The Native American Rights Fund will host an event Tuesday through Friday at the University of Colorado Boulder, where Native American tribes from across the U.S. will discuss challenges and solutions that they face.
Manual Heart, chairman of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, said he was asked by NARF to give Tuesday’s event-opening prayer. He said he also gave the welcoming address.
According to NARF’s website, the fund, which was created by Native American lawyers, exists to “hold the government accountable” and “fight to protect Native American rights, resources and life-ways through litigation, legal advocacy and legal expertise.”
NARF is putting the event on with the help of the University of Colorado Law School and American Indian Law Program, according to Heart. The theme of the event is “Indigenous Peoples in a Greening Economy.”
Heart said the event will mainly cover climate change and Native Americans’ relationship with the environment.
Through breakout sessions and other events this week, attendees will be able to discuss the environment and how green climate and green energy could affect the tribes, for good and bad.
“First, it’s mainly an overview of the expert meetings and then the theme and outlining of Indigenous peoples’ relationship with the environment, and the factors that enable or obstruct the participation of Indigenous peoples in the green economy and case studies of positive and negative effects of the green entrepreneurship and green enterprise on indigenous peoples and their communities. Then, human rights and corporate responsibilities,” Heart said. “It’s mainly about climate action.”
Heart said at the conclusion of the event, he hopes those in attendance will have a better understanding on how the environment can affect them and their homes, referencing the drought in the Colorado River basin and the flooding in Washington state and surrounding areas.
“We're hoping to get out there about what's happened to us because of global warming and climate change, and that it impacts Natives too,” Heart said. “When you look out toward the future, that’s when they all realize that it's changing. The world is changing as you see some of the climate now.”
Heart also shared that being part of an event of this kind allows them to continue beating past benchmarks and work toward a better future for everyone.
“I just think that all 574 tribes in this country have faced a lot of challenges and overcame them,” Heart said. “We set benchmarks to beat models that we can follow and everybody should follow up to that.”
