Sicangu Lakota face the (Climate) Future

The Sicangu Lakota Oyate (Rosebud Sioux Tribe) have begun planning for its future in a changing climate, according to Tribal President Rodney Bordeaux. Led by the Sicangu Climate Crisis Working Group, the tribe will examine “every aspect of community life — our water, our air, our food, our sacred lands and special places, the way we teach our children — all will be affected by climate” said Phil Two Eagle, Chair of the Climate Crisis Working Group. Two Eagle added, “and we will look at all these areas for ways to live with the changes that we are already seeing, we must keep an eye on changing weather patterns within the 1851 and 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty Boundaries. We will also need to keep a close eye on the Oglala Aquifer as water will play a major role, what is happening to the south of us in Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska with farming and irrigation is draining the Oglala Aquifer at an alarming rate, our spiritual men have already foreseen extreme weather in the near future, we must prepare ourselves.”

 

“Lakota elders, schools and youth, ranchers and farmers, our water keepers, each of our twenty communities — all will have a voice” in identifying where climate affects us and what we might do to lessen those impacts, said Bordeaux. He further reminded Rosebud members of the near-failure of the Rosebud dam in 2012, and the flooding on the Lower White River in the early 2000’s when a key bridge was lost.

 

The program will use Lakota traditional knowledge and the latest climate projections and science. Rosebud has contracted with a team that includes SDSU, UC Boulder, and USGS to help access and interpret scientific information and combine it with Rosebud history and perspective. “They will help us look forward — to enable us to plan for change on our own terms,” said Two-Eagle. “And we will work closely with Sinte Gleska University and reservation schools, to be sure our youth are prepared for their time as leaders.”

 

The effort has begun, and will include meetings with all tribal elements, including REDCO and the schools, as well as virtual meetings across Rosebud’s twenty communities and a survey open to all members of the Rosebud reservation communities. The goal will be to identify where climate and weather will affect the tribe and its members, and to engage members on solutions.

 

“We need to prepare ourselves for the future as the Sicangu Lakota Oyate, we need the input of our elders to teach us about the traditional Lakota knowledge, we need to hear the stories about how much the climate has changed, and we as a Oyate need to make some changes for the future, the rest of the world are making movements to eliminate fossil fuels so let’s look forward and go towards electric cars, and installing solar to all of our homes on the reservation. The way the climate is going we are looking at hotter days and droughts in our region and this will affect everyone. The number one resource will be water, so we need to decide how we will protect our water, in the future you may not be able to wash your cars or fill up those swimming pools you have in your yard. Unless we start doing are part to lessen our carbon footprint then we are part of the problem, if we take a proactive approach then we will be doing our part so this Adaptation Plan will guide our Tribal Council to make some strategic decisions ”said Two Eagle.

 

Please direct any questions or thoughts to Philimon Two Eagle, Executive Director, Sicangu Lakota Treaty Council, Chair of the Sicangu Climate Crisis Working Group at phil.twoeagle@rst-nsn.gov or call (605) 747-2381 extension 390.

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