- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
The Sicangu Lakota Treaty Council will participate in the Biden Administration’s first-ever White House Summit on Building Climate Resilient Communities.
The Summit will explore effective climate resilience strategies that aim to help build communities that are resilient to the effects of climate change.
Participants will develop a roadmap for the administration’s National Climate Resilience Framework, which lays out objectives to align with investments to protect communities from the effects of climate change. The administration will also award more than $500 million in dedicated funding for new actions for climate resilience.
Phil Two Eagle, Executive Director of the Sicangu Lakota Treaty Council, was invited to attend the Summit based on his climate leadership convening the Lakota Nation to develop adaptation plans that help them respond to environmental changes.
“The Oceti Sakowin Oyate (the People of the Seven Council Fires) have thrived across a large portion of North America for millennia. Our livelihoods have depended on the care and wise management of the land, and many of us carry these values with us to this day,” Two Eagle said in a statement. “It is natural that we mobilize our community to address the changing climate for the benefit of our people, and all our relations.”
The Lakota Nation is taking action to address climate issues, building a climate monitoring and data center. Their capacity to fully respond to climate emergencies has been limited by the federal government’s continued violation of treaty rights.
A recent example of treaty violations that have reduced the Lakota capacity to address climate change is that of the Dakota Access Pipeline. This pipeline cuts through treaty lands and puts local communities and their scarce water resources at risk.
“The pipeline is only one example among many that illustrate why the Oceti Sakowin requires
the fulfillment of our treaty rights and complete sovereignty of our territory,” Two Eagle explained in the press release. “When empires occupy a place, they do not care for it because they do not live there. They exploit it and the people who dwell there. But because this land is our home, we care for it.”
More Stories Like This
TIME Magazine Names Gila River Indian Community Leader to Its "2024 Time100 Climate” ListNavajo President Buu Nygren Says Remediation Fund, Cleanup of Sites is Solution to Contamination
Record Numbers of Steelhead Return to the Deschutes River, Heralding Progress in Long-term Fish Reintroduction Effort
National Park Service Issues Landmark Order for Tribal Consultations
On the Wisconsin-Iowa Border, the Mississippi River is Eroding Sacred Indigenous Mounds
Support Independent Indigenous Journalism That Holds Power to Account
With the election now decided, Native News Online is recommitting to our core mission: rigorous oversight of federal Indian policy and its impact on tribal communities.
The previous Trump administration’s record on Indian Country — from the reduction of sacred sites to aggressive energy development on tribal lands — demands heightened vigilance as we enter this new term. Our Indigenous-centered newsroom will provide unflinching coverage of policies affecting tribal sovereignty, sacred site protection, MMIR issues, water rights, Indian health, and economic sovereignty.
This critical watchdog journalism requires resources. Your support, in any amount, helps maintain our independent, Native-serving news coverage. Every contribution helps keep our news free for all of our relatives. Please donate today to ensure Native News Online can thrive and deliver impactful, independent journalism.
