“Empowering the Third Sovereign” with Carlo

One of the fun things about administering the Fletcher Educational Enrichment Fund – a small grant program designed to provide support to students’ independent research and experiential learning pursuits – is getting a close-up look at all the interesting things our students are up to. The fund has supported all manner of excursions to professional and scholarly conferences, field-based data collection and other research, and competitions and simulations. Until recently, though, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a documentary result from a project proposal.

2nd-year MALD student Carlo has changed that with “Empowering The Third Sovereign: Native American Nations Confronting the Challenges of Climate Change,” a short film he recently completed. Simultaneously pursuing his interests in climate change and energy policy and Native American cultural and political history, his research proposal took him to the greater Salt Lake City area for a conversation with Elizabeth Kronk Warner, Dean and Professor of Law at the University of Utah, and a noted expert on Native American law. Working with local indigenous filmmakers, Carlo researched the potential applications of tribal sovereignty and treaty provisions to influence US domestic environmental law and climate change policy.

Congrats to Carlo on the great work! You can check out the short below.