2017 Tribal College Series on Climate Change

Pawnee Nation College will host the 2017 Tribal College Series on Climate Change March 30-31, in Pawnee, Oklahoma. The theme of the conference is “Sovereign Leadership and the Responsibility of Resource Protection.” 

The initial conference in the series, with a theme of “Water and Food Security,” was hosted by College of Muscogee Nation last year. 

Dr. Kyle Powys Whyte, a member of Citizen Potawatomi Tribe, will serve as the luncheon keynote speaker. Dr. Whyte holds the Timnick Chair in Humanities at Michigan State University. He is also Associate Professor of Philosophy and Community Sustainability, a faculty member for the Graduate concentration program in Environmental Philosophy & Ethics, and a faculty affiliate of the American Indian Studies and Environmental Science & Policy programs. His primary research addresses moral and political issues concerning climate policy and Indigenous peoples, as well as the ethics of cooperative relationships between Indigenous peoples and climate science organizations. This research has recently extended to cover issues related to food sovereignty and justice. 

Selected tribal leaders from north-central Oklahoma are being invited to discuss their nations’ resource management plans and to provide information on their plans for resource protection. 

The opening date of activities is Thursday, March 30 at Pawnee Nation College’s Leading Fox Hall. Registration is from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Lunch and all additional activities for Thursday and Friday will take place in Roam Chief Hall and the gymnasium.  

The conference is funded by an award from Oklahoma NSF EPSCoR.

Questions may be addressed to Michael Burgess at mburgess@pawneenationcollege.org or Todd Fuller at tfuller@ou.edu.