Interviews with researchers and practitioners who collaborate with Indigenous groups in the United States: Are climate change adaptation frameworks helpful?

Indigenous groups in the United States are the highest at-risk group for climate change impacts due to a history of ongoing colonial disenfranchisement, displacement to high-risk locations, and a loss of traditional subsistence practices. In the last 14 years, four frameworks have emerged for guiding climate-based collaborations with Indigenous groups: The Guiding Principles on Climigration, Justice Forward, Human Rights, and WAMPUM, two of which were Indigenous-authored. However, no known studies have examined whether or how these frameworks are used in practice. This paper explores how researchers, practitioners, and Indigenous groups in the US are attempting to navigate complex, often unaligned, social forces integral to climate change adaptation through the application of collaborative frameworks. Using qualitative inductive analysis of interview data, themes emerge demonstrating the current approaches used in tribal engagement by NGOs, government agencies, and academic institutions. The results suggest principles for just collaboration: relationship building, Indigenous representation on projects, respecting tribal leadership, and providing tangible community benefits.