Tribal Resilience 2023 04 18
Channel: WSCS Sheboygan
Date: 2023-04-26

A program of the Mead Public Library Foundation and the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters
Mead Public Library, Rocca Meeting Room, Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Changes in the environment disproportionately impact tribal communities across the nation. Many indigenous communities depend upon a healthy environment for spiritual, ceremonial, medicinal, subsistence, and economic needs. Many tribal nations located in present-day Wisconsin maintain knowledge systems that relay the interconnectedness with the environment and lifeways. This presentation will touch on what traditional perspectives are and why they are important and vital to the environment in order to build resilience to the changes that are occurring.
Sara Smith is a citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and is the Midwest Tribal Resilience Liaison with the College of Menominee Nation - Sustainable Development Institute (CMN-SDI), in association with the Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (MW CASC). As the liaison for the Midwest, she works on facilitating stronger relationships between Tribes, climate researchers, organizations, academic institutions, and the MW CASC. In addition, she works with Tribes to build capacity and provides support by helping identify gaps and assisting with climate resilience efforts. Sara holds a Master of Science in Ecology from the State University of New York – College of Environmental Science and Forestry and an undergraduate degree in Biology and First Nation Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.