The Tribal Climate Change Guide is part of the Pacific Northwest Tribal Climate Change Project (TCCP). The TCCP is part of the L.I.G.H.T. Foundation (LF), is an independent, Indigenous-led, conservation 501(c)(3) nonprofit established on the Colville Indian Reservation in the traditional territory of the Nespelem Tribe in present-day north central Washington State. LF supports the restoration and cultivation of native Plant and Pollinator Relatives and the culturally respectful conservation of habitats and ecosystems which are climate resilient and adaptive. For more information about LF, visit: https://thepnwlf.org/. For more information about the Tribal Climate Change Project, visit: https://tribalclimate.uoregon.edu/. If you would like to add information to this guide, please email kathy.lynn.or@gmail.com.

 

Water in the Lumber World: A River and Its People in a Time of Change

Type
Literature
Publication
Ryan E Emanuel; Water in the Lumbee World: A River and Its People in a Time of Change, Environmental History, Volume 24, Issue 1, 1 January 2019, Pages 25–51, https://doi.org/10.1093/envhis/emy129
Year Published
2019
Organization
Environmental History
Description

"This article explores relationships between Lumbee people and the riverine landscapes of their home. I draw upon my lived experience as a Lumbee person and my training as an environmental scientist to evaluate the riverine environment of the Lumbee River as both a template for change and a fragile resource. The river shapes Lumbee culture and community, on the one hand, and it is subject to human impacts, on the other. Here, I examine the bidirectional relationship between river and people in a historical context and also in the context of contemporary issues facing Lumbee people, who collectively make up one of the largest Indigenous groups in the United States and constitute the nation’s largest non-federally recognized Indian tribe. I frame historical issues related to isolation and connectivity of the landscape around a novel topological analysis of historical maps. I use contemporary issues, including industrialized agriculture and climate change, to emphasize the complex and evolving relationship between Lumbee people and their riverine environment. Recent events, including Indigenous resistance to fossil fuel pipelines and flooding of the community following Hurricane Matthew, reveal challenges and opportunities faced by the tribe in the areas of environmental justice and sovereignty."

Geography