The accumulated knowledge of Native Americans is being incorporated into Interior Department efforts to help tribes respond to climate change, the department’s second-in-command said Monday.
Laura Daniel-Davis, Interior’s acting deputy secretary, moderated a panel at the United Nations’ COP29 conference in Azerbaijan about how Indigenous knowledge and practices can be incorporated into climate resilience efforts.
Daniel-Davis touted a number of efforts under the Biden-Harris administration, including department manual updates and a voluntary relocation program for tribes affected by climate change. She also spoke about widespread investments for tribes from the Inflation Reduction Act and bipartisan infrastructure law.
“Since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, we have leveraged the influence and decisionmaking of the department to really chart a new course for climate action, and one that is deeply rooted in Indigenous knowledge that tribes have garnered over millennia,” Daniel-Davis said.
