At the invitation of the White House, Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribal Chairman James Steele Jr. will be part of a panel discussion tomorrow in Copenhagen as part of the International Climate Change conference.

Steele will join Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, U.S. Rep. Kate Knuth of Minnesota and Alice Madden, an adviser in the Colorado governor’s office for the talk, the Missoulian’s Vince Devlin reports here.

The National Wildlife Federation and the National Tribal Environmental Council joined the White House in issuing the invitation to the discussion titled “Leadership and Innovation by States and Tribes in the United States.”

“Our home reservation features pristine wilderness, waters and animal life,” Steele says. “This didn’t happen by chance or luck. We’ve worked very hard to maintain our natural areas and we’re also reclaiming lands. Each day seems to bring a new threat to our lands. I welcome this chance to tell our story.”

Gwen Florio

Tags: Alice Madden, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Gov. Jim Doyle, International Climate Change Conference, James Steele Jr., National Tribal Environmental Council, National Wildlife Federation, U.S. Rep. Kate Knuth, White House