Guide on Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples

Change ofTechniques• Freezing vs.drying, irrigationvs. rain-fedagriculture• Food isbrought backto communitiesmore often inthe summer tostore in freezersChangeof climatepatternsThe Gitga’at in British Columbiatraditionally sun-dry their food but nowfreeze their food or dry them indoorsbecause of unreasonable wet spells.Change ofLocation• Shiftingagriculturalactivities and/or settlementsto new locationsless susceptibleto climaticconditions• Relocation ofindividual homesand villages,infrastructureand watersupplyAcuteclimaticcrises andlong termclimatechangesThe Makushi of Guyana move fromtheir savannah homes to forest areasduring drought to plant cassava.The indigenous peoples of theLateau settlement in Vanuatu andFalealupo and Papa in Savai’i, Samoaabandoned their settlements for higherground after their communities havebecome uninhabitable due to floodingand tropical cyclones.Several indigenous villages of Alaskaare currently actively trying to findout where they could move theirentire communities that are nowbecoming inhabitable due to thawingof permafrost, erosion and large wavesslamming against the western andnorthern shores of Alaska.Changes inResourcesand/orLifestyle• Resorting to wildfoods• Adjustmentof livelihoodand lifestyleto changingclimate patterns• Reducedapplicationof traditionalknowledge inday to day lifeand survivalEmergencysituationssuch asdroughts,floods,frosting orexcessiverainfallNormally reliant on agriculture, theKenyah of Borneo switch to extractingstarch from wild Sago palms during ElNino droughts.The Saami people are feeding theirreindeer with hay and fodder whenlichens are being encapsulated with icedue to winter rain. Reindeer herding isvital to their subsistence and economy.Further, the elders do not trust theirweather reading skills anymore. Thus,their traditional practices are not beingpracticed anymore.In the El Niño droughts of 2005,indigenous peoples in the Amazonbasin switched to a reliance on fish.PART IV: Adapting to Climate Change: Indigenous Peoples Show the Way 45