Tribal Nations and Native communities are essential to informing and advancing solutions to climate change. The First People’s Climate Fund was launched to recognize and honor this role, specifically in Greater Seattle and the Puget Sound region where many Native peoples and communities call home. In partnership with the Seattle Foundation, the City of Seattle has allocated approximately $5.3 million over two years to support projects that center Tribal sovereignty and traditional knowledge and address the impact of climate change on these communities. 

The fund is a community-driven process that includes the voices and expertise of federally recognized Tribes and Native leaders in the Seattle area. The fund aims to support existing projects, technical assistance, and a variety of climate strategies that center the leadership of Tribal Nations and Native communities such as:

• Resourcing traditional and cultural knowledge,
• Deploying climate strategies unique to the needs of Indigenous communities,
• Centering strategies that mitigate environmental injustices,
• Supporting the low-carbon economy for Native peoples,
• Centering resilience, safety and community wellbeing, and
• Creating infrastructure or strategies that reduce, mitigate, or eliminate environmental health inequities in Native communities.