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Climate Change and Human Health Literature Portal How Indigenous communities are adapting to climate change: Insights from the climate-ready tribes initiative

Climate Change and Human Health Literature Portal

Schramm PJ, Al Janabi AL, Campbell LW, Donatuto JL, Gaughen SC
2020
Health Affairs. 39 (12): 2153-2159

Climate change directly threatens human health, with substantial impacts on Indigenous peoples, who are uniquely vulnerable as climate-related events affect their practices, lifeways, self-determination, and physical and cultural health. At the same time, Indigenous communities are leading the way in innovative health-related climate change adaptation work, using traditional knowledges and novel approaches. In 2016 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Indian Health Board created the Climate-Ready Tribes Initiative to support these efforts. The initiative has funded tribes, shared information nationally, and supported a learning cohort, resulting in pioneering work to protect health from climate hazards. We describe how two tribes-the Pala Band of Mission Indians and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community-implemented their Climate-Ready Tribes Initiative projects, and we provide recommendations for making climate and health policy more effective for tribes. Lessons learned from the Climate-Ready Tribes Initiative can inform climate and health policy and practice nationwide.

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Resource Description

    General Exposure
    United States
    General Health Impact
    Review Article
    Adaptation, Vulnerable Population
    • Adaptation, Vulnerable Population: Intervention, Vulnerability Assessment
    • Adaptation, Vulnerable Population: Indigenous People
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