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Climate change and indigenous peoples

JT Shining Oneside shared stories about her Ojibwe and Anishinaabe inheritance during the Native American Heritage Month Celebration on Nov. 15. She spoke about the coming-of-age and traditional birth ceremonies. (Photo credit/ Adrianna Adame)

I found a climate change report regarding indigenous peoples I wanted to share. Here’s and excerpt from the Forum For Development Corporation With Indigenous Peoples:

The climate is changing; there can be no doubt about it. The reasons for these changes are not quite clear, but most of the experts agree that the climate changes we observe are man-made, at least to an important extent. Whatever their causes, we will all be affected by the changes in the climate. Some groups of people, however, will be affected more than others. They are those whose lives are most tightly linked to nature, people that are not sheltered in urban areas, or protected by more or less sophisticated devices that isolate them from the rhythms of seasonal variations or the consequences of natural catastrophes.

The category of “Indigenous peoples” covers human peoples that are quite different regarding lifestyles, the way communities are organised, their languages, or the kinds of environments they live in. But one of the common markers that define indigenous peoples relates to their proximity to nature in a material, concrete sense. About half of
the indigenous peoples of the world live in rural areas as hunters, gatherers, fishermen and farmers. Climate changes will in many cases have a powerful impact on their lives, and their ability to adapt to these changes are vital.

Jodi Rave

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear is the founder and director of the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance, a 501-C-3 nonprofit organization with offices in Bismarck, N.D. and the Fort Berthold Reservation. Jodi spent 15 years reporting for the mainstream press. She's been awarded prestigious Nieman and John S. Knight journalism fellowships at Harvard and Stanford, respectively. She also an MIT Knight Science Journalism Project fellow. Her writing is featured in "The Authentic Voice: The Best Reporting on Race and Ethnicity," published by Columbia University Press. Jodi currently serves as a Society of Professional Journalists at-large board member, an SPJ Foundation board member, and she chairs the SPJ Freedom of Information Committee. Jodi has won top journalism awards from mainstream and Native press organizations. She earned her journalism degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.