EPN Webinar - January 12, 2021: Dibaginjigaadeg Anishinaabe Ezhitwaad, a tribal climate adaptation menu
* By registering for this event, you will receive automatic program information including a link to resources shared during this program
Program Overview
Climate change has impacted and will continue to impact indigenous peoples, their lifeways and culture, and the natural world upon which they rely, in unpredictable and potentially devastating ways. Many climate adaptation planning tools fail to address the unique needs, values, and cultures of indigenous communities.
This EPN Virtual Event will feature five Tribal and non-Tribal authors of the Dibaginjigaadeg Anishinaabe Ezhitwaad: A Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu who co-developed the menu and have used it to actively re-shape landscapes through indigenous cultural lenses. While this Menu was created based on Ojibwe and Menominee perspectives, languages, concepts, and values, it was intentionally designed to be adaptable to other indigenous communities, allowing for the incorporation of their language, knowledge, and culture.
In addition, Dr. John Low (director, Newark Earthworks Center) will share about ways to connect these themes within an Ohio context, including through the Center’s work on Traditional Ecological Knowledge and the environment, and partnerships in Ohio with the U.S. Forest Service.
The Ojibwemowin title “Dibaginjigaadeg Anishinaabe Ezhitwaad” translates to “doing something based on the Anishinaabe way.”
Join this program to learn about:
• The process of developing the Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu by Tribal and non-Tribal authors
• How the Menu is informing ecological restoration, cultural and community development work in the Great Lakes Region
• Specific strategies to bridge barriers between tribal and non-tribal partners, as well as between tribal natural resource managers and local communities
• How to apply these lessons to the unique needs, values and cultures of indigenous and non-indigenous communities in Ohio, the Great Lakes Region and beyond
Agenda
9:55 a.m. Waiting room opens
10:00 a.m. Jeff Sharp, PhD, director, School of Environment and Natural Resources provides welcome remarks
10:10 a.m. Presentation by Ziigwanikwe Katy Bresette, Gidigaa bizhiw Jerry Jondreau, Sara Smith, Rob Croll, and Kristen Schmitt. This time will include an Audience Q & A session with participants.
11:10 a.m. John N. Low, JD, PhD, director, Newark Earthworks Center
11:25 a.m. Closing comments from Dr. Sharp
Speakers
Ziigwanikwe (Katy Bresette) is a member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe from the loon clan in Northern Wisconsin. Ziigwanikwe has lived and worked in various communities as an Ojibwe educator. She now resides in Northern Michigan with her partner and their children, exploring Ojibwe cultural and environmental education.
Rob Croll is a policy analyst in the Division of Intergovernmental Affairs at the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) where he coordinates the Climate Change Program and provides policy analysis and operational experience to the Conservation Enforcement Division. The GLIFWC Climate Change Program was created in 2015 with the goal of integrating Scientific and Traditional Ecological Knowledges in order to provide a more holistic and culturally appropriate approach to climate change adaptation in the Ojibwe Ceded Territories in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Prior to GLIFWC Rob spent nearly 20 years as a Conservation Officer with the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission, Bureau of Law Enforcement, retiring with the rank of Captain. His educational background includes a BS in Environmental Studies from Northland College and a Master of Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School. Rob is originally from southeastern Pennsylvania and now resides in northern Wisconsin in the 1842 Ojibwe Ceded Territory.
Gidigaa bizhiw (Jerry Jondreau) hails from the Wiikwedong, or the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC), where he currently resides with his family. Jerry began working with his Tribe’s natural resources department as a technician and has been involved ever since. Jerry received his Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry from Michigan Tech and returned to the reservation to establish the first KBIC Tribal Forestry Department. Now back at Michigan Tech, Jerry is the Director of Recruitment for Michigan Tech’s School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, which includes frequent guest lectures and co-teaching a few classes. Jerry and his family continue to exercise their treaty rights and continuously work to strengthen their relationship with and reinforce their responsibilities to our natural world.
Sara Smith is a direct descendant of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin and is the Midwest Tribal Resilience Liaison with the College of Menominee Nation - Sustainable Development Institute, in association with the Northeast (NE) and Midwest (MW) Climate Adaptation Science Centers. As the liaison for the Midwest, she works on facilitating stronger relationships between Tribes, climate researchers, organizations, and the NE/MW CASCs. In addition, she works with Tribes to build capacity and provides support by helping identify gaps and assisting with climate resilience efforts. Sara holds a Master of Science in Ecology from the State University of New York – College of Environmental Science and Forestry and an undergraduate degree in Biology and First Nation Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Ziigwanikwe Katy Bresette (second from the left), Sara Smith (fourth from the left), Gidigaa bizhiw Jerry Jondreau (fifth from the left, holding Josephine, his and Katy's daughter), and Rob Croll (sixth from the left).
Kristen Schmitt works for the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS) and the USDA Northern Forests Climate Hub. She works with partners on climate change adaptation planning for natural resources, as well as various training and educational events. A large part of Kristen's role with NIACS is thinking about how adaptation resources can help address the needs of different partners in regions across the U.S. This can include helping to develop new adaptation tools (like the Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu) that address different focus areas or perspectives.
John N. Low, PhD, director, Newark Earthworks Center, The Ohio State University at Newark
Dr. John Low received his Ph.D. in American Culture at the University of Michigan and is an enrolled citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. He is an associate professor in comparative studies at The Ohio State University – Newark, also teaching in history, American Indian studies, and religious studies. Dr. Low’s research interests and courses at the Ohio State University – Newark include American Indian histories, literatures, and cultures, Native identities, American Indian religions, Indigenous canoe cultures around the world, urban American Indians, museums, material culture and representation, memory studies, American Indian law, sovereignty, and treaty rights, Indigenous cross-cultural connections, critical landscape studies, and Native environmental perspectives and practices.
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We strive to host events that are inclusive and accessible to everyone. If you have a disability and require accommodations to fully participate in this activity, please reach out to Joe Campbell (campbell.844@osu.edu). Requests made five business days in advance will generally allow us to provide seamless access. However, we will make every effort to meet requests made after this time frame. You will be contacted by someone from our staff to discuss your specific needs.