The BIA Eastern Region serves agencies located in Cherokee, North Carolina; Hollywood, Florida; and Philadelphia, Mississippi. There are over 62,000 Tribal Members that make up the 34 Tribes under the Eastern Region’s jurisdiction. Despite covering twenty-seven states, there are only twelve states inhabited by Federally-recognized Tribes in the Eastern Region. Climate change impacts seasonal climate, natural systems, and accessibility of certain types of recreation in the Northeast through threats like declining snow and ice, rising sea levels, and rising temperatures (NCA4, Ch. 18). Southeast communities are at an increasing risk to heat, flooding, and vector-borne disease brought about by a changing climate (NCA4, Ch. 19).
Resources
- Eastern Regional Map (bia.gov)
- Eastern Tribal Fact Sheet (bia.gov)
Climate Adaptation Science Center (CASC) Regional Resources
- Northeast CASC Host University: University of Massachusetts Amherst (umass.edu)
- Northeast CASC Projects (cascprojects.org)
- Northeast CASC (usgs.gov)
- Southeast CASC Host University: North Carolina State University (ncsu.edu)
- Southeast CASC Projects (cascprojects.org)
- Southeast CASC (usgs.gov)
United South and Eastern Tribes’ Resources
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Connect with staff at the BIA regional office coordinating Tribal climate resilience activities:
Lindy Rawlings
Email: Leonard.Rawlings@bia.gov
Phone: (615) 564-6838
Tribal Climate Resilience Liaison
Tribes in the BIA Eastern region living in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont and West Virginia are served by the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center. Tribes in the BIA Eastern region living in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee are served by the Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center. Both the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center and the Southeast Climate Adaptation Center partner with the United South & Eastern Tribes and share climate Tribal resilience liaison contacts.
Casey Thornbrugh
Senior Liaison
Email: CThornbrugh@usetinc.org
Phone: (615) 589-1629Steph Courtney
Assistant Liaison
Email: scourtney@usetinc.org
Phone: (608) 436-3841
Tribes in the BIA Eastern region living in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Ohio are served by the Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center partnering with the College of the Menominee Sustainable Development Institute.
Ally Scott
Deputy Liaison
Email: AScott@menominee.edu
Phone: (608) 628-9905Sara Smith
Liaison
Email: SSmith@menominee.edu
Phone: (920) 202-6278
Tribes in the BIA Eastern region living in the states of Louisiana are served by the South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center, partnering with the Chickasaw Nation.
Yvette Wiley
Supported in part by the US Geological Survey
Liaison
Email: DYvette.Wiley@ou.edu
Phone: (918) 549-8648
Contact Us
Albuquerque, NM 87104
