The 7th Annual Rising Voices Workshop, themed Converging Voices: Building Relationships and Practices for Intercultural Science, took place on May 15-17 in Boulder, CO. NNI's Mary Beth Jäger (Citizen Potawatomi Nation) and Dominique David-Chavez (Arawak Taíno) were there to take notes and present on their research. Housed at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, CO, Rising Voices builds partnerships and capacity within and between Indigenous communities and Western scientists. Their work ensures that Indigenous voices remain an integral part of climate change and adaptation conversations.

David-Chavez presented on the plenary panel "Relational Research: Intercultural science collaborations guided by ethical relationships and practices," and addressed the unique challenges that Indigenous scientists and community members face as they navigate this work. She highlighted opportunities for nation building through the application of Indigenous data sovereignty frameworks in intercultural research projects. Panelists and Rising Voices are calling upon people to rethink what they know and about science, and that is critical says Jäger.

Both Dominique and Mary Beth presented posters. Dominque’s poster “Supporting Tribal Data Governance for Community Climate Resilience in the Southwest,” the Southwest Indigenous Climate Summit hosted by NNI and CLIMAS last fall. Jäger presented a poster “Indigenous Foods Knowledges Network: Exchanging stories and solutions in support of resilient food and knowledge systems,” which highlighted the research coordination network funded by the National Science Foundation that is taking place between Indigenous peoples in the Arctic and US Southwest.

Images: Dominique presenting her poster; Ciarra Greene (Nez Perce) with Dominique and Mary Beth

Image credit: Maraya Ben-Joseph