Norman, Okla.—The newly released and publicly available video, Listening for the Rain, documents the impact of climate variability and change on Native Tribes in the central United States.  The 22.5-minute video emerged from the five InterTribal workshops on Climate Variability and Change held in Oklahoma and New Mexico last summer.  The workshops were hosted by the University of Oklahoma and sponsored by the Interior Department’s South Central Climate Science Center.

Listening for the Rain, which can be viewed at http://vimeo.com/87696613, amplifies the voices of Tribal environmental observers who historically have not been heard.  The documentary illustrates the environmental transformations throughout the diverse landscapes in the region as well as some proactive solutions and ideas which Tribal communities might use when addressing these and related issues.

“These interviews have provided us with a first-hand look into the effects that climate change is having on tribes,” said Kim Winton, director of the South Central Climate Science Center, which supported the interviews and the Tribal climate workshops.  “This video and its associated workshops will better prepare research communities in assisting the Tribes and to partner with them in the science needed to help them develop adaptation strategies for climate change.”

Paulette Blanchard, an Absentee Shawnee woman who is a graduate of Haskell Indian Nations University and a Master’s degree student in the OU Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, narrates Listening for the Rain. Blanchard facilitated the workshops, led group discussions and collaborated with Native film makers Filoteo Gómez Martinez and Jeffery Palmer on the project.

Laurel Smith, OU assistant professor of geography and environmental sustainability, says, “Blanchard seeks to blend Tribal perspectives with climate science in ways that might respect, enrich and sustain the natural and cultural resources distinguishing the places Native Peoples call home.  She wants to document the impacts of climate change from the perspectives of the region’s Tribal nations.”

The South Central Climate Science Center, which works closely with regional Landscape Conservation Cooperatives, supported the video’s production and supported and participated in the workshops to learn how best to effectively collaborate with the Tribes on climate change matters.  Workshop organizers shared drought adaption data and tools and discussed participatory research methods in hopes of initiating new and/or fostering already established relationships among the Tribes and federal and state agencies.

For more information about the documentary, Listening for the Rain, or the InterTribal workshops sponsored by the South Central Climate Science Center and hosted by the University of Oklahoma, please contact Paulette Blanchard at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Laurel Smith at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or contact Kim Winton, director of the South Central Climate Science Center at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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The South Central Climate Science Center is hosted by the University of Oklahoma on the University Research Campus.  The South Central Climate Science Center is a consortium of seven member institutions:  University of Oklahoma, Texas Tech University, Louisiana State University, the Chickasaw Nation, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University and NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab.

Managed by the National Climate Change and Wildlife Center at the National Headquarters of the U.S. Geological Survey, the eight regional Climate Science Centers expand the scope and geographic reach of the climate science efforts of the U.S. Department of the Interior.