Tag Archives: Native Americans

Learning Firsthand the Interconnectedness of Native Culture to the Land from the Hualapai Tribe in the Grand Canyon

Recently, my wife and I were fortunate to take a vacation to the great American Southwest. A day spent at Grand Canyon West in Arizona was the highlight of the trip. We both agreed that the beauty of the canyon is unparalleled, but I didn’t realize how long Native Americans from the Hualapai Tribe (pronounced WALL-uh-pie) have called this unique area of the Southwest home, with its deep gorges, canyon lands, rugged mesas, and ponderosa pine forests.

Assistant Administrator Mathy Stanislaus and his wife at Grand Canyon West in Arizona.

I was hosted by the Hualapai Tribe, known as the “People of the Tall Pines,” whose homelands once covered an area from the Grand Canyon in northwest Arizona to the Bill Williams River in west-central Arizona and from the Black Mountains bordering the Colorado River to the San Francisco Peaks. Today, the Hualapai Reservation is nearly 1 million acres. Until 1988, the Hualapai’s tribal lands were not open to visitors; however, in order to secure economic stability and independence, the Hualapai have shared their lands of spectacular beauty with millions of people from around the world.

Challenging aspects of increased tourism are waste generation and increased water usage. Many of the tourists visiting the area leave trash and other waste behind, creating a problem for the tribe. With the assistance of the Department of Defense’s C130 cargo aircraft, the tribe removed waste from the canyon floor. The Tribe’s Natural Resources Department is a leader among tribal communities for their work in water conservation and ensuring water quality.

During my vacation I experienced one unforgettable day with the Hualapai when native dancers performed ancient dances in the shadow of the canyon as I imagine they have for centuries. The visit solidified my commitment to the importance of our longstanding partnership with tribal environmental programs to protect ecosystems where natural landscape and native culture are interwoven and equally irreplaceable as the Grand Canyon is to the Hualapai tribe.

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Addressing Tomorrow’s Emergency with Today’s Plans

Eroded coastline near the Shinnecock Nation’s territory on Long Island, NY

Eroded coastline near the Shinnecock Nation’s territory on Long Island, NY

By Irene Boland Nielson

Fourth in a five-part series on climate change issues.

Native Americans have long understood the need to be caretakers of the earth and were among the first to recognize the signs of climate change. It is no surprise that some tribes are leading the way to prepare for the impacts of climate change.

One such tribe is the Shinnecock Indian Nation on the South Fork of Long Island. They experienced firsthand the potentially devastating impacts of climate change when Superstorm Sandy slammed into the area in October 2012. Shoreline scouring and flooding of roads, burial grounds and basements during Sandy showed that climate change poses immediate threats to the Shinnecock. The Nation is now taking broad steps to adapt to climate change and setting a good example for other island communities.

First, the Shinnecock looked to neighbors and peers, and held a community workshop to discuss climate threats. The tribe worked with funding from the EPA, in partnership with the St. Regis Mohawk, a Tribal Nation straddling the St. Lawrence River between the U.S. – Canada border. Next, they used climate vulnerability assessments from the Peconic Estuary and convened all Shinnecock department heads to identify climate threats to their Nation. This is important, since tomorrow’s emergency needs are linked with long-term community plans for the future.

Global rise of sea levels is the most confidently projected climate threat, since water expands when warmer like a heated teapot. (See yesterday’s blog on sea level rise.) With rising seas, by 2050, a storm with one percent chance of happening any year could inundate almost half of the Nation, including some evacuation routes. The Shinnecock’s climate adaptation plan calls for restoring their shoreline as a frontline of defense against flooding with native plants, as well as upgrading overwhelmed culverts to protect sacred burial grounds. Precious coastal water aquifers are also vulnerable to encroaching saltwater. The Shinnecock will reduce water contamination by replacing tribal cesspools with a closed community sewer and wastewater treatment facility. The plan also calls for improving the Nation’s food security by reestablishing community farming and protecting vital shellfish beds and reducing fossil fuels, open burning, idling, and tree loss.

Cleaner air, shorelines protected by natives plants, energy and food security are all hallmarks of resiliency in the Shinnecock Indian Nation Climate Change Adaptation Plan. Island communities should follow the example set by the Shinnecock Indian Nation and make plans to protect themselves and their neighbors from climate change impacts.

About the Author: Irene Boland Nielson is the Climate Change Coordinator for the New York City based office of the U.S. EPA. She joined the EPA as a Presidential Management Fellow and has worked on a range of issues, including the Agency’s Strategic Plan, a memorandum of agreement with Department of Defense for a sustainable Guam, and the EPA Climate Adaptation Plan. Currently, she co-chairs the EPA Region 2 Climate Change Workgroup, administers Climate Showcase Community grants and works to promote sustainability in communities.

Editor's Note: The views expressed here are intended to explain EPA policy. They do not change anyone's rights or obligations. You may share this post. However, please do not change the title or the content, or remove EPA’s identity as the author. If you do make substantive changes, please do not attribute the edited title or content to EPA or the author.

EPA's official web site is www.epa.gov. Some links on this page may redirect users from the EPA website to specific content on a non-EPA, third-party site. In doing so, EPA is directing you only to the specific content referenced at the time of publication, not to any other content that may appear on the same webpage or elsewhere on the third-party site, or be added at a later date.

EPA is providing this link for informational purposes only. EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of non-EPA information provided by any third-party sites or any other linked site. EPA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies, internet applications or any policies or information expressed therein.