Thomas Linzey speaks at Tribal Environmental Leaders Summit

Tribal Environmental Law Summit – EPA Region 10: In September, Thomas Linzey delivered a keynote address at the Summit, and hosted a panel with Guy Reiter, of the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin, and Geneva Thompson, a lawyer with the Yurok Tribe in northern California. The focus was on how tribes are advancing rights of nature within their laws and governance, and how rights of nature and indigenous sovereignty rights are closely related. The Yurok and Menominee Tribes have each passed resolutions recognizing the rights of rivers (the Klamath River and the Menominee River), from which each draws their ancestry and origin story. The Menominee resolution, which CDER assisted tribal members with, was adopted by the tribal council in January 2020.