The filmmakers behind a new documentary discuss Native land stewardship, building collaborative relationships with tribes, and the challenges of implementing Indigenous practices on a wider scale.

As the climate crisis picks up speed, the Biden administration has responded with renewed urgency. Not only has Avril Haines, the new director of national intelligence, recently called it “an urgent national security threat,” but Robert Bonnie, the new climate advisor at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is preparing to “lead the world in climate-smart agricultural practices.”

Across the country, Native American communities are also responding to the crisis and many have been adopting climate action plans to protect their lifeways. But the land management practices these communities are focused on stand to have a much wider impact. Increasingly, they’re being recognized as a key to the future of our planet.

Inhabitants, a new documentary by Costa Boutsikaris and Anna Palmer, explores Native Americans’ role in climate mitigation and adaptation