Proactive Planning for Resilience: Protocols for Community-Led Climate Adaptation in Virginia

WAMPUM Framework

Tribal Nations along the Atlantic Coast are often left out of localities’ climate adaptation plans.¹ Additionally, some Tribal Nations—including several in Virginia²—tend to plan over a seven-generation time frame³, which may not harmonize well with localities’ shorter timelines. The WAMPUM adaptation framework—Witness, Acknowledge, Mend, Protect, Unite, and Move—is one approach that empowers Eastern Coastal Tribal Nations to pursue culturally-informed adaptation by centering Indigenous practices and values.⁴ Specifically, WAMPUM calls for Tribal Nations to “[w]itness warnings from . . . the natural world,” “[a]cknowledge traditional teachings,” “[m]end the shoreline,” “[p]rotect future generations by protecting cultural sites and ancestors,” “[u]nite with other communities to build capacity, plan relocation,” and “[m]ove to new places with cultural connections and rebuild.”⁵

WAMPUM is equally informed by the past, present, and future, incorporating “traditional teachings and . . . cultural stewardship practices,”⁶ emphasizing contemporary “warnings from . . . the patterns of the natural world,”⁷ and empowering “future generations by protecting cultural sites and ancestors.”⁸ Significantly, WAMPUM balances present-day solutions, such as “[m]ending the shoreline” through nature-based systems,⁹ with long-term planning that includes the possibility of “[m]ov[ing] to new places with cultural connections and rebuild[ing].”¹⁰ Historically, many Tribal Nations moved in sync with seasonal changes, including sea-level rise,¹¹ and WAMPUM recognizes that culturally-informed relocation may be necessary to ensure long-term resilience. The WAMPUM framework emphasizes traditional knowledge, empowering tribal nations to maintain and promote knowledge based on the experiences of their ancestors. On the Pamunkey Indian Tribe’s reservation, where flooding is heavily impacting life, one member referred to traditional knowledge of addressing flooding by saying, “[i]t tells us that we need to move. That is what we did for centuries.”¹²

When crafting their climate adaptation plans, localities should consider coordinating with constituent Tribal Nations regarding the following factors:

Timeframe: Localities may consider adopting a longer-term strategy inspired by many Tribal Nations’ seven-generation timeframe.
Tradition: Localities may want to integrate Tribal Nations’ Traditional Ecological Knowledge, when shared, to ensure inclusive adaptation practices.
Relocation: Localities may want to reflect on their own relocation plans and how they will coordinate with and support Tribal Nations in planning for culturally-informed relocation.

For more information on the WAMPUM framework, see: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/17565529.2020.1862739?needAccess=true.

For more examples of voluntary Tribal relocation to increase their resilience to climate impacts, see: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/92c2b30bea4a498a9042709f161c65de.

Endnotes

¹ Kelse Leonard, “WAMPUM Adaptation Framework: Eastern Coastal Tribal Nations and Sea Level Rise Impacts on Water Security,” Climate & Development 13, (2021) p. 842–43.
² Specifically, the Monacan Indian Nation, Rappahannock Indian Tribe, Chickahominy Indian Tribe, and Pamunkey Indian Tribe in Virginia have made statements indicating they adopt a seven-generation approach. See, e.g., John Pierce, “Priority Climate Action Plan for the Monacan Indian Nation,” Monacan Indian Nation, March 2024. https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-04/monacan-indian-nation-pcap.pdf. See also “Celebrating the Preservation of a Sacred Site of the Rappahannock Tribe – Fones Cliffs,” Rappahannock Tribe, June 29, 2019, https://www.rappahannocktribe.org/celebrate-the-preservation-of-a-sacred-site-of-the-rappahannock-tribe; See also “EPA Awards $110,000 in Environmental Funding to the Chickahominy Indian Tribe in Virginia,” Environmental Protection Agency, November 5, 2019, https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-awards-110000-environmental-funding-chickahominy-indian-tribe-virginia; See also National Fish & Wildlife Foundation,“Protecting Habitat Where Land Meets Water,” https://www.nfwf.org/media-center/featured-stories/protecting-habitat-where-land-meets-water.
³ See, e.g., Alyssa Huntington and Eleanor Jackson, “The Electric School Bus Series: How North Carolina’s Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is Planning for Seven Generations of Sustainability,” World Resources Institute, August 4, 2022. https://www.wri.org/update/electric-school-bus-series-how-north-carolinas-eastern-band-cherokee-indians-planning-seven?utm_medium=social&utm_source=toolkit&utm_campaign=vignette&utm_content=ebci; “Values,” Haudenosaunee Confederacy, https://www.haudenosauneeconfederacy.com/values; Larry Meiller, “Seventh Generation Earth Ethics: Native Voices of Wisconsin,” Wisconsin Public Radio, December 25, 2014. https://www.wpr.org/shows/larry-meiller-show/seventh-generation-earth-ethics-native-voices-wisconsin-0.
⁴ Leonard, “WAMPUM Adaptation Framework,”. p. 846–47 fig.2. (See 1)
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Ibid. (p.846)
⁷ Ibid.
⁸ Ibid. (p. 848)
⁹ Ibid. (p. 846-48)
¹⁰ Ibid. (p. 848)
¹¹ Ibid.
¹² Hutton, N. & Allen, T. “The Role of Traditional Knowledge in Coastal Adaptation Priorities: The Pamunkey Indian Reservation,” Water, 12(12), (2020). 10.3390/w12123548.
For more information on the Pamunkey Indian Reservation, see:
Coastal Adaptation Priorities.