The Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians released Monday the Tribal Climate Resiliency Plan, a blueprint for addressing climate in tribal territory. As global temperatures rise and the damage to land, water, and life continues to threaten self-determination, traditional ways of life and practices, the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians is using traditional ecological knowledge and science jointly to address climate-related hazards.

“Our vision is that Tribal citizens and leaders in partnership with allies can work collaboratively to stabilize our lands towards restoration and vibrant communities where we can nurture our children in a land that has abundant clean water, thriving forests, clean air, urban communities cooled by trees and open green space, and restored rivers and tributaries,” said Rudy Ortega Jr., Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians’ Tribal President.

The Plan’s recommendations propose to position the tribe to invest in actions that will mitigate extreme heat, wildfire, flooding, and challenges to our energy systems by using traditional ecological knowledge and the best available science and data. The recommendations in this report seek to strengthen the Tribes’ cultural identity, promote our economic prosperity, while honoring our ancestors as we forge a path towards a climate-resilient future by applying our traditional ecological knowledge and history combined with new data and modern science for solutions across our tribal lands and the region. The plan may be found online at: https://www.tataviam-nsn.us/strategy-for-climate-resiliency/.

The Plan was made possible with a grant from the Bay Area Council, Climate Resilience Challenge Program. The development of the plan was led by the Tribe over 18 months in collaboration with a team of partners that included environmental organizations and academia; Climate Resolve, Council for Watershed Health, and UC Riverside-CCERT.

The Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians is a native sovereign nation located in Los Angeles County and eastern Ventura County in the State of California. The Fernandeño Tataviam community originates in the lineages, villages, and cultures of the Simi, San Fernando, Santa Clarita, and Antelope valleys and in the period that came before the establishment of Mission San Fernando in 1797, from which their ancestors received the name Fernandeño during enslavement by the Spanish.