Congresswoman Stansbury Highlights Climate Resilience Work of NM’s Indigenous, Hispano Communities During Committee Hearing

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (N.M.-01) highlighted the work of New Mexican Indigenous, Hispano, low-income, and frontline communities in protecting water resources and building climate resilience during a House Committee on Natural Resources hearing.  

During the hearing, Rep. Stansbury and the committee heard witness testimony from environmental, conservation, and grantmaking organizations on the barriers of advancing the principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion at mainstream environmental institutions. Rep. Stansbury had the opportunity to highlight the work of indigenous communities and acequia communities in New Mexico in protecting our air, lands, and water. 

Rep. Stansbury also noted the U.S. government’s responsibility to acknowledge systemic policies that have harmed Indigenous peoples and communities of color, stressing the need to continue working for social and environmental justice. 

“As the Federal government is working with our communities to promote conservation and resource stewardship, we have to make sure that our communities are centered in that work and that there is adequate funding and support for co-management, for working together and ensuring that our communities’ histories, cultures, and languages are centered in the work that we are trying to advance,” said Rep. Stansbury. “So that means funding, resources, supporting co-management of lands and waters, meaningful consultation, and of course recognizing the Tribal sovereignty of our Pueblos and Tribes, and most importantly, ensuring that the knowledge, the wisdom, the governance, the institutions of our communities, and communities of color, are really at the center of our conservation and environmental protection work.”  

Rep. Stansbury continued by questioning Keya Chatterjee, executive director of the U.S. Climate Action Network on the barriers to achieving justice, equity, diversity, and belonging in environmental work. “[W]hat [do] you see as the primary barriers to advancing true justice, equity, diversity, and belonging in our mainstream environmental and conservation work, and how do we bring all of these voices to the table in our work in a meaningful way?”  

Chaterjee responded, stating, “Part of the issue here is that we don’t have any time on the climate crisis. We’ve spent so much time prioritizing the voices of people who are not impacted that the core of this is that we are out of time to waste. And so we’ve got to fix that core problem, which is bringing in the voices of the people who are most affected.”