The fifth National Climate Assessment came out last week. It’s an important report that lays out the impacts of climate change across the U.S.

In it this year is a chapter on the specific ways climate change affects indigenous communities — and why indigenous leadership and self-determination are essential for addressing the climate crisis.

One of the authors of that chapter is Mike Dockry, an assistant professor with the University of Minnesota Department of Forest Resources. He specializes in Tribal and Indigenous Natural Resource Management. He gave us a closer look at the chapter on Climate Cast.