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Local News
Sisk-Franco explained that she came here for the first-ever Tribal Lands Climate Conference in hopes of finding more American Indians who know that science isn't the only way to stop global warming. Ancient songs and dance hold the magic of healing, too. "I'm hoping to meet other people who first, carry their traditions and have been listening to Mother Nature," she said, "and, second, maybe get together with them to decide how to do what needs to be done in different parts of the country." Sisk-Franco, leader of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe in Northern California, joined leaders from more than 50 other American Indian tribes on Tuesday to begin the Tribal Lands Climate Conference, the first event of its kind to bring together native peoples to discuss this single concern. Tribal leaders traveled from as far away as the Aleutian Islands near Alaska to attend the event, which was hosted by the Cocopah Indian Tribe and the National Wildlife Federation. In addition to the Cocopah, local participation also included representatives from the Quechan Tribe, according to event officials. The Sun was previously given a list of attendees that did not include the Quechan Tribe. The National Wildlife Federation devotes a great deal of its environmental research to gathering American Indian tribes' "unique and invaluable view of environmental changes." The organization's sciences stress that tribes possess long-standing historical experiences with the planet’s cycles and were among the first people to document impacts on climate change. "We are now observing a multitude of indigenous knowledge that has been a powerful part of our scientific research program, as well as science from across the world," said Robert Corell, Ph.D., chairman of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. Corell began the two-day conference with a general overview of current global warming research, a presentation that carried a serious warning for tribal leaders who many not already be observing climate changes themselves. Corell emphasized that the issue of global warning is no longer simply a topic for environmental extremists, either. "I have the simple perspective that climate change and global warming really are no longer just an environmental issue. It's an issue of economics and well-being," the researcher said, "and it's moved to the center stage, from the scientific world and the environmental world, to all of us here on planet Earth." Corell added, too, that scientific findings show a more dire and immediate scenario than a doomsday event that will happen centuries from now. "We are going to be affected by massive changes that are occurring within the envelope in which we live," he said. Other speakers Tuesday, and on the agenda for Wednesday included American Indian experts on alternative energy, tribal conservation leaders, scientists and other various tribal leaders. Paul Soto, a tribal planner for the Cocopah, provided the opening prayer for Tuesday's gathering, while Cocopah Councilman Edmund Domingues provided the official welcome from the tribe. "We Native Americans take things such as land, the air and the water as sacred," Domingues said, lamenting the fact that the Colorado River once flowed mighty enough to carry large steamboats and now the river flow in places is no more than "just a little trickle." In his presentation, Corell pointed to numerous warning signs related to global warming, including these facts: •Glaciers are melting at rates unheard of in mankind's paleoscientific records. •Icebergs are breaking apart faster than ever before. •Arctic temperatures are climbing twice as fast as the rest of the world. •Tree lines are moving higher, a signal of warming environments. •Polar bears are dying at unprecedented rates. Corell said global warming presents a far greater threat than just a warming environment. Ocean levels will rise, he said, ocean currents will change, droughts will become more severe and both humankind and wildlife will likely suffer greatly. Sisk-Franco said she's convinced that life on Earth is headed toward some serious troubles. "We are in dire shape. In fact if people don't stop the direction we're going — the decisions they make about economic development — there won't be any economics," Sisk-Franco said. "Money won't fall like leaves from trees and people will be thirsty — no water. That's the bottom line. But as long as the government makes all this a myth, the masses just aren't going to get it." The tribal leader said that American Indians once deserved the stereotype of being lovers of the land, but that fact in many cases no longer holds true. "I think maybe 20 or 30 years ago it was more true," Sisk-Franco said, "but now the shift of direction in the tribes has kind of left behind some of the traditional ways. But I'm still hopeful about finding people from all the tribes who still know the songs for the sacred places, the songs for the rivers and have the dances for the ceremonies that help the land. In a spiritual light we really do have to sing to our waters." Darin Fenger can be reached at dfenger@yumasun.com or 539-6860.  |
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