Tribal Nations Data
Indian Lands datasets are difficult to correctly interpret, so please visit the Bureau of Indian Affairs Frequently Asked Questions to aid understanding. Other data sharing limitations to Tribal Nations data selection and thematic content are discussed in the framing questions. Use the Data.gov data search portal to locate all Tribal Nations datasets.
Generally, climate data can be used by Tribal Nations in similar ways to other communities throughout the United States, except for differences in data selection and emphasis based on cultural values, experience, and unique ties to lands and resources:
Arctic – Related data, tools, and featured content that may assist Alaska Native communities, which comprise 229 of the 574 federally recognized tribes (about 40 percent).
Coastal Flooding – Related data, tools, and featured content that may support Tribal Nations, Pacific Islanders, State tribes, and other communities living along the nation’s coast to contend with forced relocation and other climate-related challenges associated with growing storm surge and coastal flooding as sea levels rise.
Ecosystem Vulnerability – Related data, tools, and featured content that may help Tribal Nations address climate impacts on the integrity and stability of ecosystems, which alters the processes, timing, and location of subsistence and cultural resources upon which Tribal Nations traditionally depend.
Energy Infrastructure – Related data, tools, and featured content that may assist Tribal Nations in protecting vital infrastructure on Indian Lands. The Mitigation subtopic of Tribal Nations in the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit also describes how Tribal Nations are altering energy production and usage practices to reduce the causes of climate change and lessen the severity of impacts experienced.
Food Resilience – Related data, tools, and featured content that may address climate change impacts on Tribal Nations’ access to local, wild foods and medicines and traditional farming and ranching practices.
Human Health – Related data, tools, and featured content that may assist Tribal Nations with addressing dietary changes, diseases, and mental health issues stemming from abrupt climate-related impacts on unique lifeways, which in the past tended to evolve more slowly over millennia.
Transportation – Related data, tools, and featured content that may help Tribal Nations adjust to changes in access to traditional resources and the infrastructure impacts of extreme events and sand dune movement. This theme may also help address climate impacts experienced by Alaska Native Communities that are accustomed to traveling on frozen lands and seas to hunt, fish, and gather wild foods.
Water – Related data, tools, and featured content that may assist Tribal Nations in addressing climate-related water quality and quantity impacts on drinking water supplies, food, cultures, ceremonies, and traditional ways of life.
For more information, explore the Climate Resilience Toolkit topic area for Tribal Nations.
