Our Living Lands

Scientists and Iñupiaq hunters have been counting bowhead whales passing by the northernmost American town, Utqiagvik, for the past two months. It is part of an effort to evaluate the health of the whale population up north – and support subsistence in the area.

Rooted Waters is a film that highlights the work of a camp to connect Indigenous and Hispanic youth with the environment and showcases the natural beauty of Indigenous lands in New Mexico.

In its first six months, Our Living Lands has covered everything from the impact of climate change on ice in the Arctic to Indigenous cultural burning practices in California. For this special episode, Host Antonia Gonzales spoke with Producer Daniel Spaulding about some of Our Living Lands' highlights over the last six months.

Nationwide, tens of thousands of Indigenous households use firewood to help heat their homes. That’s why the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California is making sure their elders have the chopped wood they need.

Dogbane, a hemp plant with white flowers, was once a key part of Nimíipuu, or Nez Perce, culture. Nimíipuu people used the stalks for a variety of purposes, including bags and baskets. But after American ranchers and farmers moved in, the plant was largely eradicated from Nimíipuu lands.

In the Arctic, temperatures are rising nearly four times faster than the rest of the world. For Indigenous people in the Arctic, these shifts can be life-changing. How are they adapting to these changes?

For tribes in the Columbia River Basin, Pacific Lamprey are a key traditional food. But dams and climate change are threatening lamprey populations. Our Living Lands producer Daniel Spaulding spoke to Kanim Moses-Conner, a Lamprey Technician for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation about their lamprey conservation efforts.

Last year, four dams on the Klamath River were removed. For Indigenous nations in Oregon and California, it was a victory decades in the making.

Salmon were once a rare sighting in the Alaskan Arctic. But warming temperatures have made them more common up there, and climate change has also changed whale patterns. These shifts are being watched closely by scientists and Indigenous communities.

The Tanka Fund is an Indigenous led-nonprofit organization based in South Dakota that works with Indigenous ranchers across the country to return buffalo to their lands. This practice is important not just to the various tribes, but also for the environment.