Planning for the Next Seven Generations: Centering Indigenous Perspectives in Climate Planning in the Eastern United States
Year: 2022
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Anthropogenic climate change poses unique threats to the highly populated coastal region of the eastern United States, including sea level rise, increased precipitation, species migration, and heat stress. Indigenous peoples of the eastern U.S., who have suffered from 500 years of colonization and face particular challenges with regard to resource allocation, will be among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, in part due to deep spiritual, cultural, and lifestyle connections to the land. Through a regional analysis which involves published literature by academic institutions, state-level policies, federal allocation of grant funding, and interviews with experts, I demonstrate a delay on the part of scientific and governmental entities in the eastern U.S. to investing in engaging Indigenous communities and, particularly, their traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), in collaborative production localized climate adaptation strategies, at the detriment of eastern Indigenous communities as well as their neighbors. This thesis will argue that the centering and supporting of specifically eastern Indigenous perspectives on climate change and environmental management is essential to the equitable development of climate strategies which work for all residents of the eastern U.S., and have global implications.
Author: Hille, Scotia
Language: English
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7005088096