. So, I put a little message out to friends asking for their prayers and good thoughts the first time I ran it because I hadn’t done that distance or elevation change before- 42 miles. At about mile 30, I was running along the river, and I just had this realization that all these prayers were carrying me and strengthening me. At the same time, I was so grateful for my body. I had this moment of awe for how strong and amazing our bodies are and what a blessing they are. We are all amazing and are capable of so much. My grandma would say “you’re just right, you’re strong”. I think of her words when I run. Your body is connected to your spirit and your being and you should take care of them. That’s what our Creator wants. It doesn’t matter what it looks like. It’s important to be grateful, to do things purposefully, with prayer. It means something." #NativeFirstVoices
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The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals – Environmental Education Outreach Program at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona is seeking air quality focused offices and programs to host a college student for an 8-week summer internship. Tribal environmental offices, EPA offices, and other tribal environmental organizations are encouraged to apply.
The interns will be highly motivated undergraduate or graduate students majoring in environmental or relat...ed careers from different colleges and universities nationwide. ITEP provides each student intern with a $4,000 stipend, and limited housing and travel allowances. The host site provides a work place and supervision for the intern.
The projects MUST focus on addressing air quality issues in tribal communities.
Submit an application online at: http://www7.nau.edu/itep/main/eeop/Internships/ssi_host
Deadline: Apply by January 20, 2017.
If you know of a college student that might be interested in being an intern, encourage them to apply at: http://www7.nau.edu/it…/main/eeop/Internships/ssi_internship
For detailed information on the internship and requirements, visit our internship web-site: http://www7.nau.edu/itep/main/eeop/Internships/
Teddy McCullough, Center for Native American Youth Program Coordinator, Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Northern California.
"I was just reintroduced to my culture. And one of the things I’m passionate about is language revitalization. So our language, formally, is extinct, or dormant. I’ve been working a lot with my community to reintroduce what we do have. We thought that when our last fluent speaker died, that the language was pretty much lost. But we found out that a... professor who was working at Berkeley had been interviewing our elders for like 30 years, and studying the language, and so now we’re working with her. We have a website and an app that has the language on it. We’re doing research on how to reintroduce the language properly into the tribal communities and so I have been working with her on that. We’ve been working with the tribes and tribal elders. My cousin’s name, Maayu, comes from the language and it means “dove”. And I really like the word for “thunder”, which is mak’ila. The word for butterfly is ʔuytʰoktok (oi-tok-tok). There are also some more complicated things that have tonal differences."
#NativeFirstVoices
Victoria Sissy Kotongan, former National Tribal Caucus member, Unalakleet, Alaska.
"My favorite tribal tradition would be berry picking. I love being out in the Tundra and I love watching my bucket fill up and the feeling of accomplishment that’s there. I love watching my hands get stained from berries, and I love the smell of the Tundra. It’s just one of my favorite places to be. I learned how to make Aqutaq from my nephew’s other grandma. You use fish and bake it and squeeze it out and then whip it together and mix it with berries and that’s kind of one of our traditional desserts. I also make a lot of jams, jellies, and syrups. I go berry picking as often as I can in the summer." #NativeFirstVoices
AIEO leads EPA's efforts to protect human health and the environment of federally recognized tribes.
