Alumni Spotlight: Sam Schimmel

Sam Schimmel
Siberian Yupik and Kenaitze Indian
Stanford University Class of 2022
2020 Student Seminar Alum

Sam is an Alaska Native with a passion for subsistence hunting and fishing, both of which keep him connected to tradition and infuse his efforts to combat the suicide, drug abuse, and cultural erosion that riddle Native communities.

This autumn, Sam will help kick off the National Tribal Leadership Climate Change Summit. The Affiliated Tribes of NW Indians (ATNI), National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), United South and Eastern Tribes (USET), and Pacific Northwest Tribes will host the National Tribal Leadership Climate Change Summit from October 2020 to May 2021. The Summit will convene Tribal Leaders, youth, and staff from Tribal Nations, First Nations, and Indigenous communities worldwide and will begin with a series of virtual sessions focused on critical climate change topics.

On Tuesday, October 13, Sam will speak at the first session on Tribal Climate Change Policy. As Sam says in the video he did for PolicyEd.org, climate change is a pressing threat in communities that have traditionally relied on ice formations for hunting and fishing.

Sam will also participate in the Summit’s first virtual youth advocacy session on Friday October 9th to discuss international climate policy considerations and how indigenous youth can become leaders for climate action. Native leaders 25 and under who want to influence and craft climate policy can apply here to become a youth delegate.