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Native Peoples' Environmental Stewardship Endures Despite Federal Shifts
11 Oct
Summary
- Native Americans stewarded lands for millennia before 1970 Earth Day
- Tribal nations exercise sovereignty to protect air, water, and land
- Native scientists and managers collaborate to restore ecosystems
Native Americans have been environmental stewards for millennia, long before the 1970 Earth Day protests that spurred significant environmental protection legislation. As sovereign nations, they have used their authority to safeguard land, water, and air, often beyond their own borders.
In the 1960s, Native nations like the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in Montana began monitoring air quality and pushing for enhanced protections, influencing the 1977 Clean Air Act amendments. Over the decades, dozens of tribal governments have taken control of their air quality, with the Assiniboine, Sioux, Confederated Salish, and Kootenai Tribes also developing air monitoring programs.
Native nations have also exercised sovereignty over waterways, advocating for the removal of dams that decimated salmon populations relied upon for sustenance and cultural practices. The Nez Perce Tribe's Department of Fisheries Resources Management protects and restores aquatic ecosystems, even on non-tribal lands.
Despite federal funding cuts that have slowed scientific research on tribal lands, Native peoples' deep history and legal status as sovereign nations position them to continue their environmental stewardship, no matter the shifts in federal priorities.
