In January 2024, CIRES’ Tribal advisor James Rattling Leaf, Sr. visited employees on the CU Boulder campus and at DSRC. He gave two-hour-long talks aimed at educating CIRES employees about “Utilizing cultural intelligence to advance Tribal engagement and partnerships.” The session provided recommendations for working with Tribal communities based on the Cultural Intelligence framework, ultimately building collaborations with Tribal communities that respect sovereignty and self-determination.
Below you’ll find feedback and results collected from his visit.
The seminar offered in the CIRES auditorium had 125 participants, with 53 in-person, and 72 online. The seminar offered at the David Skaggs Research Center (DSRC) had 81 participants, 33 in-person and 48 online. The slides and recording for this talk can be found on InsideCIRES. Both seminars received positive feedback. One participant shared, “It’s so great to hear from James and about how he views his new role as CIRES Tribal Advisor. So excited about his work and expertise, and his genuine presence is so positive! We’re lucky to have him representing and guiding CIRES.”
Participants were offered the following icebreaker prompt: “Come up with two words that you think of when you imagine navigating cultural differences.” The most common words shared were curiosity, awareness, learning, respect, empathy, humility, curiosity, nervous, openness, perspective, listening, and uncertainty. Of those who responded to the survey, 88% reported feeling more comfortable discussing the topic of cultural intelligence with a colleague.
On the survey, participants were asked: “How might you use the information in today’s seminar in your work?” Two responses to this question are shared below.
“I definitely would feel more comfortable discussing the impact that field-research campaigns have on local communities within my research group, and as well as trying to reach out to those communities to communicate with them about the research being done.”
“It’s important to remember that different cultures can work together while honoring the validity of each’s perspective.”
James is eager to spend more time with everyone at CIRES! He plans to return to Boulder once a month this spring to allow for in-person consultations with CIRES employees and their federal partners. He will be available on CU Boulder’s main campus along with SEEC on East campus, and, at DSRC. Fill out this form to indicate your interest in setting up a consultation in late March.
