In this episode we discuss the traditional knowledges of indigenous peoples and their relevance and importance to mitigating and adapting to climate change and environmental challenges in general.
- Threats and resilience of North American native peoples facing climate change challenges
- Respect for the tribes’ sovereignty, their traditions, and ancestral knowledge about preservation and conservation
- Capacity building with tribes for air quality management, climate, and social justice
Our guest Ms Ann Marie Chischilly is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation (Diné) and the Executive Director at the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) where she is responsible for managing ITEP’s work with Northern Arizona University, state and federal agencies, tribes, and Alaska Native villages. Before coming to ITEP, she served for over ten years as Senior Assistant General Counsel to the Gila River Indian Community, where she assisted the Community in implementing the historic “Arizona Water Settlement Act” and founded the Community’s Renewable Energy Team. She earned her Juris Doctorate degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law and a Masters in Environmental Law (LL.M) from Vermont Law School. She is licensed in Arizona and has practiced in state, district, and federal courts, meanwhile she currently serves on several federal advisory committees such as the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) and Advisory Committee on the Sustained National Climate Assessment. Find her on Twitter.
Our interviewer Dr Yoshira Ornelas Van Horne is a first-generation college graduate and received a PhD in Environmental Health Sciences from the University of Arizona. She is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Division of Environmental Health at the University of Southern California where she received a Diversity Supplement Award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Her dissertation focused on working with the Diné communities impacted by the Gold King Mine Spill to develop a community-based risk assessment and collaborated with community partners to ensure the dissemination of culturally appropriate results. Her research focuses on addressing unequal exposures to harmful contaminants that affect structurally marginalized communities. Find her on twitter.
Episode notes and references:
- Guidelines for considering traditional knowledges in climate change Initiatives
- Indigenous peoples by far the best guardians of forests – UN report
Music by Ritesh Prasanna
Podcast website: https://atmospherictales.com