Indigenous people are on the ‘front lines’ of climate solutions. Indigenous issues took center stage last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. National Congress of American Indians President Fawn Sharp, a past president of the Quinault Indian Nation, told world leaders that Indigenous knowledge and lands are key elements in a global climate change strategy. “The very place where my ancestors signed our treaty is now underwater, and we are not alone,” she said. “Indigenous peoples all across the planet are on the front lines.” More than 3,000 leaders from government and business participated in the World Economic Forum.
The Minnesota Twins are just over two weeks from heading south for Spring Training, but the organization’s leaders took a break from their preparations for the season to spend a meaningful morning learning about the often-overlooked history of the indigenous nation whose ancestral land they now call home. That’s why manager Rocco Baldelli, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey, team president Dave St. Peter, pitcher Louie Varland and hitting coach David Popkins clung to frozen metal rails on the back of an open-air truck in 5-degree weather recently as a curious herd of American bison — which can run at 40 mph and jump up to six feet, the Twins learned — followed on the lands of the Buffalo Project, administered by the Prairie Island Indian Community near Minneapolis.
Those are your headlines at this hour. I’m Colette Keith in the KIPI News center.