Welcome and Background

A symposium to inform the nation about the impacts of climate change on coastal indigenous tribes will take place at the National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., July 17‐20, 2012.

The symposium will bring together as many as 300 coastal indigenous tribal elders, leaders, scientists, witnesses, and other scientists and policy leaders from around the nation to discuss traditional ecological knowledge and what it can teach us about past, present, and future adaptation to climate change. Five regional panels of tribal leaders and tribal and Western scientists will examine how native people and their cultures have adapted to climate change for hundreds to thousands of years, and what their future — and that of the nation — may hold as the impacts of climate change continue.

Audience and Participants

A diverse group of coastal tribal leaders and witnesses from five identified regions will be invited to participate along with members of the scientific community, business leaders, appropriate military specialists (who have conducted research into the social effects of climate change), federal and state agency experts, non‐profit organization and university leaders, and national and international media organizations. Nationally and internationally recognized celebrities/personalities also may be invited to participate.