Sustainable Development and Policy, a law journal published at American University’s law school, has published an entire symposium issue on climate change and the polar regions (here).
At least two of the articles involve discussion of Indigenous peoples:
Ford, Supporting Adaptation: A Priority for Action on Climate Change for Canadian Inuit (p. 25)
Kazarian, The Forgotten North: Peoples and Lands in Peril (p. 46)
Jacqueline Hand has published “Global Climate Change: A Serious Threat to Native American Lands and Culture” in the Environmental Law Reporter. Here is the abstract:
During the past decade, public perception of global climate change has transformed from a gloom and doom scenario not to be taken seriously to a nearly universally recognized peril to the planet. Native Americans, especially those in the Arctic region, experience changes in climate with greater immediacy than the general population, and this disproportionate result is expected to become more severe as the effects of climate change escalate. This Article will explore the nature of the impact of climate change on Native Americans, the importance of including traditional tribal knowledge and expertise in understanding the crisis and developing adaptive mechanisms, and the responses by individual tribes as well as by indigenous people as a whole.
Sarah Krakoff has published “American Indians, Climate Change, and Ethics for a Warming World” in the Denver University Law Review.
From the introduction:
Climate Change in the Northwest
“Tribal Perspectives”
Date and Location:
May 29-30, 2008 (Thursday and Friday)
Public Library Downtown
Microsoft Conference Room
Call the directly to confirm your lodging no later than April 24, 2008, at 1-800-945-2240, and mention the Tribal Climate Change Conference.
For more information, please contact Pat Gonzales-Rogers at (503) 231-6123 or Pat_Gonzales-Rogers@fws.gov. (Pat is the Tribal Liaison for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 1).
Rebecca Tsosie has published “Indigenous People and Environmental Justice: The Impact of Climate Change” with the University of Colorado Law Review. Here is the abstract:
The international dialogue on climate change is currently focused on a strategy of adaptation that includes the projected removal of entire communities, if necessary. Not surprisingly, many of the geographical regions that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change are also the traditional lands of indigenous communities. This article takes the position that the adaptation strategy will prove genocidal for many groups of indigenous people, and instead argues for recognition of an indigenous right to environmental self-determination, which would allow indigenous peoples to maintain their cultural and political status upon their traditional lands. In the context of climate change policy, such a right would impose affirmative requirements on nation-states to engage in a mitigation strategy in order to avoid catastrophic harm to indigenous peoples. This article argues for a new conception of rights to address the unique harms of climate change. An indigenous right to environmental self-determination would be based on human rights norms in recognition that ‘sovereignty claims‘ by indigenous groups are not a sufficient basis to protect traditional ways of life and the rich and unique cultural norms of such groups. Similarly, tort-based theories of compensation for the harms of climate change have only limited capacity to address the concerns of indigenous peoples.
From the NYTs:
”
The water levels in all five Great Lakes — Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario — are below long-term averages and are likely to stay that way until at least March, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. (The same is true at Lake St. Clair, which straddles the border between the state of Michigan and the province of Ontario and is between Lake Huron and Lake Erie; it is not considered one of the Great Lakes, although it is part of the Great Lakes system.)
“Most environmental researchers say that low precipitation, mild winters and high evaporation, due largely to a lack of heavy ice covers to shield cold lake waters from the warmer air above, are depleting the lakes. The Great Lakes follow a natural cycle, their levels rising in the spring, peaking in the summer and reaching a low in the winter, as the evaporation rate rises.”
From NOAA:
4th Annual Tribal Water Rights Conference – Climate Change: Impacts to Water, Fish, Cultures, Economies, and Rights
When: October 24-25, 2007
Where: Squaxin Island Tribe’s Little Creek Casino Resort, Shelton
Agenda and Registration: http://www.wateradvocacy.org
The Center for Water Advocacy, the Squaxin Island Tribe, and the Indian Law Sections of the Washington and Oregon State Bars are sponsoring the Fourth Annual Northwest Tribal Water Rights Conference to take place at the Squaxin Island Tribe’s Little Creek Casino Resort in Shelton. The conference will address a broad range of areas relating to the impact of climate change on the reduction of stream flows and how such reductions impact tribal interests in the Pacific Northwest.
With your participation, we expect to create a regional dialogue to address an urgent need communicated by tribes to become more united in confronting global warming and protecting tribal fisheries, instream flows, treaty rights, and water quality. This year, we will focus not only on recent information suggesting that climate change is proceeding more rapidly than anticipated, but also on strategies for addressing these issues.
As part of the conference, please join us for a reception and complimentary refreshments hosted by the Squaxin Island Tribe on Wednesday, October 24, at the Squaxin Island Museum Library and Research Center in Shelton from 5:00-7:00 pm. We have invited Winona LaDuke, executive director of Honor the Earth, to be our special guest at the reception.
For questions regarding the conference, please contact: Terry Shepherd, conference coordinator, nepatalk@uci.net or 970-420-9148.
Cost: $275
Approved for 9.5 CLE credits (includes 1.0 ethics)
Turtle Talk 