Near total loss of historical lands leaves Indigenous nations in the US more vulnerable to climate change
— Read on phys.org/news/2021-10-total-loss-historical-indigenous-nations.html

In a first-of-its-kind study, a team of researchers attempted to quantify the massive loss of historical lands by Indigenous nations across the United States since European settlers first began laying claim to the continent.

They also found historical land dispossession was associated with current and future climate risks as Indigenous peoples were forced to lands that are more exposed to a range of climate change risks and hazards and less likely to lie over valuable subsurface oil and gas resources.

The study, published online Oct. 28 in the journal Science, was led by Justin Farrell of the Yale School of the Environment. Co-authors include Kyle Whyte of the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability.

“Everyone who’s read history—or a true version of it—knows this story,” Farrell said. “But this is the first scholarly study that has looked at the full scope of change and tried to quantify it, to systematically geo-reference it at scale.”

U-M’s Whyte, the George Willis Pack Professor at SEAS and a member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, said the new study provides important reinforcement for longstanding claims.

“The research confirms what Indigenous leaders have been calling out for years,” said Whyte, who is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. “The U.S. still has not addressed the land dispossession and the suppression of Indigenous territorial governance that are at the root of why Indigenous peoples face disproportionate vulnerability to climate change impacts.”…