OVER the summer I was part of a delegation from Guam that attended the historic First Stewards Symposium in Washington D.C. Indigenous peoples from around the Pacific and the United States gathered to talk about how climate change is affecting them and their environments. It was a very eye-opening and inspiring experience. Through panels and conversations we learned that so many of the environmental problems affecting communities who rely on fishing, such as rising water levels, ocean acidification, and pollution, are being felt across the world. We all committed to working together to finding solutions to these problems.

People commonly think of indigenous people as being stuck in the past or backwards, yet this conference showed that clearly to be untrue. As in any culture, not all people believe the same things and people of every culture contradict themselves. But a core part of all indigenous cultures is the idea that the world around you is not a simple commodity to be transformed into something else, but is something that nurtures you, so long as you take care of it.

You can find more information about the First Stewards symposium by going to its website (firststewards.org). I thought I would share the resolution that was created after this year’s gathering. Another conference is planned for the summer of 2013.

RESOLUTION of the First Stewards
Coastal Peoples Address Climate Change Symposium
National Museum of the American Indian
Washington, D.C., on July 20, 2012

Whereas, we, the indigenous peoples, were and are the First Stewards of the lands and waters of North America, Alaska and the Pacific Islands, having lived in these areas millennia before the establishment of the United States;

Whereas, about 300 First Stewards and others convened July 17 to 20, 2012, at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American Indian, Washington, D.C., at the First Stewards: Coastal Peoples Address Climate Change Symposium;

Whereas, the Symposium reemphasized the First Stewards’ awareness of the interconnectedness of the clouds, forest, valleys, land, streams, fishponds, sea, lakes, canyons and other elements of the natural and spiritual world, and the use of their expertise and methodologies to assure responsible stewardship of them;

Whereas, the First Stewards have experienced changes, including the deterioration of their culture, language, values and land tenures systems, that have resulted in over?development of the coastlines, alteration of freshwater streams and lakes, destruction of life?giving watersheds, decimation of reefs, and the decline of marine and terrestrial species;

Whereas, these changes to the natural world have been exacerbated by climate change and jeopardize the very fabric of indigenous societies;

Whereas, the First Stewards from the West Coast have witnessed that the glaciers nourishing our rivers and spirits have retreated and disappeared; that changes in ocean acidity and hypoxia jeopardize the marine ecosystems, which support our culture, health and economies; that weather events are more frequently severe and unpredictable; and that our Treaties and inherent rights are at risk due to the inability of regulatory agencies to meet their trust responsibilities to sustainably manage resources, in consultation with Native Americans, that support our cultures’ resilience to climate change;

Whereas, the First Stewards from Alaska found that the very land on which our communities are built is increasingly compromised and eroding; our animals and fish are increasingly diseased and displaced; and our northern waters are facing expanded resource development and vessel traffic; and that these changes to our air, lands, waters, and ice are endangering our subsistence way of life and consequently, our cultures, languages, and health;

Whereas, the First Stewards from the Pacific Islands are facing invasive species, erosion, changing rainfall, intensified typhoons/hurricanes, tsunamis/tidal waves, and warming of the ocean, air and land, as well as regulations that do not reflect indigenous expertise and consequently have unforeseen impacts on the environment and our culture;

Whereas, the First Stewards representatives from the Great Lakes, East Coast and Gulf of Mexico noted environmental concerns regarding the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and cultural concerns regarding the disappearance of sacred plants and found that their climate change adaptation plans including restoration efforts, such as dam removal, and traditional management methods, such as prescribed burning, are being obstructed by local, state and federal attempts to define them and limit their native rights;

Therefore Be It Resolved, that the First Stewards call on the United States government to formally recognize us and our expertise and to consult with our tribal governments and indigenous communities for guidance in all policies that affect our way of life and to support our management efforts, which will strengthen America’s resiliency and ability to adapt to climate change, and that this resolution be sent to the President of the United States and appropriate Congressional committees and government agencies.