Coastal indigenous people, led by the Hoh, Makah, and Quileute Tribes and the Quinault Indian Nation tribes located in Washington state, will host the inaugural First Stewards symposium, [1] to be held July 17-20 in Washington, D.C. This national event will examine the impact of climate change on indigenous coastal cultures and explore solutions based on millennia of traditional ecological knowledge.

Hundreds of native leaders, witnesses and climate scientists will join policy-makers and nongovernment organizations for groundbreaking dialogue in what is planned to be an annual meeting at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.

The symposium is a partnership between the tribal and Pacific Island indigenous communities with scientists and governmental and non-governmental organizations including the National Congress of American Indians, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and National Marine Fisheries Service, Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, The Nature Conservancy, and Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. Other partners include American Native Renewables; EA Engineering, Science, and Technology; Salmon Defense, Uncas Consulting Services; and United South and Eastern Tribes.

For more information, visit www.firststewards.org [1].

Contacts:

• Debbie Preston, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, dpreston@nwifc.org [2], (360) 780-1295;
• Robin Stanton, The Nature Conservancy, rstanton@tnc.org [3], (425)478-5641
• Sylvia Spalding, Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, sylvia.spalding@noaa.gov [4], (808) 522-5341
• Vernon Smith, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, vernon.smith@noaa.gov [5], (301) 713-7248