Unique Challenges Facing Southwestern Tribes discusses the effects of climate change on the lands and people of Native nations—from the perspectives of the diverse cultural, economic, legal, and governance approaches found in Indian Country—and highlights some initiatives aimed at reducing vulnerability and improving the preparedness, mitigation, and adaptive capacity on these lands.
Citation:
Redsteer, M. H., K. Bemis, K. Chief, M. Gautam, B. R. Middleton, and R. Tsosie. 2013. “Unique Challenges Facing Southwestern Tribes.” In Assessment of Climate Change in the Southwest United States: A Report Prepared for the National Climate Assessment, edited by G. Garfin, A. Jardine, R. Merideth, M. Black, and S. LeRoy, 385–404. A report by the Southwest Climate Alliance. Washington, DC: Island Press.
Margaret Hiza Redsteer (U.S. Geological Survey)
Kirk Bemis (Zuni Tribe Water Resources Program)
Karletta Chief (University of Arizona)
Mahesh Gautam (Desert Research Institute)
Beth Rose Middleton (University of California, Davis)
Rebecca Tsosie (Arizona State University)
Key Findings
Fewer cold waves and more heat waves occurred over the Southwest during 2001–2010 compared to their average occurrences in the 20th century.
Limited resources and poor economic conditions reduce the resilience and increase the vulnerability of Southwestern tribes to climate change.
Additional data are crucial to quantify the changes that are occurring or that establish baseline conditions for many tribal communities.
Impacts on Native lands and communities are anticipated to be both early and severe due to their location in marginal environments.
Tribes are taking action to address climate change by instituting climate-change mitigation initiatives, such as alternative-energy projects.
Figure Gallery
Figure 17.1: Map of southwestern United States showing tribal lands and the location of tribes discussed in text.
Figure 17.2: Map of the Navajo Nation (and lands of the Hopi Tribe) showing historic changes in perennial flow. The bold black line (shown with arrow) indicates where perennial stream flow exists today. Inset map shows location of Navajo lands, black diamonds specify locations of sacred mountains on the perimeter of Navajo traditional homelands. Data from reports by Herbert Gregory (1917), Hack (1942), Cooley et al. (1969) and USGS stream gauge data (after Redsteer, Kelley et al. 2010).
Figure 17.3: Photos of sand dune deposits on Navajo and Hopi land. a) Stabilized linear dunes, with local reactivation forming mobile transverse dunes; and b) Active sand dunes forming downwind of a dry streambed sediment source. Photo courtesy of Margaret Hiza Redsteer.