History of NICRN

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The Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) at the College of Menominee Nation has a twofold mission of reflection and sharing based on the Menominee Theoretical Model of Sustainability. Through the model SDI seeks to engage within the Menominee community and with larger networks of Indigenous peoples in North America and worldwide to support planning and preparation for sustainable development - of which Indigenous resilience is a key issue. One of the key ways SDI does this is by organizing and hosting workshops and exchanges connecting diverse peoples. As climate change is becoming an umbrella for understanding many environmental and sustainability issues affecting Indigenous peoples everywhere, SDI is committed to supporting the planning and preparation for sustainable development by connecting Indigenous communities as well as institutions such as climate science organizations and universities.

To this end, SDI seeks to provide resources for increasing effective and ethical engagement between Indigenous peoples – from students, harvesters, scientists, and others – and federal, non-profit and university/college-based organizations that are focused on climate science research and climate change decision-support. SDI’s strategy involves Indigenous frameworks for interpreting and guiding scientific processes and addressing Tribal cultural, social, environmental and economic issues related to climate resilience. The Northeast Indigenous Climate Resilience Network embodies the cumulative work of SDI and its partners in addressing climate resilience issues and represents a next step forward in supporting broader engagement involving Indigenous peoples and Tribal Nations worldwide.

Currently, SDI supports four primary work activities for the Northeast Indigenous Climate Resilience Network:

  1. SDI facilitates a Tribal Advisory Council to help guide joint action and dialogue between SDI and its approach to sustainable development. SDI tracks Indigenous and scientific literature on climate change impacts Tribes and Indigenous peoples are facing in the Northeast region as a resource for those interesting in supporting Indigenous self-determination and sovereignty. SDI developed this webpage which seeks to serve both Tribes and NE CASC scientists as a resource sharing insights and experiences about how to collaborate together in efforts to plan for climate change. These activities address recommendations from the NE CASC strategic science agenda, science theme 6.
  2. SDI works with with specific Tribes to set up workshops, education and other strategic planning activities that support Tribes capacity to plan for climate change. NE CASC, GLISA and SCRiM jointly support these efforts.
  3. Indigenous peoples have longstanding traditions of planning for the sustainability of their communities and environments. These development and decision-making efforts continue as present-day Tribal leaders address complex social, ecological and economic issues in the context of U.S. settler colonialism and globalization. Indigenous planning involves the use of time tested frameworks of community flourishing that guide Tribal uses of science and technology. Through the creation of the Indigenous Planning Summer Institute (IPSI), SDI hopes to develop the next generation of Tribal scientists to deal with these issues.
  4. Through efforts such as the International Seminar “Global Indigeneity and Sustainability” in Fall 2016 and participation in Rising Voices: Collaborative Science with Indigenous Knowledge for Climate Solutions, SDI connects with Indigenous communities across the world to find mutual solutions to common problems such as climate change. 


The Department of the Interior Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center's (NE CASC) is part of a federal network of eight Climate Science Centers created to provide scientific information, tools, and techniques that managers and other parties interested in land, water, wildlife and cultural resources can use to anticipate, monitor, and adapt to climate change.

"The project described in this publication was supported by Agreement No. [add number] from the United States Geological Survey. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center or the USGS. This manuscript is submitted for publication with the understanding that the United States Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Governmental purposes.”
Centered at Penn State, SCRiM links a transdisciplinary team of scholars at 19 universities and 5 research institutions across 6 nations to answer the question, “What are sustainable, scientifically sound, technologically feasible, economically efficient, and ethically defensible climate risk management strategies?”

"This work was supported by the National Science Foundation through the Network for Sustainable Climate Risk Management (SCRiM) under NSF cooperative agreement GEO-1240507. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation."
The Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments Program (GLISA) is a collaboration of Michigan State University and the University of Michigan funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). GLISA is part of a national network of NOAA Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISAs) that focus on adaptation to climate change and variability. GLISA is the NOAA RISA for the Great Lakes region.