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Conservation efforts are more effective when Indigenous peoples and local communities are given more autonomy and involvement over their lands. That’s according to a new study published this month in the sustainability journal One Earth.

Researchers analyzed 648 studies of conservation areas between 1991 and 2020, about half of which had data on either the ecological or social outcomes of specific environmental protection efforts. Authors then categorized each conservation case based on the degree to which Indigenous peoples and local communities were involved, ranging from complete exclusion from the process to having full autonomy and decision-making power recognized by authorities. Researchers then conducted statistical analyses comparing the social and ecological outcomes of each case to determine trends across categories.

They discovered that even though including Indigenous peoples and local communities is often talked about as a moral or ethical imperative, it’s actually better for the environment. The researchers noted their findings have significant implications for ongoing global efforts to ramp up conservation and tackle climate change. READ MORE— Grist

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Delina White stood behind a standing rack of clothing, sifting through her designs for the night as anticipation swirled in the air backstage at Quincy Hall event venue in Northeast Minneapolis. Models slipped into their Victorian gothic-themed designs while makeup artists airbrushed once-bare faces. A white fold-up table was stacked with red Gatorade, Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and trays overflowing with fresh veggies, fruits and sub sandwiches. On the ground, Jada Samuels, Mille Lacs Anishinaabe, assembled a necklace made of sticks that she’d wear walking down the runway later during the show.

“I’ve never modeled before,” Samuels said. “I’m nervous but excited.”

Meanwhile, designers White and her daughter Sage Davis were out by the runway, choreographing each step with their models. White’s voice rings out with gentle guidance, urging her models to connect with the audience with intense, extended eye contact, to exude confidence with heads held high and shoulders back. She says to pause for 8 seconds at the end of the runway for cameras to click. Like a basketball coach in a locker room speech, she reminds them to take their time and enjoy the moment because they’ll only be up there for 2 to 3 minutes. White’s pride radiated as she watched her models effortlessly glide. “She’s amazing. Isn’t she beautiful?” READ MORE— Ella Roberts, Special to ICT

As the planet grapples with the ever-starker consequences of climate change, a debut book by Lumbee citizen and Duke University scientist Ryan Emanuel makes a convincing argument that climate change isn’t the problem — it’s a symptom. The problem, Emanuel explains in On the Swamp: Fighting for Indigenous Environmental Justice, is settler colonialism and its extractive mindset, which for centuries have threatened and reshaped landscapes including Emanuel’s ancestral homeland in what today is eastern North Carolina. Real environmental solutions, Emanuel writes, require consulting with the Indigenous peoples who have both millennia of experience caring for specific places, and the foresight to avoid long-term disasters that can result from short-term material gain.

Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1977, Emanuel was one of a handful of Native students at school. He spent summers visiting family in Robeson County, North Carolina, the cultural center of the Lumbee Tribe, or People of the Dark Water, where he played outside with other children, occasionally exploring a nearby swamp, one of the many lush waterways that slowly wind through the region, with a cousin. Today, Emanuel visits those swamps to conduct research. He describes them with an abiding, sometimes poetic affection, such as one spring day when he stands calf-deep in swamp water, admiring white dogwood flowers floating on the dark surface as tadpoles dart underneath.

But that affection lives with tension. Emanuel describes trying to collect “reeking” floodwater samples from a ditch after 2018’s Hurricane Florence. In Emanuel’s retelling, a nearby landowner — a white farmer who uses poultry waste as fertilizer — threatens to shoot Emanuel. The sampling, the man believes, would threaten his livelihood, which is wrapped up in North Carolina’s extractive animal farming industry — a system of giant, polluting “concentrated animal feed operations” overwhelmingly owned and operated by white people, and exposing mainly racial minorities to dirty air and water. READ MORE — Grist

Nina Polk stepped onto the muddy field, raindrops on the black lacrosse bag slung across her shoulder. She stood by the rest of her team, and laced up her white cleats and grabbed her black ashwood stick, its maroon leather pocket bound tight by twine. On this day in early May, they played for parents, healing and for the Creator. Not for what modern lacrosse is known for today: preppy, spendy and elitist.

The ball launched into the air for the Creator to see. For Polk, 21, traditional lacrosse is a healing game gifted by the Creator to connect prayer, nature and the people.

In 2014, Polk, Sicăngu Lakota, Diné, San Carlos Apache and Queschan, began playing traditional lacrosse with Twin Cities Native Lacrosse. TCNL was founded by John Hunter that year to teach more people about the game and for Native youth to have community. But Polk was not a fan of sports at the time. She says her high school basketball teammates snickered over jokes they made about her appearance: tall, dark skin, brown eyes, long brown hair. She was the only Native player. Polk became shy and quiet. Her mom, Dyani White Hawk Polk, encouraged her to try lacrosse, where among a Native community she could be herself. When she walked into the gymnasium, her eyes widened, intrigued by the wooden sticks. READ MORE — Taylor Fruetel, Special to ICT

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A favorite pastime is bridging communities and generations for New Mexico Pueblos. ICT’s Paris Wise has the story.

North of the Medicine Line, an Indigenous birding club at the University of Manitoba is helping folks connect with nature while sharing Indigenous knowledge. APTN reporter Cierra Bettens has more from the club’s weekly walk.

Tobacco is a sacred medicine for many Native Americans. However, commercial tobacco in smoking cigarettes, is not. In fact, the American Indian Cancer Foundation says that American Indian and Alaska Natives have the highest rate of smoking in the country. Wyatt Pickner, a research manager at the foundation talks with ICT producer Shirley Sneve about the issues.

Last year Wab Kinew made history after he was elected Premier of Manitoba, becoming the first Anishinaabe person to ever be premier of a Canadian province. Last week, up to 15,000 people attended the Manito Ahbee Festival in Winnipeg. Kinew hosted a men’s chicken dance special. APTN brings us all of the sights and sounds.

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RAPID CITY, S.D. – By the time she was 11, Tracelyn Strand had never missed a day of school. After receiving an attendance award that year, the elementary school student was featured on Good Morning America, ABC News and other national outlets for her record attendance.

After her appearance, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe citizen said she received thousands of comments telling her she’d eventually miss a day of school – she’d have to at some point, they said. Seven years later, despite challenges and a busy schedule, she’s still going strong.

“I heard so much about high school and how hard it would be. People told me I’d miss days, but I think those comments just motivated me,” Strand said.

When she walks across the stage Sunday and accepts her diploma from Rapid City Central High School, Strand will also celebrate 13 years without missing a day of school. READ MORE — Amelia Schafer, ICT + Rapid City Journal

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