About Us:

About Us

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals established its Tribes & Climate Change Program in 2009 to provide support and be responsive to the needs of tribes that are preparing for and currently contending with climate change impacts. Development of the program is guided by an advisory committee that includes tribal environmental and natural resource professionals who are actively working on climate change issues.

As a result of human activity, Earth’s climate is warming and beginning to seriously threaten humans and ecosystems around the world. What does this mean for tribes and Native American communities who have for centuries relied on the bounty of the land and sea to sustain them?

This website provides information and resources tailored to helping Native people gain a better understanding of climate change and its impacts on their communities and resources. Here you'll find basic climate-change information; profiles of tribes in diverse regions of the U.S. who are coping with climate change impacts; audio files of Native people discussing the issue from traditional perspectives; and resources you can use to develop climate change adaptation strategies. We also offer in-person and web-based trainings and technical assistance to build climate change adaption planning capacity among tribes.

As the science of climate change expands, we will continue to update and refine this website to provide the best, most-current information possible. We will also continue to gather and share tribal perspectives and strategies for dealing with climate change.

We hope this site provides you with useful information and tools to help you better understand climate change, educate others on the issue, and develop strategies for dealing with climate change in your own community. We welcome your ideas and input. Please feel free to provide us with comments and suggestions for improvements to our website. To contact us, visit the “Contact Us” page.

"This website is hosted by the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) at Northern Arizona University. For information about ITEP, please visit our website at:
nau.edu/itep"