Indigenous Governance Database
Environment and Natural Resources
Idle No More: Decolonizing Water, Food and Natural Resources With TEK
Watersheds and Indigenous Peoples know no borders. Canada’s watershed management affects America’s watersheds, and vice versa. As Canada Prime Minister Stephen Harper launches significant First Nations termination contrivance he negotiates legitimizing Canada’s settler colonialism under the guise…
Round Valley First Forest Carbon Offset Project on Native Trust Land for California
The discussions of climate change and carbon footprints are important subjects within Indian country, and on February 24 the Round Valley Indian Tribes became a part of history as far as carbon emissions goes. Round Valley and New Forests on Tuesday announced the regulatory approval of the first…
Northern California Tribe Harnesses Sun and Wind for Renewable Energy System
It’s sunny and windy on the northern coast of California. So why not put these elements to good use to help power a reservation, expand energy independence and reduce the carbon footprint? That’s the thinking behind the decision by the 577-member Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria to…
Meet The Woman Helping Native American Communities Get Ready For Climate Change
The effects of climate change are already being felt across America. In Alaska, rising sea levels and eroding coastlines have forced a dozen different communities to relocate. In the Southwest, the risk of forest fires is increasing, water supplies are dwindling and native animal species are coming…
Osage Nation to receive $7.4 million in Cobell Land Buy-Back program
The Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations has come to the Osage and the federal government is proposing $7.4 million to buy back fractionated land interest from individual tribal members. According to tribal development and land acquisition director Bruce Cass, who is working with Osage attorney…
Environmental Wisdom: Keeping Indigenous Stories Alive
"Long ago, when animals were gente..." Those words, uttered countless times by indigenous Amazonian storytellers, blur the boundary between humans and other creatures in the forests and rivers, revealing a different view of the way human and non-human worlds intertwine. "You can't talk about…
New Inter-Tribal Fish Commission Formed to Give Alaska Tribes a Say
Alaska reminds me of Washington state. Let me qualify that. Alaska reminds me of Washington state before the mid-1970s. Back then the region was deeply divided over treaty rights, salmon, and even the definition of what it meant to be an American Indian in modern times. The official state…
Island First Nation grasps potential of alternative power
While oil pipeline debates, anti-fracking protests and increasing fossil fuel demands embroil the country from coast to coast, a small Vancouver Island First Nation is leading the way on a different path. In the past five years, the seaside T’Sou-ke nation has become a world-renowned leader in…
Minnesota Tribes Collaborate to Save State's Disappearing Moose Population
Tribal rights to natural resources in the Great Lakes states have been the subject of much attention. In 1999, the United States Supreme Court affirmed lower court rulings in favor of the Ojibwe of Minnesota and Wisconsin, which retained treaty rights in Minnesota’s 1837 Treaty ceded territory (…
Tribes Get $6 Million in Federal Funds for Energy Efficiency Project
Eleven tribal communities are receiving a total of $6 million toward renewable energy projects and technologies, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced. It is part of President Barack Obama’s ongoing initiative to help tribal nations and Alaska Native villages reduce fossil fuel use, save…
Indigenous Youth Help USFWS Restore Fish Passage on Cochiti Pueblo
Ask a group of teenagers their idea of fun and you might get answers like hanging out with friends, dodging opponents during a game of laser tag or playing their favorite video games. But for a group of Native American youth from several of New Mexico’s pueblos, fun meant working outside on a warm…
Food Sovereignty: How Osage People Will Grow Fresh Foods Locally
Growing fresh and local foods for Osage people is now a revived approach to food sovereignty for the Osage Nation so efforts to find the most successful methods are being looked into by leadership and community members. On Feb. 7, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture along with the Oklahoma State…
Blue Lake Rancheria's Bold Action on the Climate Front Pays Dividends
Nestled in Northern California’s Mad River Valley between the coastal mountains and the Pacific Ocean, the Blue Lake Rancheria is bordered by great forests and the California Redwood trees. It’s a sacred and hard-won swath of land for the Tribe that calls it home, and preserving it for future…
Muscogee (Creek) Nation Creates Conservation District With USDA
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation, working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), has established a conservation district, the two entities announced on November 19...
Revitalizing a Traditional Seed to Revitalize Osage Culture
Vann Bighorse, director of the Wah-Zha-Zhi Cultural Center in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, is keenly aware that Osage traditions are getting closer to slipping away–permanently. A current project to preserve Osage culture and revive a millennia old tradition is now three years in the making. The Cultural…
For Michigan tribe, climate action a 'sacred responsibility'
Though recognized just last week by the White House, the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians has been active in climate change mitigation and adaptation since the “beginning of time.” “The things we do for economic and cultural resilience are the same things we do for climate resilience,”…
Eastern Band of Cherokee Replenishes Iconic White-Tailed Deer on Its Lands
The Eastern Band of Cherokee, deprived for centuries of the white-tailed deer that symbolizes their culture, are in the process of getting their icon back. Though deer are considered almost a pest in many parts, devouring gardens and proliferating, the Cherokee themselves, who have cherished the…
Forest County Potawatomi Renewables Program Nets EPA Top 30 Nod
They squelched a mine, established air-quality monitoring and built a solar plant. Where does a tribe go from there? For the Forest County Potawatomi Community it meant going deeper. The tribe has translated traditional values into a program that uses cutting-edge technologies and sophisticated…
Nisqually Tribe, State Partnering on Development of Nisqually State Park
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and the Nisqually Indian Tribe are working together on future development of Nisqually State Park in Olympia, Washington. The 1,300-acre park lies at the confluence of the Nisqually River, Mashel River and Ohop Creek. The park includes a diverse…
Yurok Tribe to release condors in California
Yurok tribal tradition holds the California condor as sacred, with ancient stories saying the giant birds fly closest to the sun and are the best messengers to carry prayers. Now, after five years of research, the far northern California-based tribe has received permission to release captive-bred…