The College of Menominee Nation declared its renewed commitment to the climate, locally and globally, in the re-signing of Second Nature’s Climate Leadership Statement, as a part of the 2024 Sustainable Development Institute Intern Report Out.
The climate action plan that follows this statement requires participants to develop and support internal task forces, joint actions and resilience assessments that reach out from two months to several years in the future. These plans are then made public, to encourage others to participate.
CMN President Christopher Caldwell, who was recently appointed to the Second Nature board of directors, spoke at the college’s Keshena campus July 30.
“Whenever I speak to groups, I always mention evidence of Menominee sustainability — that our reservation forest can be seen from space,” he said. “Seeing our forest stand out in contrast to the surrounding farmlands shows that vision, values and resiliency result in positive change and impact. Indigenous sustainability thinking applied more broadly can be seen in many other tribal nations and Indigenous peoples’ communities across the globe. There are lessons to be learned and shared to help develop solutions today for our generations tomorrow.”
Jennifer Gauthier, Sustainable Development Institute director, also spoke.
“As Menominee people, we have always adapted to the environment around us,” she said. “Our Menominee moons are proof of this, as there are several versions of our moon calendar that are reflective of a particular time and place. Even now, discussions are taking place within our language community to consider making adjustments to reflect what our hunters, harvesters, fishers and gatherers have been noticing for some time.”
Staff and faculty members across the College of Menominee Nation will work to put the climate action plan into practice throughout all parts of the college.
The college’s Campus Climate Commitment was originally signed by the college’s founding president, Verna S. Fowler, in 2008. It was most recently reaffirmed in 2016 as a part of CMN’s Sustainability Committee’s work on an Academic Quality Improvement Program.
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