Wednesday, October 14th, Tentative Program

10-11:30 AM - Faculty Training Workshop "Going Beyond the Land Acknowledgement: Braiding Indigenous Knowledge with Western Sciences to Improve Pedagogies" facilitated by Bazile Minogiizhigaabo Panek, Good Sky Guidance Founder/CEO, and Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals Consultant. Room TBC.  This event has a limited capacity and RSVP is required.

12 - 1 PM Climate Expo in Grand River Room, Kirkhof Center

1 - 1:30  PM Welcome  and Opening Remarks 
1:30 - 2 PM Indigenous Ecological Knowledge and Ways of Knowing - Keynote address by Bazile Minogiizhigaabo Panek, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, Good Sky Guidance Founder/CEO, Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals Consultant, and PhD candidate at University of Minnesota Twin Cities.

2- 3:15  “Setting the Straits on Fire – Using tree-rings to tell the stories of the people and the landscape in the Michigan Straits” interactive presentation by Mary Parr,  Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa (Ojibwe) Indians, Michigan Natural Features Inventory Joshua Gabriel Cohen, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Mae Wright, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Derek Hartline,  Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Kurt Kipfmueller, Department of Forestry at Michigan State University.

Abstract: Through the Coastal Program, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service established a cooperative agreement with the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, and Michigan State University to prioritize biodiversity stewardship within the Straits Region of Michigan. This project builds upon 3complementary components: 1) Collating knowledge about factors that determine priority for cultural burning; 2) Reconstructing fire histories of culturally significant sites through dendrochronology; and 3) Developing models to that identify the most ecologically and culturally important places and thereby increase the integrity of native ecosystems, improve habitat for native biodiversity, and increase opportunities for cultural expression of Indigenous communities. In this presentation, we will share results about the reconstruction of fire history in the homeland of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.

 3:15-3:45 Coffee Break and Transition to Break-Out Sessions

Breakout Sessions 3:45- 4:45 PM   - Selected presentations will be announced in early September

4:45 - 5 PM Break

5- 6:00 PM  Sustainable Behaviors: From Classroom Experience to Systemic Transformations

Panel Discussion with  Craig Santos Perez, Lauren Westerman, Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education, AuSable Institute,  and  Brain Smiegelski, Sierra Club, moderated by Brian Deyo.

Thursday, October 15th Tentative Program

Thursday presentations are coordinated with Global Climate Change Week events worldwide. Titles and time of all selected webinar sessions will be posted in mid-September.