Speakers
Nationally and internationally recognized speakers from indigenous coastal cultures—the First Stewards—will offer their insights and practical experiences for how the American people need to adapt to our changing climate. These insights and experiences—also known as traditional ecological knowledge—have been shared through stories, songs, and other cultural practices for many generations and hundreds to thousands of years.
Witnesses
“Witnesses to the Event” will recount the events of each day and will brief the steering committee on the overall outcomes of the symposium. The Witness Caucus and Council of Elders also will summarize the outcomes of the symposium on the final day.
Panels
The event will include four regional panels (the West Coast states; Alaska; the U.S. Pacific states and territories; and the Great Lakes, Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Gulf of Mexico states) composed of tribal leaders and tribal and Western scientists who will examine how native people and their cultures have adapted to climate change for hundreds to thousands of years, and what their future—and that of America—may hold as the impacts of climate change continue.
