Tribal and Indigenous communities in the United States have long maintained a close relationship with the land, sustaining themselves and their traditions and culture through stewardship. However, this connection to the land leaves them especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Being at the forefront of climate change impacts, Native communities are leaders in climate adaptation work. Recognizing their knowledge and experience with climate change, the Climate Adaptation Science Center Network (CASCs) has engaged with Native communities to understand their science needs and work together to build their adaptation planning capacity. 

These activities and efforts have been detailed in a recent report, “Training and Capacity Building Activities of Climate Adaptation Science Centers for the Benefit of Tribal and Indigenous Communities, 2010–2019.” The CASCs have collaborated with many tribes to develop trainings and workshops to identify knowledge gaps on climate impacts and build capacity for adaptation planning. However, these activities were not consistently implemented, as different communities have different stakeholders, knowledge bases, and adaptation needs. This report identifies the activities that could be developed to have broader relevance for other communities and agencies, creates a repository for those materials and trainings, and shares them in a complementary Tribal and Indigenous Projects Data Sheet. The report also assesses how each CASC has engaged in these trainings and provides recommendations for how the CASCs could improve trainings across the entire network. 

This report was led by the North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center.