Integrating Oral Histories into Community-led Climate Adaptation Science

Keywords: oral histories, documentary storytelling, community knowledge, capacity building, tribes and frontline communities, community driven design, co-production process

Abstract:

This session highlights how oral histories, documentary storytelling, photovoice, and modalities that center and respect the power of story can be integrated into a community-led climate adaptation process. Frontline communities are critical knowledge holders who are best placed to understand the changes occurring to their environment along with locally- and culturally-relevant solutions. Despite this, many methods of co-producing knowledge and engaging frontline communities perpetuate systems of harm, and privilege other forms of information over community knowledge. This talk explores early findings and future pathways of two examples of oral history integration into a co-production process that brings together diverse knowledge forms to support climate resilience, meaning-making and place-making efforts, and community archives with frontline community partners. These projects, funded as part of the NOAA Climate Adaptation Partnership (CAP) network, support communities in the Pacific Northwest, Pacific Islands, Coastal North and South Carolina, and on the Qualla Boundary of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.