Bringing Light to Darkness...

Having devoted over 16 years to climate change science and its adaptation, specifically focusing on Tribal Nations, I've walked through innumerable challenges. Learning about the risks, impacts, and vulnerabilities associated with not only climate change, but environmental contamination, rapid urbanization, and within the socioecological contexts of the human dimensions of not only perception, but also the collective momentum required to adapt, can be a very dark place.

My journey started fresh from a tribal college, where "deep ecology" - interrelations of human and non-human 'relatives' within a living landscape where dignity and respect for places was ingrained for millennia into hundreds, if not thousands of worldviews - was instilled into me along with the understanding that we're all in this together. However, this understanding clashed with the methodologies of the more mainstream ecological sciences and engineering graduate program I ventured into. I remember my first literature review, long before web-scraping, open-data, and quite frankly the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in the sciences was generally accepted yielded a stack of literature maybe an inch high... only a few scholarly articles. I figured the next best bet was to scan newspaper articles and analyze for content, but even that was incredibly challenging.

There was so much more knowledge out there, but that had not been articulated in a way that was tangible from an academic lens. Countless elders, knowledge-holders, and my literal relatives were telling me of the changes they were seeing, the need for adaptation, and especially this idea that mainstream society could learn from Indigenous peoples. But how? My first instinct was to hop in a car, and travel to different tribes and places that I had connections, and write down what folks where saying, where the needs were, and to aggregate these knowledges into something place-based and comprehensive and that could be shared in the literature and especially the various media as that seemed to be where the real reporting was happening. The problem was that I didn't have a car, and I learned about 45;46 CFR that required researchers to submit their research protocol not only to their institutional IRB, but also each tribal nation's IRB. So I started making phonecalls, and reaching out to different tribes to ask about their IRB but the question that I got almost unanimously across the board was "what's an IRB?" This highlighted why so very little literature existed from a tribal perspective or specific to tribal nations, was this requirement for building relationships.

To connect with tribes, to respectfully engage can require years - if not lifetimes - and for many tribes who are already significantly limited in resources, if an IRB didn't exist, that meant to do the honorable thing would be to help them build it. This doesn't fit nicely in a 2-year graduate program. But the climate isn't going to stop changing, and there are needs to be addressed. Moreover, building these relationships to obtain vital climate information often extended beyond a typical 2-5 year grant cycle, making it harder to procure funding and support from academics under the pressure to "publish or perish." Despite the changing landscape, which now recognizes the urgency of climate change and allocates more resources towards tribal climate resilience, challenges persist.

Back then, Indigenous Peoples' inclusion in scientific literature was scarce. My research, even after extensive searches, yielded minimal literature. The voices of countless elders and knowledge-holders resonated with the changes they witnessed and the significance of Indigenous teachings for mainstream society. But how to bridge this gap? Community science, I've come to realize, might be the antidote to these challenges. It's not just an alternative to the lengthy academic route but a more inclusive way of gathering and disseminating knowledge. It democratizes access to vital knowledge without necessitating long academic commitments. By collaborating with local citizens and equipping them with cutting-edge tools like AI, I aimed to empower citizens to gather, interpret, and share their unique climate insights with their relatives, neighbors, and communities.

The landscape is much different now, there are millions of dollars of funding for tribal climate resilience, more Indigenous Peoples that are graduating from STEM degrees, and climate change is more apparent then ever before, and access to climate data, projections, and sensing is exponentially more robust. Still, there are huge problems in capacity, in distribution of resources, and especially equity and balance for supporting the over 574 federally recognized tribes, not to mention state-recognized, unrecognized, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and especially the rural communities where the problems of climate and ecological destabilization impact people the most.

A good example is my own tribe, the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma. We're the 4th largest tribe in the US, but searching Google for "Muscogee Nation Climate Change," won't yield much. Digging into the National Climate Assessment, we're grossly underrepresented, and the ITEP State of Tribes and Climate Change (STACC) report luckily does have a bit of representation thanks to Jane Breckenridge and the Euchee Butterfly Farm in Bixby, OK. I started to realize that community science is not only more effective than traditional science within the academy, but it's the only way to get more folks involved without requiring folks with families, communities, and responsibilities to spend 10+ years in an academic program, that at best yields 2% of AI/AN of graduates with a Master's in a STEM field. I had the honor of working with a few citizens who recognized major problems on their lands, and shared with them everything that I knew on how to find information, and how to connect to local experts and communities of practice. But more importantly, I showed them how to use the most advanced tools such as AI to find information and literature, automatically analyze data, as well as generate reports, presentations, and how to connect this to their neighbors, their children and elders, and in a way that wouldn't require them to sacrifice their most precious resource, their emotional well-being.

I do my best to share what I know with the local community, and had the opportunity to speak in April at a Tribal Climate Resilience conference held at the Euchee Butterfly Farm. I utilized Oklahoma Mesonet data and projections to walk through changes in temperature and precipitation in 10 year increments over the next 100 years. I made sure to make the information relevant, respectful, and to describe where adaptation can occur at ground level (things like not mowing your lawn to increase biodiversity, biochar, etc.). But at the end, there were looks of absolute horror, and an elderly mother was crying. For many of these folks, this is the first time anyone had discussed the realities and risks with them, and especially for many who were literally my relatives.

I had another opportunity to speak this past September, and using the Climate Futures Toolbox with the help of Dr. Ty Tuff of ESIIL, had generated a much more precise projection, explicitly for Okmulgee county (rather than region), that utilized advanced regressions across tens of climate models. But when it came time to speak, my approach was completely different. I didn't want to come to them as a failed-graduate, or some kind of expert in the field, or as a showman... I wanted to be my whole self, my Authentic self, and to speak with them with kindness, humility, and grace. I first introduced myself, in Mvskokvlke, and who my relatives and ancestors were, and told them "I'm just some guy... Who am I to you? Am I an expert because I stand here holding a microphone? Do you trust what I say? How do you know I am not lying to you?" I asked them to listen to my words and make their minds up for themselves... in all honesty, that is the way of Knowledge at its very core. I connected on a human level, questioning the very foundation of expertise and knowledge.

Through introspection, I emphasized the importance of assimilating information critically and the inherent power of knowledge to instigate change. Ears hear a voice, the brain makes meaning from words and tone, and that meaning is integrated into the whole of one's individuated consciousness and becomes knowledge. Knowledge with especially pronounced meaning has Power, and that Power is shared with one's words and actions. So with that in mind, my sincere hope was to encourage those who would listen to embrace Goodness and Love. "Bringing Light to Darkness," is more than a poetic phrase, but a metaphor of the Power of information, of knowledge, of learning, and of education. This Power requires great care and responsibility. I asked them to think of their (our) ancestors, and asked how they knew what they were like? I didn't even talk about the climate change models, I didn't have to, they all knew what was coming, and what was needed was connection and hope.

Our ancestors across this planet faced adversities that most of us cannot even imagine today. There are many stories, of discovering fire for the first time... can you imagine how dark the nights must have been before fire? Ironically, can you imagine how bright the stars must have shown? Our relationship with fire was more than just about warmth; it represented the dawning of our consciousness. Mvskoke stories describe a great debilitating fog, a powerful metaphor for ignorance perhaps, and then there are the stories of our ancestors globally of great migrations, crossing oceans and lands, of wars and conquests, of agriculture and dogmas, of kings and philosophers, of heroes and heretics, and most recently of scientific literature... but how can we know any of it be true? So when I ask you (yes you reading this!) when you think about your ancestors - plural - what is coming to mind for you? Is it ancient farmers wearing buckskins and bandoleros or some other romanticized notion scene in a book or painting? Or perhaps, more likely, you think about something far less animated, and perhaps you remember your Grandmother, perhaps something she did nice for you, a story she told, a lesson she taught... a way of life.

We have plural identities - all of us - no one is truly singular. If you want to know what your ancestors were like, look into the mirror. We still are the way we were when you think about it. Our collective history tells tales of countless journeys, adventures, and legacies. but beyond the grandeur and glory of empires and dynasties, it is the everyday life of our ancestors that resonates deeply within us.

The stories passed down through generations serve as guiding lights, reminding us of where we came from, providing context for our present, and inspiring visions for our future. When we share our stories, our ancestral tales, we're not just reminiscing and recounting ancient times, but understanding the foundation of who we are. The imagery, poetry, traditions, and values embedded in these stories give identity to communities and ground individuals within shared cultural heritages.

For several Mvskoke and Euchee citizens, many are privileged to live in a traditional lifestyle, raised in ceremonial ways since childhood, with language and protocls serving as a foundation and way of understanding the nature of Being. But many of us were not afforded such a childhood nor path of life. There are many reasons why, trauma, neglect, removal, and survival... very recently it used to be dangerous to speak our languages and to practice ceremony was a criminal offense; in other countries it is still incredibly dangerous to do so. Many are fortunate to have been raised with a sense of tradition and culture, but let us remember the many others who were robbed of this privilege, and more importantly let us not discount their experience and the value of their stories and inclusion in our communities.

Today, when we talk of privelege, it is essential to recognize it not as a badge of superiority, but as a call to responsibility. Recognizing and understanding one's privilege means being conscious of the advantages one has, not to boast, but to bridge gaps and to foster inclusivity. And no individual has everything, this is why community is so absolutely critical. In our coming together, of elder and child, of different Peoples, of ways of knowing, backgrounds, knowledges, ethnicities, and being Good to one another, being kind and understanding of our differences, and spitting onto the ground our prejudices and egoistic senses of superiority, so that we may no longer perpetuate our own traumas, and recognize the divine Spirits that was as humans embody.

Everyone one of us has a lineage rich with stories, traditions, and wisdom. As we exist in Being, the sum of countless tales of endurance, of dreams, and sacrifices, let us remember the paramount importance of preserving and sharing this gift of consciousness; this Light in the Darkness. Let us honor our individual and shared knowledges, learn from our mistakes, be not bound by the behaviors of the past, but to let them serve as guidance for our future. With this Light, we truly understand our shared humanity and overcome the challenges of our current generation so that generations ahead may continue to persist with the privileges of Goodness and Love.

Mvto,

-PF