Stories of Climate and Health in Oregon
Amy Hill
By Alex Garcia, Americorps VISTA, Oregon Health Authority
Editor’s Note: In the spring of 2017, StoryCenter collaborated with the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs to lead a three-day digital storytelling workshop with tribal members, focused on stories of climate and health. Alex Garcia, who took the lead in organizing the workshop, reflects here on that process, and on the value of using storytelling as a tool to support people in understanding how climate change is directly impacting their lives. The critical importance of connecting with our reverence and respect for the natural world feels especially important in the wake of the devastating wildfire in the Columbia River Gorge area. Please join OHA and StoryCenter for an informational webinar addressing the use of personal stories to engage and communicate climate and health messages, scheduled for Thursday October 19, at 11 a.m. Pacific / 2 p.m. Eastern. For details on how to register, email Emily York with OHA.
Warm Springs residents view the climate and health stories at a local community screening.
When I was hired on as an Americorps VISTA working for the OHA's Climate and Health Program, the new statewide Climate and Health Resilience Plan was near release. The Plan highlights the value of storytelling as a way of engaging local communities. It felt like the perfect time to join the team, since I had a chance to give input on the types of projects I wanted to see take place. In the midst of our planning, we attended the 2016 North West Climate Change Conference, where my two big take-aways were an awareness of the lack of diversity in the climate science field, and the need to showcase human voices to help anchor the gravity of the problem. There seemed to be huge gaps in the way that information was being communicated, and in the way that people saw themselves in relation to climate change.
As all of this was floating around in my head, I took an Introduction to Story Facilitation course from StoryCenter. The class enabled me to experience firsthand the Story Circle process and write a story of my own. I saw how powerful and healing it can be to share a personal story. It also brought to light the lack of spaces like that offered by the workshop—where people can share, process, and connect with others.
Not long after the training, a group of my public health colleagues and I crossed paths with Warm Springs tribal member Scott Kalama. Scott expressed his concerns about the scarcity of food and water on the reservation, and shared his frustrations about corporate control over natural resources. We used that opportunity to reach out to Scott and also to Danny Martinez, the Warm Springs Tribal Emergency Manager, to see if a storytelling project would be a good fit for their community.
Scott and Dan agreed, and we spent months working together to recruit participants, bring StoryCenter up to lead a three-day digital storytelling workshop, and then plan a local community story screening. All of these efforts felt like a good balance of engaging, listening, and skill-building, in the creation of powerful stories to share. In the workshop, participants found a space to talk about complex issues. They felt heard, and naturally connected with one another. Likewise, during the community story screening, the storytellers showed a strong sense of pride in their videos, and participated with other community members in enthusiastic discussions about actions and next steps in climate and health activism.
Now that these powerful stories are available for viewing, I hope they can be a tool to support residents of Warm Springs in advocating for their local needs around climate and health, and also help legislators and decision makers see the connections between climate change and health for communities all across Oregon. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to have worked with this community on such an important topic during my year of service.
Karlen's story addresses the link between firefighting and the protection of indigenous culture