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FEMA declares new strategy to engage Native American tribes on climate change

Louise Billiot, left, a member of the United Houma Nation Indian tribe, walks around the home of her friend and tribal member Irene Verdin, which was heavily damaged from Hurricane Ida nine months before, along Bayou Pointe-au-Chien, in Pointe-aux-Chenes, La., on May 26, 2022. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has developed a singular plan to engage more fully with hundreds of Native American tribes who continue to face climate change-related disasters, the agency announced Thursday, Aug. 18.
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Louise Billiot, left, a member of the United Houma Nation Indian tribe, walks around the home of her friend and tribal member Irene Verdin, which was heavily damaged from Hurricane Ida nine months before, along Bayou Pointe-au-Chien, in Pointe-aux-Chenes, La., on May 26, 2022. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has developed a singular plan to engage more fully with hundreds of Native American tribes who continue to face climate change-related disasters, the agency announced Thursday, Aug. 18.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has developed a new strategy to better engage with hundreds of Native American tribes facing climate change-related disasters.

The agency announced plans Thursday to include the 574 federally recognized tribal nations in discussions about possible future dangers from climate change.

FEMA has earmarked $50 million in grants for tribes pursuing ways to ease burdens related to extreme weather. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell says tribal communities across the country are facing increased threats as a direct result of climate change, from changing sea levels to more floods and wildfires.