Many of the people from the coastal area, the Tribes we collaborate with and the Lowlander Center members have been participants, supporters and leaders within the Rising Voices community. From the Rising Voices website:
The Rising Voices program facilitates intercultural, relational-based approaches for understanding and adapting to extreme weather and climate events, climate variability and climate change. The program brings Indigenous and other scientific professionals, tribal and community leaders, environmental and communication experts, students, educators, and artists from across the United States, including Alaska, Hawai'i, and the Pacific Islands, and around the world, to assess critical community needs and to pursue joint research aimed at developing optimal plans for community action towards sustainability. Rising Voices acknowledges the inherent value of Indigenous knowledge systems and Indigenous science, adaptive practices and processes, honoring them equally with Earth sciences.
At its core, Rising Voices aims to advance science through collaborations that bring Indigenous and Earth (atmospheric, social, biological, ecological) sciences into partnership, supports adaptive and resilient communities through sharing scientific capacity, and provides opportunities for Indigenous students and early career scientists through scientific and community mentoring. Further, it helps Western-trained scientists expand their observational skills, research paradigms, capacity to apply and translate findings, and ultimately their science.
The program - through an annual workshop series, knowledge exchanges, trainings, and an active listserv - has facilitated the creation of new and continued intercultural adaptation partnerships based on respect, justice, equality, and reciprocity that address our changing climate.