Ranco quoted in Maine Public report on Maine native tribes, climate change
Darren Ranco, a professor of anthropology and chair of Native American Programs at the University of Maine, was quoted in a Maine Public report about how Maine tribes are adapting to climate change, which threatens cultural traditions. Native American tribes in Maine face environmental challenges, such as changes in natural resources, and pollution and contamination of waterways that diminish the supply and quality of culturally significant food sources like wild brook trout. “These are all, both, scary situations. But I also see, on the tribal side, a great ability and a resilience to respond to these potential challenges,” said Ranco. He emphasized the importance of considering indigenous knowledge and science when adapting to changing environmental pressures, along with expertise from outside the tribe. “The worst thing we can do is just have some expert at some high level make a decision that impacts so many people, if they haven’t really embedded themselves in what’s really important to those local people,” he said.