An historic event was held this week near the lower Colorado River, with more than 50 U.S. Indian tribes meeting to discuss the global warming crisis.
The Cocopah Indian Tribe and the National Wildlife Federation organized the two-day, initial Tribal Lands Climate Conference that opened Tuesday at the Cocopah reservation near Yuma, Ariz.
The Tribal Lands Climate Conference was an opportunity to unite tribal leaders from across the country with key decision makers in an open forum to discuss actions proactively addressing climate change," said Liz Pratt, a Cocopah Indian Tribe spokeswoman. She said the issues and challenges caused by climate change that were discussed currently affect, and will continue to affect, all tribes on a global scale.
Garrit Voggesser, manager of the National Wildlife Federation's Tribal Lands Conservation Program, said Indians are among the first to experience the devastating impacts of a changing climate, and are uniquely able to compare what's happening today with experiences spanning generations of understanding natural cycles and resources.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
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