{"id":117506,"date":"2025-03-07T09:29:01","date_gmt":"2025-03-07T09:29:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/activist\/climate-change-is-making-it-harder-for-tribes-to-gain-federal-recognition\/"},"modified":"2025-03-07T09:29:01","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T09:29:01","slug":"climate-change-is-making-it-harder-for-tribes-to-gain-federal-recognition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506","title":{"rendered":"Climate Change Is Making It Harder For Tribes To Gain Federal\u00a0Recognition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover alignfull is-light has-parallax has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b48786b5fef4f926edabde4a8ef6b416\" style=\"min-height:659px;aspect-ratio:unset;\"><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim-10 has-background-dim\" style=\"background-color:#82876f\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-cover-is-layout-2 wp-block-cover-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div id=\"article-title-block_feabfd92d1ea78af2b0a3dda92bcff0b\" class=\"article-title \">\n<div class=\"article-title__container\">\n<div class=\"article-title__eyebrow\">\n                            <span class=\"article-title__labels\"><br \/>\n                                        <span class=\"article-title__label\"><br \/>\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/subject\/environment\/\">Environment<\/a><br \/>\n                    <\/span><br \/>\n                                                            <span class=\"article-title__label-divider\"> \/ <\/span><br \/>\n                                                            <span class=\"article-title__label\"><br \/>\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/content\/photos\/\">Photo Essay<\/a><br \/>\n                                        <\/span><br \/>\n                                    <\/span><br \/>\n                                    <span class=\"article-title__label-divider\"> \/ <\/span><br \/>\n                                                                            <span class=\"article-title__date\">July 30, 2024<\/span>\n                                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-the-nation-dek article-title__dek secondary-dek\">\n<p aria-level=\"h3\" role=\"heading\">How climate change complicates the fight for Tribal Nations to prove who they are.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-the-nation-dek article-title__dek\">\n<p>Tribes seeking federal recognition so they can better address climate change face a catch-22 as climate change jeopardizes the documents they need for recognition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<aside aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"ad-block ad siderail-ad float-r-w-3 break-r-4\">\n<p>                                    <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thenation.com\/advertising-policy\" class=\"ad-policy\" target=\"_blank\">Ad Policy<\/a><br \/>\n                                    <\/aside>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">As a record-breaking hurricane headed toward the United Houma Nation\u2019s ancestral and current homeland, Melanie Liner was in the eye of an existential crisis. It was August 2021, on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, when a Category 3 storm named Ida was suddenly upgraded to Category 4, catching many by surprise. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/how-hurricane-ida-got-so-big-so-fast\/\">Fueled by warming ocean temperatures<\/a>, the storm had rapidly intensified in the Gulf of Mexico and stalled for hours in southern Louisiana. <a href=\"https:\/\/themargin.us\/features\/bayous-a-refuge-at-risk\">Those who could afford it<\/a> rushed to board their homes, pack their bags and drive out of town, often bringing along irreplaceable belongings and essential records: birth certificates, insurance papers, Social Security cards, and family photos.<\/p>\n<aside id=\"issue-aside-block-block_6efc733d4b2f5d760f65fb2d1b3272a6\" class=\"issue-aside-block  float-l-w-2\">\n    This article appears in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/issue\/september-2024-issue\/\">September 2024 issue<\/a>.<br \/>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Liner, one of the two archivists of the United Houma Nation, couldn\u2019t afford to leave either\u2014she only had a few hours to figure out how to protect one of the most irreplaceable things the Houma Nation had: their tribal archive.<\/p>\n<p>At 30 years old and with a degree in history from Nicholls State University, Liner was hired as a tribal archivist in 2020. When she saw the opening for what she describes as her \u201cdream job,\u201d she couldn\u2019t believe her luck. \u201cIt was just fate,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"650\" src=\"https:\/\/themargin.us\/features\/eroding-indigenous-sovereignty\/maps\/1?preview=true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Liner had always been passionate about her tribe\u2019s past, but she hadn\u2019t anticipated that her work as an archivist would also be key to the Houmas\u2019 future. That stormy August, she rushed over to the Old Settlement School, a frail wooden building that had served as the only school for Native children in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lafourchegazette.com\/columns\/louisiana_dread\/louisiana-dread-the-history-of-golden-meadow\/article_dd229df6-ad3d-11ed-9408-63d3d01fe7b4.html\">Lafourche Parish<\/a> during segregation. Liner\u2019s own grandmother had studied there. The old school was a symbol of the nation\u2019s fight for education and its centuries-long resistance to colonial forces and institutional racism. The building had since become their enrollment office and a makeshift archival library, housing historical and genealogy records as well as legal documents and artifacts.<\/p>\n<p>The roof needed to be replaced, and Liner \u201cwas scared it would rain in some place,\u201d she says. So she rushed to wrap computers, documents, and artifacts like traditional baskets and wood carvings in large garbage bags. \u201cI definitely improvised,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>But Liner\u00a0 was mainly worried about Houma\u2019s enrollment records: the files mapping each tribal citizen\u2019s ancestry and relation to the tribe. These records were stored in fireproof filing cabinets. She did her best to cover them with layers of heavy tarps, hoping that would be enough to keep the water out.<\/p>\n<p>As she stepped out of her office to shelter in place at home, Liner wondered whether the building would stand a chance against the storm and their tribal records would survive. \u201cI was tremendously concerned,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-burdened-by-bureaucracy\">Burdened by Bureaucracy<\/h3>\n<p class=\"is-style-dropcap\">Liner didn\u2019t have the resources to protect her tribe\u2019s archive ahead of time, in part, because the federal government does not recognize the United Houma Nation as a sovereign nation. The United Houma Nation is one of<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/products\/gao-12-348\"> about 400 Native tribes<\/a> in the United States that do not have this status. Federally recognized tribes have sovereignty over their land and engage with the US in a government-to-government relationship. With this acknowledgment, tribal nations can access federal funds, run their own health care and housing programs and, when a climate disaster like Hurricane Ida hits, declare a state of emergency and access post-disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignfull size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1803\" height=\"1203\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Hanusik-Earth-Rise-12.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-512944\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Hanusik-Earth-Rise-12.jpg 1803w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Hanusik-Earth-Rise-12-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Hanusik-Earth-Rise-12-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1803px) 100vw, 1803px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Eroded marshland in Terrebonne Parish in 2022, where Ida devastated 60 percent of homes.<span class=\"credits\">(Virginia Hanusik for The Margin)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Federally recognized tribes also get access to more funding to build their own centers, archives, and museums to protect their legacy. Historical records are considered essential evidence to obtain federal acknowledgment\u2014a status that many believe is essential for tribal nations\u2019 long-term survival, particularly as climate change threatens both Indigenous people and their preservation efforts. Without the resources that come with the federal acknowledgment, many tribes are trapped in a catch-22: The federal funding that would help maintain their archives hinges on a preservation effort many unrecognized tribes need federal resources to carry through.<\/p>\n<p>Federal recognition can be obtained through acts of Congress, court decisions, or a seven-pronged petition process, which involves a byzantine bureaucratic procedure that has been criticized by scholars and Indigenous rights activists as representing yet another colonial tool to deprive tribes of key resources. The process\u2014which has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/event\/109th-congress\/senate-event\/LC13282\/text\">called<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indian.senate.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/Testimony%20NCAI%20-%20SCIA%20-%20Tribal%20Priorities%20-%202023-03-08.pdf\">broken<\/a> by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.doi.gov\/ocl\/hearings\/114\/tribalrecognition_042215\">several members<\/a> of the US Senate Committee on Indian Affairs\u2014requires tribes to present thousands of centuries-old written records proving their Indigenous identity and connection to the land\u2014a challenging endeavor for tribes who have historically only relied on oral history. \u201cThe evidence component is just impossible to fulfill,\u201d says Maria Montenegro, assistant professor of Indigenous and Native American studies at the University of California\u2013Irvine, who\u2019s worked with several tribal nations to file their petition for federal recognition.<\/p>\n<p>The United Houma Nation has been trying to establish itself through the Bureau of Indian Affairs since 1979. Even when tribes manage to present their records, they often have to wait decades for a decision, like the Houma, who are still fighting for federal acknowledgment after a 1994 preliminary finding established that the tribe did not meet three of the seven criteria to be acknowledged federally.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2047\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Hanusik-Earth-Rise-52-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-512945\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Hanusik-Earth-Rise-52-scaled.jpg 2047w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Hanusik-Earth-Rise-52-768x961.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Hanusik-Earth-Rise-52-1228x1536.jpg 1228w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Hanusik-Earth-Rise-52-1637x2048.jpg 1637w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2047px) 100vw, 2047px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lanor Curole inside the UHN Headquarters<span class=\"credits\">(Virginia Hanusik for The Margin.)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe unfortunate thing is for us, we have to prove who we are,\u201d says Lanor Curole, the United Houma Nation\u2019s tribal administrator.<\/p>\n<p>And as tribes like Curole\u2019s slog through the process, climate change is an active threat to tribal record preservation.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-houma-nation-map\">Houma Nation Map<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"650\" src=\"https:\/\/themargin.us\/features\/eroding-indigenous-sovereignty\/maps\/2?preview=true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Ida brought unprecedented devastation. Thirteen thousand homes were destroyed <a href=\"https:\/\/tpcg.org\/files\/main\/Terrebonne-Long-Term-Recovery-Plan.pdf\">in Terrebonne Parish<\/a>, and 75 percent of buildings were destroyed in <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/ida-latest-69-dead-states-power-slowly-returns\/story?id=79870885\">Lafourche Parish<\/a>\u2014two of the worst-affected areas, which are also home to the highest concentration of Houma citizens in southern Louisiana\u2014were damaged or destroyed. Many tribal citizens lost their homes, their cars, and their boats, which for those working in the local shrimp industry meant losing their livelihood.<\/p>\n<p>The United Houma Nation sprang into action, distributing food and water and helping with rescue operations. But among the chaos, water, and debris, Houma citizens like Liner also had to face another emergency: bringing their historical and genealogy records to safety.<\/p>\n<p>On a rainy day, not even a week after the hurricane had ravaged the area, when most houses still had no water and no electricity, Liner and her colleague, fellow tribal archivist, Kathleen Bergeron, were back at their office. At 69, Bergeron, who <a href=\"https:\/\/unitedhoumanation.org\/uhn-mourns-the-passing-of-tribal-archivist-kathleen-bergeron\/\">passed away in 2023<\/a>, had dedicated much of her life to protecting and preserving tribal records. Together with other volunteers, the two archivists stood beneath the leaky ceiling, fighting the oppressive late summer heat, to try to retrieve thousands of documents and preserve their history.<\/p>\n<p>Like many other buildings in the area, the Old Settlement School had flooded, which put the United Houma Nation in a race against time. Ida\u2019s powerful gusts had blown away shingles, part of the ceiling had collapsed, and water had penetrated the fireproof cabinets that held tribal citizens\u2019 genealogy documents.<\/p>\n<section id=\"popular-block_b7738f3ed63510ebb48af5052e63bd90\" class=\"popular-articles\">\n<div class=\"swiper\">\n<p><h2>Popular<\/h2>\n<p>            <span class=\"swipe-msg\"><span class=\"sr-only\">\u201cswipe left below to view more authors\u201d<\/span>Swipe \u2192<\/span>\n        <\/p>\n<ol class=\"popular-articles__list\">\n<li class=\"popular-articles__list-item swiper-slide\">\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"popular-articles__list-item swiper-slide\">\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"popular-articles__list-item swiper-slide\">\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"popular-articles__list-item swiper-slide\">\n<\/li>\n<\/ol><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>For centuries, historical records have been destroyed by the elements. The Houma, for example, lost some important records documenting their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bia.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/dup\/assets\/as-ia\/ofa\/petition\/056_uhouma_LA\/056_pf.pdf\">connection to their land<\/a> in a devastating fire in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houmatoday.com\/story\/news\/2003\/06\/18\/devastating-1887-fire-in-houma-recalled-in-new-orleans-newspaper\/26810205007\/\">1887<\/a>. Several <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wvtf.org\/government-politics\/2015-03-27\/effort-to-achieve-federal-recognition-for-virginia-tribes-gains-traction\">Virginia tribes<\/a> also struggled to fulfill the requirements to obtain federal acknowledgment, as courthouses held documents that could serve as evidence of their presence on the land burned during the Civil War. Losses like these have been grounds for the federal government to deny tribal nations federal recognition.<\/p>\n<p>Tribal records aren\u2019t any safer today. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/science.abe4943\">2021 research<\/a> paper published by <em>Science<\/em>, a peer-reviewed academic journal from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, found that centuries of land dispossession, forced migration, and removal perpetrated by white European and American settlers, pushed tribal nations to some of the country\u2019s least desirable lands. Most of these areas are also disproportionately exposed to climate change. Forty-two percent of the tribes taken into consideration aren\u2019t federally or state-recognized, and have no access to resources for climate adaptation, nor aid after a climate catastrophe.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignfull size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4910-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-512947\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4910-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4910-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4910-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4910-1-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Oceanside View (aka Washaway Beach), a beach that is in the process of eroding.<span class=\"credits\">(Chona Kasinger for The Margin)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>When climate disasters strike, tribal records are also threatened, potentially stymying Indigenous people\u2019s chances to access the federal resources they need to survive. What\u2019s more, these disasters can also displace citizens, shatter communities, and threaten cultural practices that have been passed down for hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of years. Scholars say that, in a vicious circle, this too can create new obstacles to federal recognition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf climate change has disrupted ecosystems or relationships between people and ecosystems, it becomes all that much harder to demonstrate that those lines of connection to land and water still exist today,\u201d says Ryan E. Emanuel, a climate scientist at Duke University and a member of the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignfull size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4813-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-512948\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4813-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4813-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4813-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4813-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Women dancing during a salmon ceremony in Warrenton, Oregon, on June 14, 2024.<span class=\"credits\">(Chona Kasinger for The Margin)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-this-may-not-be-here-forever\">\u2018This may not be here forever\u2019<\/h3>\n<p class=\"is-style-dropcap\">On a cloudy Friday morning in mid-June, dozens of members of the Chinook Indian Nation gathered for their yearly First Salmon Ceremony, in Tansy Point, at the mouth of the Columbia River, in Oregon. As part of the celebration, this Indigenous nation that is unrecognized by the federal government honors its fishermen, as well as its connection with the land.<\/p>\n<p>It was here in 1851 at this clearing surrounded by thick vegetation that blocked the view of the river that the tribe\u2019s leaders negotiated a treaty with the US government that was supposed to grant them control over their land. Tony Johnson, the nation\u2019s chairman, says that on that historical day, tribal leaders summoned all their members, including elders and children. \u201cIt\u2019s the only place in the world where we know all of our ancestors were at one moment in time,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignfull size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2250\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4616.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-512949\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4616.jpg 2250w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4616-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4616-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4616-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2250px) 100vw, 2250px\"\/><figcaption><span class=\"credits\">(Chona Kasinger for The Margin)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Tribal citizens brought their children to the salmon ceremony, allowing them to skip their last day of school. The ceremony was also an opportunity for many to reconnect, as they gathered in front of a fire to roast and celebrate the first salmon of the season. Attendees danced, sang traditional songs, and offered remarks to honor their land, fishermen, and ancestors. Many who\u2019ve moved away returned for the ceremony. Carlee Wilson, a 35-year-old member of the Chinook Nation, flew back from Georgia, where she moved because she could no longer afford the rising cost of life in Seattle. \u201cIt\u2019s important for me to be here because this may not be here forever,\u201d she says. \u201cIn the realm of climate change, this could disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-chinook-indian-nation-map\">Chinook Indian Nation Map<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"650\" src=\"https:\/\/themargin.us\/features\/eroding-indigenous-sovereignty\/maps\/3?preview=true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>About 40 miles north, on the Coast, the nation\u2019s headquarters, a flimsy wooden house in Bay Center, Willapa Bay, lies on a thin strip of land about, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. The area, where thousands of the tribe\u2019s records are held in boxes, storage units, and various buildings, is exposed to severe risk of<a href=\"https:\/\/msc.fema.gov\/portal\/search?AddressQuery=3%20E%20Park%20St%2C%20Bay%20Center%2C%20WA%2098527\"> flooding<\/a> and increased average high tide. It is projected that flood levels may be between three feet, five inches to four feet, one inch <a href=\"https:\/\/www.co.pacific.wa.us\/dcd\/images\/PC\/2023.06.01%20Draft%20SLR%20Assessment_5_23_23_Draft.pdf\">by 2050<\/a>. Blue signs alerting passersby of the tsunami zone dot the land surrounding the nation\u2019s headquarters. The sea-level rise can increase the intensity and frequency of a future tsunami.<\/p>\n<p>Rachel Cushman, secretary and treasurer of the Chinook Indian Nation, says that preserving its historical records from the elements is a never-ending worry. \u201cIt\u2019s something that\u2019s constantly on our mind,\u201d Cushman says.<\/p>\n<p>Cushman is a descendant of <a href=\"https:\/\/chinooknation.org\/chinook-renew-ties-with-hereditary-homeland\/\">Chief Wasilta<\/a>, a tribal leader who negotiated and signed the 1851 Tansy Point treaties with the US government.<\/p>\n<p>The treaties should have ensured the nation\u2019s federal acknowledgment, granting them sovereignty over some of their ancestral lands, but, as it happened with many other Indigenous nations, Congress never ratified the treaty, leaving the Chinook Nation without legal status. What followed was a centuries-long fight for recognition.<\/p>\n<p>In 1979, the Chinook filed an official petition for recognition with the Office of Federal Acknowledgment. The nation presented over 81,000 documents to prove their case.<\/p>\n<p>In January 2001, the Clinton administration, in its final weeks in office, finally approved the Chinooks\u2019 petition for federal recognition. But the status didn\u2019t last long. The nearby federally recognized Quinault Indian Nation, who feared losing control over some of their land and resources, and had opposed the Chinook\u2019s quest for recognition, filed an appeal with the Department of Interior\u2019s Board of Indian Appeals.<\/p>\n<p>Eighteen months later, the Bush administration reversed the decision, stripping the Chinook\u2019s recognition away and changing the trajectory of the nation and of Cushman\u2019s life.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignfull size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2250\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4614.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-512950\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4614.jpg 2250w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4614-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4614-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4614-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2250px) 100vw, 2250px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rachel L. Cushman, secretary and treasurer of the Chinook Nation Council photographed at a salmon ceremony in Warrenton, OR on June 14, 2024.<span class=\"credits\">(Chona Kasinger for The Margin)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Federally recognized tribal nations have often opposed the acknowledgment of other tribes. \u201cColonialism has created this perception and probably reality that federal resources are finite for tribal nations,\u201d Emanuel explains. Emanuel\u2019s tribal nation, the Lumbee, has also been seeking federal recognition for decades. In 1956, Congress acknowledged it as a tribal nation but denied it the sovereignty and benefits. \u201cI would imagine that some tribes are very protective of those resources and don\u2019t want to have to divide those subpar resources even further,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>When the Chinook were stripped of their acknowledgment status, Cushman was 15 years old and wanted to become a fisheries biologist when she grew up. She had just gotten a summer job as an apprentice at the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.<\/p>\n<p>One early morning in July 2002, as she was getting ready for work, she heard a gasp from the kitchen, where her mother was reading the paper. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d Cushman asked. Her mother had just read they were losing their hard-won status. She took her coffee cup and shattered it in the sink. The coffee went everywhere.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just felt broken,\u201d Cushman remembers. \u201cMy mom, you know, she and I hugged in the middle of the kitchen, coffee everywhere, we didn\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That morning at work, Cushman put on a pair of heavy 1990s headphones and tried to avoid talking to anyone. A colleague approached her: \u201cI heard what happened,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m sorry you\u2019re not an Indian anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The news of losing recognition was so devastating to some, that they decided to cut their hair in a sign of mourning and protect the most vulnerable from it. \u201cThere was an elder who was in an elderly care facility who was just so happy when they found out that they got acknowledged that we never told them before they died,\u201d Cushman says. \u201cWe just let them go on and on believing that they were whole because that\u2019s really what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cushman has dedicated her life to holding the US government accountable for what her ancestors had been promised. She is well aware that being stripped of their federal status didn\u2019t necessarily mean being stripped of their identity, but she knows that being federally recognized will make a major difference for her tribal nation. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t mean that they tell me that I\u2019m Indian, I\u2019m still an Indian, but my tribe is not protected,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what federal recognition is about: protecting our future.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignfull size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2250\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4838.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-512951\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4838.jpg 2250w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4838-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4838-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4838-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2250px) 100vw, 2250px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Children participating in a salmon run at a salmon ceremony in Warrenton, Oregon, on June 14, 2024. <span class=\"credits\">(Chona Kasinger for The Margin)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A glimpse of what life under federal recognition could look like is offered by the Chinook\u2019s neighbors, the Shoalwater Bay Indian tribe, a federally recognized Indigenous nation based in Tokeland, about 40 miles north of Bay Center.<\/p>\n<p>The tribe recently received a $25 million federal grant to relocate their reservation away from the coast, in the hills, out of harm\u2019s way. \u201cI\u2019ve lived here all my life. Tokeland is all I know,\u201d says Quintin Swanson, chairman of the Shoalwater Bay Indian tribe. \u201cIt is disheartening that we\u2019re going to essentially lose our homeland, that we\u2019ve become so accustomed to. But I\u2019m also looking forward to a brighter future for our kids.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 2022, the tribe also built a <a href=\"https:\/\/mil.wa.gov\/news\/celebrating-nations-first-tsunami-vertical-evacuation-tower\">tsunami vertical evacuation tower<\/a>, which can provide refuge for over 400 people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHad we not been federally recognized, it\u2019s very unlikely that those funds would have come to us,\u201d says Risa Thomas, community development coordinator of the Shoalwater Bay Indian tribe.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignfull size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4924.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-512952\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4924.jpg 1800w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4924-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4924-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1800px) 100vw, 1800px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Signage leading up to the entrance of Shoalwater Bay Indian Reservation, a tsunami-ready community.<span class=\"credits\">(Chona Kasinger for The Margin)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-digitization-and-distrust\">Digitization and Distrust<\/h3>\n<p class=\"is-style-dropcap\">The Chinook have been working to protect their historical records for decades. Tony Johnson, the nation\u2019s chairman, said the nation had begun storing some of its key documents in a safe deposit box inland, far from the coast before his father became part of the Tribal Council in 1971. The box\u2019s location changed over the years, home to a physical copy of the nation\u2019s enrollment files and its current Constitution. \u201cJust like the basic bare bones, necessary items to reconstitute ourselves or like to be able to continue functioning in the event [of a disaster],\u201d Johnson says.<\/p>\n<p>Recently, the nation purchased a safe deposit box at a bank in Pe Ell, on the other side of the Willapa Hills \u201cat an elevation that will not be affected by the tsunami,\u201d Johnson said. Here is where the nation keeps the original so-called \u201cBlue Files,\u201d which document every ancestor between the 1790s (the first contact with European settlers) and the 1850s. The Blue Files are key for enrollment, as every new citizen must provide evidence that they\u2019re connected to those ancestors.<\/p>\n<p>While this is a step in the right direction, Johnson knows that the indefinite number of boxes of historical paper records scattered across different locations, including his home, can\u2019t be a permanent solution. \u201cIt\u2019s not ideal,\u201d he says, but he also feels that they\u2019re safer with him, as his house sits at about a 90-foot elevation\u2014the headquarters out on the bay is at about 40, by Johnson\u2019s estimations.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4542.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-512953\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4542.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4542-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4542-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/DSC_4542-1365x2048.jpg 1365w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chinook Tribe Council Chairman Tony Johnson photographed with his relatives at a salmon ceremony in Warrenton, Oregon, on June 14, 2024.<span class=\"credits\">(Chona Kasinger for The Margin)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Chinook have begun to digitize some of their key documents, such as their citizens\u2019 family trees, but most of their historical records, including the Blue files and their citizens\u2019 birth certificates have not been digitized yet. \u201cEvery one of these enrollment files should be digitized,\u201d Johnson says, but he acknowledges that \u201cthis is a pretty massive project.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cushman says that scanning all their records could cost them about $10,000, but the amount would go up if they were to hire an archivist, as they would like to attain a searchable archive.<\/p>\n<p>With no federal funding, the process could take years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDigitization efforts are expensive, they are time-consuming,\u201d says Maria Montenegro, a professor at the University of California\u2013Irvine. \u201cThey need specific equipment.\u201d Tribal nations, ones federally recognized and not, often partner up with universities and other institutions to build their digital archives. But Montenegro points out that since academia and other cultural institutions have spent decades extracting knowledge, data, artifacts, and even stealing ancestral remains, these relationships can be problematic.<\/p>\n<p>The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, a northern California tribe that is not federally recognized, has been partnering up with the University of California at Santa Cruz to develop climate adaptation projects. Despite the collaboration, the tribe remains wary of sharing some key information.<\/p>\n<p>Valentin Lopez, chief of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, explains that while some of the tribes\u2019 sacred sites are being threatened by coastal erosion, they decided to keep those locations confidential, after suffering massive looting both at the hands of private citizens and researchers. In 2019, the University of California\u2013Santa Cruz returned 21 boxes of funerary objects to the tribe. \u201cPeople will go out there with shovels and picks and start seeing what they can find,\u201d Lopez says. \u201cIf you look at UC Berkeley now, they still have the remains of 9,000 of our [Indigenous people].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Montenegro explains that the skepticism toward academic and cultural institutions often also translated into a hesitancy to digitize records.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTribes have been colonized, dispossessed, oppressed, suppressed in so many ways,\u201d Montenegro says. \u201cThere\u2019s that distrust of the digital that is very evident. The circulation of their knowledge is leaking out and that\u2019s taking power away from them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is why for many tribal citizens being in control of their own archival and digitization efforts is key.<\/p>\n<p>Waylon Coats, vice chair of the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation, a California tribe Indigenous to Mariposa County and Yosemite, California, took it upon himself to lead the nation\u2019s digitization efforts.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-southern-sierra-miwuk-nation-map\">Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation Map<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"650\" src=\"https:\/\/themargin.us\/features\/eroding-indigenous-sovereignty\/maps\/4?preview=true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Like the Houma, the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation has been seeking recognition for over 40 years and Coats says his tribe is rebutting this denial with the federal government. An anthropologist and archaeologist by training, Coats has been working on his tribe\u2019s digitization efforts for years, but accelerated the efforts after the 2022 Oak fire\u2014a devastating wildfire that burned about 20,000 acres west of Yosemite National Park\u2014ravaged the Miwuk community, destroying over 100 of the citizens\u2019 homes and some of their sacred gathering spots.<\/p>\n<p>Coats believes that digitization must be a priority for his tribe. \u201cIt\u2019s a way to protect ourselves, no matter how long it takes,\u201d he says. \u201cAnother fire,\u201d he says, \u201cIt could have devastating effects.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So Coats set up two groups of volunteers: One is in charge of digitizing the tribe\u2019s historical data and culturally sensitive archeological sites, and the other tribal legal documents and records related to their petition for federal recognition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re talking about thousands of documents: from our enrollment records to our archeological sites,\u201d says Coats. He acknowledges that copies of the tribe\u2019s key records are with the Office of Federal Acknowledgement at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which doesn\u2019t provide reassurance for the tribe, he says. \u201cIt took them 40 years to send us a preliminary finding. Do you think they\u2019re going to send us the papers that we\u2019re trying to dispute them with?\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-watch-wait-hope\">Watch, Wait, Hope <\/h3>\n<p class=\"is-style-dropcap\">\nIn the weeks following Hurricane Ida, Liner went back and forth to the Old Settlement School, saving \u201cany documentation still in good condition\u201d until the post-storm black mold finally took over the building.<\/p>\n<p>The United Houma Nation had managed to find a refrigerated truck that could take its records to a paper conservation lab in Texas for mold-prevention treatment. There was only one problem: The entire archive couldn\u2019t fit in the truck. Liner and Bergeron had a difficult call to make: \u201cWe couldn\u2019t save everything. So, we had to be very specific in choosing what documents were most important,\u201d says Liner. \u201cThe number-one thing, of course, was enrollment records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Water had penetrated the filing cabinets. Some records were damp but, thanks to the tarps that Liner had used to protect them, they were still legible. They spent hours boxing and organizing those records as well as other legal and historical documents and, of course, old photos.<\/p>\n<p>Over 200 boxes were loaded on the truck and sent to Texas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose are the core documents we need moving forward with federal recognition,\u201d says Curole. \u201cIt\u2019s the validation of all our lineage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What didn\u2019t make it onto the truck, Liner stored at her place, which had been miraculously spared by the storm. \u201cI was tremendously proud to store and save things at my own home,\u201d she says. Among her most precious findings: a collection of video interviews of Houma elders who are no longer alive\u2014a key component of the tribe\u2019s oral history.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to Liner and Bergeron\u2019s work, the tribe managed to save its enrollment records and much of its archive. But repairing the tribe\u2019s offices, which were all badly damaged by the storm, is still an ongoing effort three years later. Without functioning office space, their archive sits at that lab in Texas, throwing a wrench into digitization efforts. Curole says that, while the tribe managed to digitize many of its enrollment records, not having the source documents is problematic. \u201cElectronic documents are only as good as the data entry that took place,\u201d she says. \u201cSo, we\u2019ve got discrepancies and we\u2019re going back to source documents, but we don\u2019t have those right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignfull size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1840\" height=\"1228\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Hanusik-Earth-Rise-17.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-512954\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Hanusik-Earth-Rise-17.jpg 1840w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Hanusik-Earth-Rise-17-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Hanusik-Earth-Rise-17-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1840px) 100vw, 1840px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The interior of the United Houma Nation Headquarters in 2022.<span class=\"credits\">(Virginia Hanusik for The Margin.)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Tribal leaders, activists, and scholars have criticized the burden of historical record-keeping for people reliant on the tradition of oral history as a colonial tool that has been used for centuries to control Indigenous nations, police their identity, and limit their sovereignty.<\/p>\n<p>To remedy this after years of advocacy and criticism, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bia.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/dup\/assets\/as-ia\/pdf\/idc1-030769.pdf\">in 2015<\/a> the Department of the Interior revised the federal recognition requirements, allowing tribes to prove their existence dating back to 1900 rather than 1789 or since first contact with European settlers. Still, much of the process requires providing centuries-old written documents\u2014something increasingly more unattainable for those tribes at the forefront of the climate crisis.<\/p>\n<p>The Office of Federal Acknowledgement didn\u2019t reply to <em>The Margin<\/em>\u2019s requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p>In 2020, five tribal nations filed a human rights complaint against the United States. The tribes, four of which are not federally recognized and based in Louisiana near the United Houma Nation, claimed that by depriving them of federal resources, the US government failed to protect them, their self-determination, and their cultural heritage from climate change.<\/p>\n<p>Although the United Houma Nation wasn\u2019t among those who filed the complaint, its citizens are well-versed in bootstrapping recovery and cultural preservation efforts. Liner, who\u2019s been on the front lines of preserving her tribe\u2019s culture that Ida almost washed away, says it was painful to see the Old Settlement School so severely damaged.<\/p>\n<p>But instead of abandoning a key piece of their history, the Houma Nation <a href=\"https:\/\/unitedhoumanation.org\/uhn-wins-bid-for-historic-daigleville-school\/\">purchased<\/a> the building from the Lafourche Parish School Board in March 2024, about two-and-a-half years after the Ida. It was an act of defiance of climate disasters as well as the colonial forces that had been trying to displace and delegitimize their tribe. While the building is still undergoing repair, the plan is to transform it into a tribal center and a museum\u2014a testament to the tribe\u2019s commitment not just to its past but also its future.<\/p>\n<p>As Louisiana is bracing for what meteorologists predict could be an abnormally active Atlantic hurricane season, Liner tries to remain calm. She recently finished renovating her home and birthing her second child, which gave her a reason to plan for a future in the place where her ancestors lived. Her past is intrinsically connected to her future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just [the] same old,\u201d she says. \u201cI grew up in this area, like, we just watch and wait.\u2026 I\u2019m hoping.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-the-nation-editors-note\">\n<p>This story was published in partnership with <em><a href=\"http:\/\/themargin.us\">The Margin<\/a><\/em>. The reporting for this story has been supported by the National Press Foundation and the National Press Club Journalism Institute. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"article-end-\" class=\"article-end \">\n<div aria-hidden=\"false\" id=\"article-editor-note\" class=\"article-editor-note-1 tn-editor-none-module\" data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<div class=\"article-editor-note-blocks\" id=\"editor_note\">\n<p><span style=\"\\&quot;font-weight:\"><br \/>Donald Trump\u2019s cruel and chaotic second term is just getting started. In his first month back in office, Trump and his lackey Elon Musk (or is it the other way around?) have proven that nothing is safe from sacrifice at the altar of unchecked power and riches.<br \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\\&quot;font-weight:\">Only robust independent journalism can cut through the noise and offer clear-eyed reporting and analysis based on principle and conscience.<\/span> <span style=\"\\&quot;font-weight:\">That\u2019s what <\/span><i><span style=\"\\&quot;font-weight:\">The Nation<\/span><\/i><span style=\"\\&quot;font-weight:\"> has done for 160 years and that\u2019s what we\u2019re doing now.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\\&quot;font-weight:\">Our independent journalism doesn\u2019t<\/span> <span style=\"\\&quot;font-weight:\">allow injustice to go unnoticed or unchallenged\u2014nor will we abandon hope for a better world. Our<\/span> <span style=\"\\&quot;font-weight:\">writers, editors, and fact-checkers are working relentlessly to keep you informed and empowered when so much of the media fails to do so out of credulity, fear, or fealty.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\\&quot;font-weight:\"><i>The Nation<\/i> has seen unprecedented times before. We draw strength and guidance from our history of principled progressive journalism in times of crisis, and we are committed to continuing this legacy today. <\/span><span style=\"\\&quot;font-weight:\"\/><\/p>\n<p><b>We\u2019re aiming to raise $25,000 during our Spring Fundraising Campaign to ensure that we have the resources to expose the oligarchs and profiteers attempting to loot our republic. Stand for bold independent journalism and donate to support <\/b><b><i>The Nation <\/i><\/b><b>today.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\\&quot;font-weight:\">Onward,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\\&quot;font-weight:\">Katrina vanden Heuvel<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\\&quot;font-weight:\">Editorial Director and Publisher, <em>The<\/em><i> Nation<\/i><br \/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-end__authors\">\n<div class=\"article-end__author\">\n<h5 class=\"article-end__author-name\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/authors\/ottavia-spaggiari\/\">Ottavia Spaggiari<\/a><br \/>\n                    <\/h5>\n<div class=\"article-end__author-bio\">\n<p>Ottavia Spaggiari is a writer and investigative journalist.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"509a2f04879a95a3273762f7-text\/javascript\">\n\t\t!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n\t\t{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n\t\tn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n\t\tif(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n\t\tn.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n\t\tt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n\t\ts.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script', 'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n\t\tfbq('init', '233793277040432');\n\t\tfbq('track', 'PageView');\n\t\t\t\t<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Environment \/ Photo Essay \/ July 30, 2024 How climate change complicates the fight for Tribal Nations to prove who they are. Tribes seeking federal recognition so they can better address climate change face a catch-22 as climate change jeopardizes the documents they need for recognition. Ad Policy As a record-breaking hurricane headed toward the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":117507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12022],"tags":[7001,12647,52087,12734,18692,47476,2167,52086],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-117506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activist","tag-change","tag-climate","tag-federalrecognition","tag-gain","tag-harder","tag-indigenous-rights","tag-making","tag-tribes"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Climate Change Is Making It Harder For Tribes To Gain Federal\u00a0Recognition - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Climate Change Is Making It Harder For Tribes To Gain Federal\u00a0Recognition - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Environment \/ Photo Essay \/ July 30, 2024 How climate change complicates the fight for Tribal Nations to prove who they are. Tribes seeking federal recognition so they can better address climate change face a catch-22 as climate change jeopardizes the documents they need for recognition. Ad Policy As a record-breaking hurricane headed toward the [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-07T09:29:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC_4797-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"907\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"24 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"Climate Change Is Making It Harder For Tribes To Gain Federal\u00a0Recognition\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-07T09:29:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506\"},\"wordCount\":4823,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC_4797-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Change\",\"Climate\",\"FederalRecognition\",\"Gain\",\"Harder\",\"Indigenous Rights\",\"Making\",\"Tribes\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Activist\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506\",\"name\":\"Climate Change Is Making It Harder For Tribes To Gain Federal\u00a0Recognition - Som2ny Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC_4797-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-07T09:29:01+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC_4797-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC_4797-1.jpg\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":907},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Climate Change Is Making It Harder For Tribes To Gain Federal\u00a0Recognition\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"description\":\"Daily Deals\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":86,\"caption\":\"Som2ny Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Climate Change Is Making It Harder For Tribes To Gain Federal\u00a0Recognition - Som2ny Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Climate Change Is Making It Harder For Tribes To Gain Federal\u00a0Recognition - Som2ny Network","og_description":"Environment \/ Photo Essay \/ July 30, 2024 How climate change complicates the fight for Tribal Nations to prove who they are. Tribes seeking federal recognition so they can better address climate change face a catch-22 as climate change jeopardizes the documents they need for recognition. Ad Policy As a record-breaking hurricane headed toward the [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506","og_site_name":"Som2ny Network","article_published_time":"2025-03-07T09:29:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1440,"height":907,"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC_4797-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"24 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371"},"headline":"Climate Change Is Making It Harder For Tribes To Gain Federal\u00a0Recognition","datePublished":"2025-03-07T09:29:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506"},"wordCount":4823,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC_4797-1.jpg","keywords":["Change","Climate","FederalRecognition","Gain","Harder","Indigenous Rights","Making","Tribes"],"articleSection":["Activist"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506","name":"Climate Change Is Making It Harder For Tribes To Gain Federal\u00a0Recognition - Som2ny Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC_4797-1.jpg","datePublished":"2025-03-07T09:29:01+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC_4797-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DSC_4797-1.jpg","width":1440,"height":907},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=117506#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Climate Change Is Making It Harder For Tribes To Gain Federal\u00a0Recognition"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","name":"Som2ny Network","description":"Daily Deals","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization","name":"Som2ny Network","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","width":300,"height":86,"caption":"Som2ny Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/fivemor.com"],"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=117506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/117507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=117506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=117506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=117506"},{"taxonomy":"dealstore","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fdealstore&post=117506"},{"taxonomy":"offerexpiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fofferexpiration&post=117506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}