Listening for the Rain: Indigenous Perspectives on Climate Change

Listening for the Rain brings together Indigenous perspectives from Tribal communities across the central United States in a meaningful conversation about climate change, environmental transformation, and resilience. Through stories shared by Native knowledge keepers, community members, researchers, and media artists, the documentary explores how climate variability is affecting Tribal lands, cultures, water systems, and traditional ways of life.

The film highlights both the challenges facing Indigenous communities and the innovative responses emerging from Indian Country, including community planning, environmental stewardship, and the preservation of traditional ecological knowledge. Developed through collaboration between Native and non-Native researchers, the project emphasizes the importance of listening to Indigenous voices in conversations about sustainability and climate adaptation.

Created with support from the South Central Climate Science Center and the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program, Listening for the Rain also documents a series of intertribal workshops held in Oklahoma and New Mexico that focused on drought planning, climate education, and community resilience. The documentary offers an important look at how Indigenous wisdom and scientific collaboration can work together to address the environmental challenges of our time.