Shifting Seasons and Climate Change Adaptation

ASFPM staffers reflect on the Shifting Seasons Summit, which brings together Tribal decision makers, federal agencies, Indigenous practitioners, land resource stewards, and climate change scientists.

As the winds blew and leaves started to change, approximately 150 people, including representatives from 22 Tribal Nations, gathered at the Menominee Casino and Resort in northern Wisconsin for the fourth Shifting Seasons Summit, hosted by the College of Menominee Nation’s Sustainable Development Institute (SDI). The attendees varied in background, from two of our ASFPM staff to federal agency members to members of tribal environmental groups, but all shared an interest in learning more about sustainable development in the face of climate change and connecting with others who shared their interests.

Over the course of three-and-a-half days, participants explored the various sectors of the SDI’s Menominee theoretical model of sustainability through presentations, field trips, and interactive workshops. The Sustainable Development Institute’s theoretical framework provides a way to think about the interconnectedness of various aspects of sustainable development. There are six facets of the model:

• technology,
• institutions,
• economics,
• natural environment,
• land and sovereignty, and
• human perception, activity, and behavior.

These six dimensions are naturally connected, and the process of sustainable development involves maintaining a balance between these six factors. 

The opening keynote speaker and president of the College of Menominee Nation, Christopher Caldwell, reminded us that we have created the artificial world in which we live, and that nature is our original context. We need to restore our relationships with the land (and water) on which we rely. So much of Western society is focused on taking as much as we can get, without worrying about the balance of the world. As a result, we are harming our planet and reducing the natural environment’s inherent resilience. We were also reminded about how changes in one community can affect others nearby — nature doesn’t abide by the jurisdictional boundaries that man creates. This reminded ASFPM/CSO Digital Coast Fellow Allie Pouliot of the project she is working on, which focuses on ASFPM’s No Adverse Impact philosophy. 

Another theme of the summit was how Western organizations can work alongside tribal nations. A recurring phrase at the conference was “nothing about us without us”; when working with Tribal nations, or any community really, it is important for outside organizations to start any conversation by asking what is needed and supporting the community with their goals, instead of making assumptions or projecting external priorities onto them. The best role for Western organizations is as a supporter, facilitator, and/or connector to build capacity within Tribal Nations by making connections to help facilitate  funding and also taking a backseat, listening, and letting Tribal nations lead and co-produce work. In addition, place is centrally important to successful climate conversations; not only understanding the western science and traditional science of a place but also physically going to said place to ground conversations in it. Without experiencing a place in person, it is impossible to understand it. As such, when discussing the impacts of climate change to Tribal nations, it is important for western scientists and organizations to go to the Tribal nation, physically, and not just talk virtually or ask tribal nations to join conversations at a Western table. It is also vital that projects establish a common vocabulary and definitions early on by speaking with elders and native speakers. 

In reality, there is so much that Western scientists need to learn from Indigenous Peoples. Traditional ecological knowledge is based on observations and an innate understanding of how the world works, which is passed down from generation to generation. It notes when seasons shift based on the behaviors of plants and animals, for example. When discussing climate change, traditional ecological knowledge has great value to Western science, as it not only can help ground climate science in the past, present, and future, but it brings a value-based, place-based context that is often lacking in a Western scientific perspective.

During the summit, numerous projects were shared that focused on reintegrating Indigenous values into land stewardship. One presenter was Dr. Jennifer Kanine, the Director of the Kowabdanawa odë kė Department (A phrase meaning “They watch over this land”), the natural resources stewardship department for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians (PBKK). Dr. Kanine discussed the Dowagiac River restoration project, which restored meander bends to a section of the river that runs through tribal lands. The project doubled the length of this stretch of river, returning it to its historic sinuosity and restoring water flow to more than 50 acres of wetlands without increasing neighboring areas’ flood risk. 

Relatedly, Nizhoni Tallas shared the work her organization, the Climate Science Alliance, is doing to safeguard natural and human communities in the face of a changing climate. The Alliance supports boundary-spanning projects that build capacity, community, and resilience simultaneously, meeting people where they are with region-specific, accessible climate science to better inform planning and climate solutions. The Alliance has a Tribal Working Group that brings together Alliance partners to share knowledge (traditional and Western science) and promote intertribal efforts that integrate cultural and natural resource conservation. It also hosts a biennial Southwestern Tribal Climate Change Summit, which gathers environmental professionals from tribes and other organizations to meet and discuss issues, strategies, and solutions to advance Tribal resilience efforts in the Southwest region.

Jen Falck and Laura Manthe of the Oneida Nation discussed their role as founding members of the Ohe∙láku (“Among the cornstalks”) cooperative, a grassroots project made up of 15 Oneida families who are relearning traditional lifeways and growing Tuscarora white corn on the reservation. Summit participants were provided the opportunity to visit one of the planting sites and to learn about the intense rains this spring, which washed off the soil and seeds that would have yielded  the years’ harvest. A portion of the corn that is grown is given to the Tribal Elder food box program to ensure the elders have access to traditional foods and the proper nutrition. The cooperative will be exploring new tactics to ensure that, no matter what the weather, their traditional corn will grow next year.

These are just a few of the many lessons learned and projects shared during the three-and-a-half-day event, the next of which is tentatively set for 2027.