North Dakota Tribal Members Talk About Climate Change

WGBH, Teachers' Domain

In this short video segment Native Americans talk about climate change and how it impacts their lives as they experience unexpected changes in environmental conditions. They describe observed changes in seasonality, how these changes affect ecosystems and habitats, their respect for Mother Earth, and the participation of tribal colleges in climate change research projects.

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Notes from our reviewers

The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness. Read what our review team had to say about this resource below or learn more about how CLEAN reviews teaching materials.

This is a Northern Plains description of the effects of climate change. For viewpoints from other geographical locations, see resources in the CLEAN collection (Intuit, Navajo, and others). There is not much scientific climate content in this video. It could be used as a "prompt" to get students thinking about observations by Native Americans and why they would be important in understanding climate change.
Native Americans talk about their observations of a changing climate and the impact on the environment and animals. This video is not a rigorous scientific piece, but is more about the cultural perspectives and values--the human connection to climate change effects in the northern plains of the US. Comments from expert scientist: Scientific strengths: The background document outlines the difference between the terms 'climate change' and 'global warming'. The resource explains that any Indigenous populations hold unique knowledge about the environment, since their traditional subsistence lifestyle relies on the natural world for food, clothing, and materials. It also shows that the tribal members interviewed believe climate change is important to understand and that they do observe differences. There are great discussion questions to accompany this video. Concerns: Because it's an interview-type resource, there are some opinions that surface.