Children’s Health & Climate Change Symposium

The Rising Voices Changing Coasts (RVCC) Convergence Science Hub is hosting the second annual Children’s Health and Climate Change Symposium November 12th at Haskell Indian Nations University & November 14th at the University of Kansas. This year’s theme is - SOVEREIGNTY: Good Medicine for Healthy Nations, Healthy People.

Haskell Indian Nations University Rising Voices, Changing Coasts Hub and the University of Kansas Law School will convene the third annual Children’s Health and Climate Change Symposium on November 12-13, 2026 at Haskell and the KU Law School. This year’s symposium, Sovereignty: Good Medicine for Healthy Nations, Healthy People will focus on the deep relationality of children’s health, public policy & law, and global climate change.

To advance this year’s theme the Rising Voices, Changing Coasts (RVCC) Hub is particularly excited to partner with the University of Kansas Law School to expand our symposium to two days. Sovereignty: Good Medicine for Healthy Nations, Healthy People will explore the critical relationship of public policy and law with the environmental degradation that accompanies global climate change. The need to explicitly tie our children’s health to federal policies and law is desperately needed now. The voices of tribal leaders, community members, scientists, clinicians, doctors, lawyers, law makers, and political leaders must be lifted up to ensure our children’s futures include clean soil, air, water and healthy foods.

Day 1 of the Symposium will convene in the Haskell Auditorium on November 12th, and Day 2 will convene at the KU Law School. With the cooperation of the Native American Rights Fund and Tribal Nations, both days will feature discussions of the institutional and structural obstacles to ensuring the healthier future our children deserve. Please join us as we create a space/place where those holding knowledge, and hopefully wisdom, about the challenges we currently face and how we might address them can come together to share.