Since the late 1960s, the fields of indigenous and environmental history have boomed. In the United States these large, nuanced, and often-overlapping historiographies have provided college educators with enormous scope to re-evaluate the past and contextualize contemporary political and social issues related to Native peoples and the environment. Given the synergies between indigenous and environmental histories, it seems only reasonable that college instructors challenge students to think critically about the historical complexities of contemporary indigenous and environmental issues. This essay presents readers with historiographical examples of the types of reference points that might be effectively deployed in the college classroom to encourage students to develop historical frameworks that enhance civic engagement and sociopolitical decision-making on issues related to Native ecological knowledge and environmental sustainability. The author's analysis builds on the insights of historian Mark Carey, who posits the need for a "critical climate history" that incorporates historical analysis into the science and politics of climate change discourse. The author agrees with Carey, but expands on his conclusions by proposing a framework referred to as "Native ecologies." "Native ecologies," refers to the development of a deeper historical appreciation for indigenous modes of environmental stewardship and ecological thinking that enables historians to analyze the local (or comparative) dimensions of climate change, while still recognizing the global, transnational nature of rapid environmental change. The analysis in this article begins by considering theories of Native ecologies. It does this by drawing insights from traditional ecological knowledge in North America, and transitions to take a global perspective of the historical significance of indigenous ecological knowledge among Native people outside of North America. The analysis seeks to balance ecocentric perspectives on climate change with reflections on the anthropocene, or human action--a balancing act that indigenous people throughout the world have a long history of engagement with.