Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 276 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

This sacred bean saved an indigenous clan from climate calamity

Agostino Petroni

November 25, 2020 |

National Geographic |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Colombia, Manaure

A community gardening project growing the guajiro bean has allowed Wayuu farmers in the Colombian desert to achieve food security despite the effects of climate change and external pressures. While scaling this agricultural success to other Indigenous clans can be difficult, using a low-tech irrigation system and red earthworm compost has allowed one settlement to feed its community and make their soil fertile again.

Read More
Go to Original Story
An ancient people with a modern climate plan

Jim Morrison Jovelle Tamayo

November 24, 2020 |

The Washington Post |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Swinomish Reservation, United States, Fidalgo Island, Washington

The Swinomish tribe in Washington state is combining traditional knowledge and science to combat the effects of climate change and improve the health of its land, water, and people. In recent years, their salmon harvest has diminished due to warming waters, but they’ve instituted salmon recovery efforts by restoring tidelands and channels and planting trees along stream beds to cool the waters. Their focus on ecosystem and community health could be a model for other Indigenous tribes looking to create their own climate plans.

Read More
Go to Original Story
A New Native Seed Cooperative Aims to Rebuild Indigenous Foodways

Ray Levy Uyeda

November 10, 2020 |

Civil Eats |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne, United States, New York

The Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance organized a seed drive to distribute thousands of seeds to 270 different tribes. The indigenous seed exchange led to the creation of an intertribal cooperative to share traditional knowledge and practices as well. It has conducted a seed census in addition to creating a seed sovereignty assessment toolkit for communities.

Read More
Go to Original Story
The army of women saving India's storks

Neeta Lal

November 08, 2020 |

Al Jazeera |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: India, Pub Majir Gaon, Assam

After a conservation biologist noticed that the number of birds in her Indian village dwindled over the years, she knew she had to take action. Purnima Devi Barman started to help educate her community about the historical significance and importance of the greater adjutant storks, and formed the “Hargila Army,” a volunteer crew of 400 women who help protect the birds. Thanks to their efforts over the last 13 years, they’ve been able to increase the endangered species’ numbers from just 27 in to more than 210.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Indigenous Colombians mount a spiritual defense of the Amazon

Ocean Malandra

November 04, 2020 |

Mongabay |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Colombia, Mocoa, Putumayo

Five different Indigenous groups formed an alliance known as the Union of Traditional Age Medics of the Colombian Amazon to practice spiritual ceremonies and community healing based on the ingestion of a potent hallucinogenic tea known as yagé. These groups are at risk of physical and cultural extermination due to deforestation. By engaging in traditional yagé ceremonies, they use their traditional knowledge and spiritual wisdom to help make decisions and retain their autonomy in the rainforest.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Chennai Ran Out of Water — But That's Only Half the Story

Erica Gies Dhritiman Mukherjee

October 30, 2020 |

bioGraphic |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: India, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

The city of Chennai in India is engaging in wetlands restoration and stormwater management by using traditional knowledge and community action to reduce flooding and ensure that people have access to drinking water. Through a development program called Water as Leverage, they are implementing “slow water” projects that restore flow paths for water, which could provide greater water resiliency for humans and protect and restore natural ecosystems. While it can be difficult to get government engineers to embrace green solutions, public awareness of the environmental work is helping move the projects forward.

Read More
Go to Original Story
New app helps Inuit adapt to changing climate: ‘It's time for the harpoon and computer to work together'

Anna Kusmer

October 15, 2020 |

The World |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Canada, Flaherty Island, Nunavut

The Arctic Eider Society, an environmental and social justice organization based in Nunavut, developed an app called SIKU that allows users to enter real-time data on conditions in the arctic. Inuktitut hunters use the app to alert others to hazardous ice conditions and observations about wildlife and vegetation. The app is funded by private foundations as well as federal and indigenous governments and has over 6,000 users. Users maintain intellectual property rights of their data and the app respects traditional knowledge by encouraging indigenous communities to merge old ways with new technologies.

Read More
Go to Original Story
A Special Court Keeping Native Americans Out of Jail

Lisa Bartfai

October 12, 2020 |

70 Million |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Penobscot Indian Island Reservation, Maine

The Penobscot Nation's Healing to Wellness Court is a drug court, diverting people charged with drug offenses from possible fines and jail into therapy. But it has an added cultural element, providing traditional healing approaches alongside mainstream behavioral therapy. The cultural piece recognizes that Native Americans' historical trauma and disconnect from their culture can contribute to the problems that lead to addiction. The court is far less expensive than jail or prison, and its participants have not been jailed for failing treatment in more than two years.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Reclaiming Indigenous Legacy One Beer at a Time

Bailey Berg

October 12, 2020 |

Life & Thyme |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oklahoma

A coalition of Native American–owned breweries is using lagers and ales to educate the public about their heritage and to correct the racist narrative about Indigenous peoples’ relationship to alcohol. For example, Skydance Brewing Co. in Oklahoma labels its beers with names that pay homage to the experiences of Native Americans. “It’s important that we have Native American entrepreneurs tell our story for ourselves,” says Jake Keyes, the brewery founder. “For us to reclaim it.”

Read More
Go to Original Story
A Native American Clinic Gives Doses of Cultural Healing During COVID-19

Cole Premo

October 08, 2020 |

U.S. News & World Report |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Native American Community Clinic in Minneapolis is utilizing telehealth practices to treat both the medical and spiritual needs of the community and its patients. Although the "spiritual-meets-traditional care program" was already in place and had received funding before the coronavirus pandemic, it is now being implemented as a telehealth system with patients reporting that it has helped to create a sense of connection despite the adherence to physical distancing.

Read More
Go to Original Story