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Read more about the article Climate change: Washington coastal tribes hosting symposium blending indigenous knowledge with western science
Coastal tribes are already seeing changes to the natural resources they rely on due to climate change. It will be critical to bring their millennia of knowledge together with western science to help indigenous people to adapt.

Climate change: Washington coastal tribes hosting symposium blending indigenous knowledge with western science

Coastal tribes are already seeing changes to the natural resources they rely on due to climate change. It will be critical to bring their millennia of knowledge together with western science to help indigenous people adapt.
The inaugural First Stewards symposium, to be held July 17-20 in Washington, D.C. is a national event that examines the impact of climate change on indigenous coastal cultures and explores solutions based on millennia of traditional ecological knowledge.

Hundreds of native leaders, witnesses and climate scientists will join policy-makers and non-government organizations for groundbreaking dialogue in what is planned to be an annual meeting at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.

The Hoh, Makah and Quileute tribes and the Quinault Indian Nation created the symposium because indigenous coastal people are among the most affected by climate change. (more…)

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Ocean Glider Looks Beneath Quinault Indian Nation Traditional Waters

Katie Rathmell, research associate with the Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Predication, prepares the research glider Phoebe for deployment from a Quinault Indian Nation fishing boat near Westport.WESTPORT–In the past, the Quinault Indian Nation had only occasional glimpses into the health of the vast ocean that is their traditional fishing area, stretching about 50 miles from Grays Harbor north to Destruction Island.

But this summer, thanks to a computer-directed underwater research glider that looks like a motorcycle-sized torpedo with wings, QIN was able to gather four weeks of comprehensive data throughout their fishing area.

The Center for Coastal Margin Observation & Prediction (CMOP), worked with QIN marine scientist Joe Schumacker to plan a data gathering project for the glider named Phoebe. “This mission provides us with important information about the Quinault traditional ocean waters that would be cost-prohibitive to obtain otherwise,” said Schumacker. (more…)

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The Healing Path

There is only one path that leads to the healing of Puget Sound, and it is one that we all must walk together. Puget Sound is sick. It’s becoming filled with poison and starved of oxygen. The eelgrass and other plants that support life in the Sound are dying. Orcas and salmon are not far behind.

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