Aiming to spread awareness of the tribal sustainability partnerships that emerged following the November Indigenous Peoples Working Group meeting at Dartmouth, students and research fellows presented findings at a Thursday panel on tribal sustainability and Arctic protection initiatives.
Dartmouth's Climate Institute has since overseen six of these partnerships designed to address environmental issues and promote sustainability, said Ethan Forauer, the summer coordinator for the Center for Environmental Leadership Training. The center operates as the educational branch of the Climate Institute.
The Institute works closely with Native and Indigenous peoples throughout the U.S. and the world and utilizes Dartmouth's strong Native community to stay on top of cutting-edge research, said John Topping Jr. '64, the co-founder and president of the Climate Institute.
"As far as the U.S. is concerned, the people who are at the forefront of combating climate change are indigenous people," Topping said. "The Native American studies department at Dartmouth is one of the best in the world."
Each partnership and project has a team comprised of members from nationwide climate institutes, Forauer said. Dartmouth students have been involved with multiple projects and partnerships and are encouraged to get in contact with any team members working on a project they find interesting, he added.
At the panel, team members discussed their projects, including Katie Zhang '16 and Hope Wilson '16. Their current research focuses on the potential impacts and benefits of implementing hydropower in Alaskan Native villages.
The project helped Zhang see ways to apply her engineering major, she said.
"The environmental engineering classes you take, you just can't go test those concepts if you don't do something like this," Zhang said. "It's nice to see what actual engineers do instead of just learning about the concepts."
Wilson agreed, saying she appreciates the hands-on aspect of the research and the opportunity to work outside of the classroom.
Zhang and Wilson are currently making contacts in the region where they plan to implement their project and collecting population and infrastructure data. The two have connected with University of Alaska professor Tom Ravens '82 Th'83 as they determine the direction the project is heading.
Panelist and CELT graduate fellow David Kadoch is working on bringing hydroponic farming to the Hanover area. The goal of this agricultural technology is to increase the amount of harvest per square foot without the aid of soil, Kadoch said.
"It's been my passion for the last three years and I really hope to make a difference," Kadoch said. "I believe that we all start from our communities in making successful global change."
Michael Dunaway, another panelist and fellow, is working on building a solar-powered biodiesel refinery on the Osage Nation reservation in Oklahoma. The biodiesel fuel itself comes from wasted vegetable oil, he said. He said he seeks a small-scale, 50-gallon-a-day refinery.
"It's not big, but it's the start for creating a sustainable energy source for Osage Reservation," he said.
The Institute hopes to streamline the connections between team members and Native leaders interested in the Institute's projects by creating a virtual global Indigenous Youth Forum on Climate Change. Trevelyan Wing '14 is currently leading this project and said he hoped to recruit more team members at the event.
Other tribal sustainability partnerships working with the Climate Institute include sustainable inland relocation for vulnerable communities and black carbon mitigation in the Arctic.
Wing is a former member of The Dartmouth Staff.
The article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction appended (7/11/14):
The article online originally linked to "Potential ’19s to use a supplement essay" (7/11/14). The link has been revised.
