Scientific and policy literatures on climate change are increasingly recognizing indigenous communities’  vulnerabilities and capacities for resilience. The role of gender in defining indigenous climate change experiences in the United States is a research area that deserves more attention. Advancing climate change threatens the continuance of many indigenous cultural systems that are based on reciprocal relationships with local plants, animals, and ecosystems. These reciprocal relationships, and the responsibilities associated with them, are gendered in many indigenous communities. Settler colonialism against American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians is based on intersecting layers of oppression in which race and gender are major determinants. The coupling of climate change with settler colonialism is the source of unique vulnerabilities. At the same time, gendered knowledges, and gender-based activism and initiatives may foster climate change resilience. In this literature synthesis we cross-reference international literature on gender and climate change, literature on indigenous peoples and climate change, and literature describing gender roles in Native America, in order to build an understanding of how gendered indigeneity may influence climate change vulnerability and resilience in indigenous communities in the U.S.

Kirsten Vinyeta is a researcher for the University of Oregon’s Pacific Northwest Tribal Climate Change Project. Her research has focused on climate change impacts and adaptation strategies within American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian communities. Her most recent research explores gendered vulnerabilities and resilience of indigenous peoples in the U.S. She holds a Master of Science in Environmental Studies from the University of Oregon. Her master’s research involved a collaborative partnership with the Coquille Indian Tribe of Oregon in which they assessed the value of community photography as a tool to document and communicate tribal concerns regarding traditional cultural resources in an era of rapid climate change.