Indigenous communities often note how their connections with Mother Earth allow them to harmonize with the planet. They remain deeply in tune with the rhythm and flow of nature — and yet their communities are some of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, putting them at risk of becoming climate refugees. The Navajo Nation, for example, spans over 71,000 square kilometers across Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. The area faces extreme water scarcity, and 15% of the population lack access to piped water in their homes.
In the Navajo community, Earth observation knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation through storytelling about landscapes. The Navajo people share stories about Spider Rock in Canyon De Chelly, the red valleys of Monument Valley, and the top of the Chuska Mountains where the head waters begin to flow. In recent decades, stories have emerged about the extraction of natural resources and the detrimental impact to landscapes.
This deep knowledge of the landscape has empowered the Navajo community with a spirit of sustainability, resiliency, and adaptability. These characteristics have sustained indigenous communities in the face of climate change and other human influences. However, the Navajo Nation has limited personnel to monitor and manage its vast landscapes as well as limited access to internet and cellphone services. To help them overcome these challenges, several organizations have partnered with the Navajo Nation to mesh the Navajo’s Earth observation knowledge with information from satellite imagery.
These partnerships have taken many different forms. NASA has engaged in information exchanges with the community and provided remote sensing training for several years. These engagements seek to supplement indigenous communities’ strong understanding of their landscapes by opening a dialogue about the best geospatial tools and techniques for them to use. The Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources has also partnered with NASA’s Western Water Applications Office and the Desert Research Institute to develop a drought evaluation tool to help them respond to water issues.
More recently, Nikki Tulley, an assistant research scientist with NASA and member of the Navajo Nation, spent two years planning a different kind of Earth observation engagement. Together with the U.S. Geological Survey, Google, AmericaView, and the World Wildlife Fund, Tulley and NASA hosted The Nihimá Nahasdzáán: The Art of Mother Earth Gallery. In the Navajo language, Nihimá Nahasdzáán means Mother Earth. This two-day event took place at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Arizona in April 2023. It was the first community-driven event in the Navajo Nation to feature satellite images and Earth observation.
At this event, community members of all ages had the opportunity to learn about NASA’s Earth observations using an app powered by Google Earth Engine. The app used composite images from the Landsat series of satellites to increase awareness of how community members could use satellite imagery analysis for future collaborations and co-development efforts with the organizations that hosted the Art of Mother Earth Gallery.
While the event focused on how satellite imagery can benefit indigenous communities, it did so by tapping into the community’s rich culture of storytelling. “In planning this event, we considered the importance of being culturally inclusive on the perspectives of landscape, people, ways of knowing, and community,” Tulley said. “The goal was to create an atmosphere of trust and respect for sharing knowledge around Earth Observations. That's why the event was structured like a yarning circle. That structure made it family-oriented and created an opportunity for open dialogue.”
Following the success of this event, Tulley and her team plan to continue working with indigenous communities to co-develop Earth observation data, and build a large network of satellite Earth observation users within tribal nations. They hope to connect scientists and indigenous community members and enable them to address climate change and other challenges together.