in recent months, that gap in understanding has become increasingly apparent. twenty-one states, including arkansas, have introduced or passed legislation to ban “critical race theory” in public schools, according to the hill. this has corresponded with a ring-wing media fixation on the academic framework, which calls attention to the impacts of systemic racism. if enforced, these laws could discourage teachers from telling students about racial inequities in the united states, including in the distribution of environmental burdens.

for the predominantly indigenous attendees at the gathering, held digitally from may 20-21, knowledge of the continuing impact of colonization comes by lived experience. marty matlock, chair of the environmental protection commission of the cherokee nation, executive director of the university of arkansas resiliency center, professor, and cherokee citizen, and summer wilkie, university of arkansas indigenous student coordinator, arranged the gathering to discuss solutions to the ongoing challenges faced by native people in relationship to the environment and to academic institutions.

on land

the first of four sessions focused on environmental and land-based projects. moderated by matlock, the panel incorporated the environmental insights of osage citizen jann hayman, choctaw citizen ryan spring, and cherokee citizens rebecca jim and clint carroll. for the indigenous communities represented, the global challenge of climate change is amplified by the legacy of displacement by the u.s. government.

“two of our communities represented here — choctaw, cherokee — and many others — were relocated 150 years ago,” matlock said. “so we’re on new lands effectively for our communities and we’re trying to figure out how to live on those new lands and bring life from those new lands and put our life back into new lands.”

ryan spring, who works in the choctaw nation historic preservation department and specializes in gis geographic data, expanded on this point.

“from a traditional choctaw perspective, our people were to be stewards of the land and have a relationship with the flora and the fauna that we lived beside,” spring said. “and we’re not able to do that anymore, being removed from our lands, coming here to lands that were ancestral to other people.”

and, in addition to the challenges tied to relocation, over the past 150 years, climate change and environmental pollution have caused their new land, and the resources on it, to change.

matlock recalled the analogy, “if climate change is the shark, water is its teeth.” those teeth come in many shapes. according to spring, in choctaw nation in southeastern oklahoma, water can’t be absorbed by the degraded soil. in osage nation to choctaw’s north, hayman noted a lack of drinkable water. in ottawa county in northeastern oklahoma, jim has spent decades calling attention to the contamination of tar creek, where the lead-laden waters run orange due to the toxic remnants of ore mining.

“in the northeast tribes in ottawa county, when it floods, it floods toxic water,” said jim, who now serves as executive director of the environmental justice organization lead agency. “and as it spills over, it contaminates the land that could’ve been great gardens.”

tar creek is a federal superfund site, meaning it is recognized by the epa as contaminated land that their superfund program has the responsibility of cleaning up. hazardous contamination often comes from profitable manufacturing, mining, and extractive industries. yet, communities are left to bear the environmental and health burdens. as of 2014, nearly 25% of the 1,322 superfund sites were in lands occupied by indigenous people, according to indian country today.

“the challenges are: when can you garden? when can you gather, when you know, and we found out, that there’s not a single blackberry you should eat along that creek bed? not a single one on the spring river that you should eat. not a single wild onion,” jim continued. “and so, how do you learn and how do you go back to your culture when you’re not really sure where the boundaries of ‘safe’ are?”

the challenges of adapting to changing lands and shifting boundaries of safety could soon be universal. as the climate crisis continues, and more people are displaced by natural disasters and altered ecosystems, the knowledge developed by native communities could be integral to shaping a resilient future. to the speakers at the gathering, sharing that knowledge with younger generations is part of being a good ancestor.

“our future generations are going to have a huge responsibility ahead of them,” spring said. “and what we need to be doing now is doing the best job that we can to help give them the tools and to help try to… limit those effects.”

on knowledge

during the second session, which focused on health and wellness, knowledge of the past was raised as a relief to the challenges of the present and future. melissa lewis, assistant professor of family and community medicine at university of missouri and cherokee nation citizen, said she had co-authored a study that found that cherokee people who learned their “language, history, and culture had improved mental health.”

“some folks have already done some research demonstrating that people who speak their indigenous language have (fewer) chronic diseases, like diabetes or obesity or heart disease,” she continued. “and i think, again, our language… within it is healing and it guides us and how we see the world.”

lewis was joined by three other panelists: youth services director and choctaw nation citizen nancy mason, university of arkansas ph.d. student and pawnee nation of oklahoma citizen electa hare-redcorn, and haskell indian health center administrative officer and chickasaw nation citizen commander shannon lowe.

while many of the gathering’s panelists and guests are involved in higher education, and all shared an interest in stewarding younger generations of native americans, conversation never drifted from an awareness that educational systems have a history of harm toward native communities. michael durglo, confederated salish and kootenai citizen and historic preservation department head, remarked that, “we’re just like one generation after the boarding school era days,” during which native children in the united states were taken out of their homes and sent to residential schools to assimilate them to european american culture.

“my dad was a boarder,” durglo said. “my dad is no longer with us, but a lot of the elders that i know now basically were just pulled out of their home and beaten for speaking our language.”

now, native people in the academic world are moving forward from forced assimilation and, instead, working to “indigenize” education. doing so requires difficult conversations about ownership and belonging within the university. 

wilkie, from the university of arkansas, closed the health and wellness session, and opened the following session on identity and representation, with an acknowledgment that university of arkansas itself is a land-grant institution built on land taken from the osage people.

“our university would not exist (without), and still benefits from, the theft and coercion of indigenous land,” said wilkie, who has written about the need to go beyond land acknowledgements.

according to matlock, indigenous people are not only connected to the land at university of arkansas, they also helped to build it and were among the first students to attend the university.

“this is why i think the reframing of the 1619 project informs us so much,” matlock said, referring to the new york time’s long-form journalism project.

according to the site, the project “aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black americans at the very center of our national narrative.”

“at our campuses, we’re trying to reframe this to our indigenous communities,” matlock continued. “you belong here because your ancestors helped build this place, but it goes beyond that. we have to have contemporary representation, contemporary presence, contemporary identity.”

sara barnett, university of arkansas ed.d. student and citizen of muscogee nation, said indigenizing education will benefit all.

“we need to make a real commitment to serving our native communities and to providing those spaces and creating a campus culture that really welcomes and appreciates diversity,” barnett said while on the identity and representation panel. “it’s not a process of just checking a box, or an afterthought, or having a certain position or taskforce on campus, but it’s really about that change in culture and creating those spaces so that it comes naturally.”

she was joined on the panel by university of arkansas professor of creative writing and indigenous studies, toni jensen, and fellow uark ph.d. student, andrea rogers. jensen’s memoir “carry: a memoir of survival on stolen land” is a new york times editors’ choice; rogers’ historical fiction novel “mary and the trail of tears: a cherokee removal survival story” was named one of the best books of 2020 by npr.

on the future

the idea of “indigenizing education” may seem vague, particularly to those who haven’t questioned the prevalence of western history and thought in our schools. in the closing general session of the gathering, anthropologist dr. robert franco gave one concrete model, titled “transcending barriers to success.” franco is director of the office for institutional effectiveness at university of hawaii and his research focuses primarily on the people of samoa. 

the four components of the transcending barriers to success model include making connections between western and indigenous knowledge in redesigned curriculum and supporting indigenus students in stem fields. yet, franco also emphasized a “need to humble the science and the academic perspective” and amplify community-based knowledge.

this point is informed by the “place-based” nature of franco’s recent work; he focuses on biocultural restoration, a concept that centers on healing the cultural, spiritual, and physical relationships between humans and nature. franco noticed a shift to this framing amongst his associates during the the university of hawaiʻi-west oʻahu’s 2019 grand challenges summer institute, which sought to address water issues through new academic approaches.

“the first thing we should do is restore those water systems,” franco said. “by restoring those water systems, we then are more resilient for the impacts that climate change will bring. so then you see a subtle shift from climate change to biocultural restoration.”

franco put an emphasis on active learning, through which students get outside and into ecosystems with the guidance of cultural specialists.

the final speaker of the gathering, durglo, already is putting these concepts into action on his ancestral lands in northwest montana. there, he started the environmental advocates for global and local environmental sustainability, or eagles. he said the youth program that began with 40 members now has 400. it’s his dream for it to go international.

in 2012, durglo developed a climate action plan for the confederated salish and kootenai tribes. he recorded visits with eight elders and incorporated their knowledge into the plan. now, as he’s empowering the next generation, it’s possible to see how the lessons of the past can be used to shape a more resilient, equitable future.

“we need to be mindful and pay attention and to plan and prepare,” durglo said. “we’re the caretakers of the environment and prepare a place better than how we found it for those yet to come.”

but five years ago, the preserve resembled a barren wasteland. invasive plants choked out native wildlife. tangles of hostile weeds overwhelmed the trails and were impossible to penetrate without a machete. compared to the constant chorus of bird songs that enchants visitors today, the landscape was once nearly silent.

the preserve’s future changed drastically when one westport resident, jerid o’connell, grew frustrated with its decaying state. over the years, he and other connecticut audubon society members have organized a massive, ongoing volunteer effort to restore and conserve the property. affectionately known as the smith rich preserve, what was once an environmental dead zone transformed into a thriving coastal forest. local birdwatchers now consider it one of the most important migratory pit stops in new england.

“change is possible,” jerid o’connell, who spearheaded the effort, said. “change is always fast. and it’s much, much grander and more spectacular than you think.”

the restoration has taken five years, hundreds of volunteers and nearly $500,000 in donations and grants—so far. workers who oversaw the project agree its success came down to one man—o’connell.

o’connell’s background lies not in environmental conservation, but in digital photography and retouching. he embarked on the multi-year journey to save smith rich without any initial plan. as a concerned resident who saw potential in the land, his first step was writing a simple (but in his words, “nasty”) email to the audubon society back in 2013.

the smith richardson foundation donated the property to the connecticut audubon society in 1982. the three land parcels meant little to the audubon back then, said milan bull, its current science and conservation director and an audubon member for over 20 years.

“to us, it was an old tree farm that had been abandoned,” bull said. “it was just one gigantic tangle of invasive vines, and so it was a bit overwhelming to us when we first got the property.”

community members have recognized the preserve’s potential as far back as 1994, when yale university researchers published a study on its ecological value. it cites invasive species as a major factor in the property’s degradation.

invasives developed an advantage over native plants after over-farming depleted smith rich’s nutrient soil in the 1970s, according to the study. culprits like mile-a-minute, garlic mustard and porcelain berry still plague all three land parcels.

“these things become a monoculture on the forest floor so nothing else grows but these invasives,” bull said. “the whole biodiversity of our coastal forest system declines.”

but o’connell acknowledged smith rich’s size, and its proximity to a coastline, meant it had limitless potential. that’s why he sought out donations and volunteers for a restoration project.

by nov. 15, 2014, o’connell and the connecticut audubon society had amassed nearly 100 volunteers to whack weeds and clear space for trails. they consisted mostly of teenagers from local volunteer organizations, including the service league of boys and builders beyond borders.

“it was the first step in the right direction,” o’connell said. “you would have thought i was some nutty person wasting a bunch of teenagers’ weekend time cutting vines, but it’s really made a difference.”

the energy from the first day has barely dissipated, o’connell said. over the next five years, volunteer days became an annual event, with many volunteers working longer hours and further involving themselves with the restoration plan.

jory teltser, a member of the connecticut young birders club and an incoming freshman at oberlin college, is one such volunteer—he attended the first clean-up and every clean-up since, contributing over 30 hours of work.

“seeing how [the preserve] has transformed over the last couple of years was pretty amazing,” he said. “it really has become just a hidden treasure in town, and it can really show people that a lot of hard work pays off in the end.”

two years of fundraising and volunteering finally resulted in what o’connell described as the turning point: a $145,000 matching grant from the national fish and wildlife foundation in 2017. to obtain it, the connecticut audubon society had to raise $134,000—a figure they exceeded within a year. the money contributed to ongoing work, including trail maintenance. the ecosystem at smith rich has flourished ever since.

the property is known as a migratory “hotspot,” meaning birds, butterflies and other insects will stop by to fuel up along their exhausting migration routes. today, smith rich boasts meadows rich with seeds and forests rich with fruit—perfect for hungry travelers along the critical atlantic flyway.

“the sheer number of birds during migration at this spot is greater than any other place i’ve seen in the state,” teltser said. “in these fields i’ve seen hundreds and hundreds of birds at a time.”

the high number of birds also serves as an indicator for general environmental health—including the health of humans in the area.

“if we have healthy habitats from birds, we have healthy habitats for ourselves because we require the same things the birds do,” patrick comins, executive the connecticut audubon society’s executive director and a restoration project leader, said. “where birds thrive, people prosper.”

nowadays, the society also focuses on building a community around smith rich. aside from volunteering, the restoration has created educational and cultural opportunities. that includes teaching the next generation of environmental activists how to enact change in their community.

“we have issues of national and even international concern right here in connecticut,” comins said. “we have birds that are globally vulnerable to extinction. connecticut is absolutely critical to their survival. you can make a global difference by acting locally.”

one would think that the place that inspired charles darwin’s theory of evolution would receive any type of funding or support it needed to maintain its unique wildlife, but that was not the case. it wasn’t until the 1959 that ecuador formally made the galápagos a national park. over the decades, conservationists on the islands and in the national park battled to eradicate invasive species and get more stringent regulations put in place and enforced. today the main threat to biodiversity that the islands face is the rise in tourism. more visitors lead to more waste, more invasive stowaways species on the deliveries from the mainland, and more pollution. to manage the tourism boom, there will likely need to be more firm limitations to growth put in place on top of the strict rules that are already there. the complicated issue of how to balance people’s livelihoods with conservation will have to be answered somehow. the ones who will play the biggest role in deciding the future of the galápagos will most likely be the people most connected to the islands: the people living there today. check out the video above and see what they have to say! 

watch my video to learn more about invasive species management in the washington, d.c., metro area.

barb walker, pinellas county’s coordinator for ospreywatch, which is a program run by the center for conservation biology that monitors the health and reproduction of ospreys worldwide, asked forys to gather a few students to monitor nests, and she thought that “it seemed like a really good thing because a lot of the osprey nesting is during the academic year.”

now each year, forys leads a group of eckerd college students in a research project about the ospreys that nest on the college’s campus and throughout st. petersburg. the project contributes to ospreywatch. some of her students’ past research has focused on whether ospreys prefer to nest on natural substrate, such as trees, or artificial substrate, such as nesting platforms and streetlights; how the number of young produced at a nest is affected by sharing nests with monk parakeets; and how the installation of new nesting platforms affect the ospreys.

according to forys, ospreys are “at the top of the food chain, so you have to have lots of lower levels to support them, so usually a diverse and resilient ecosystem will support ospreys. i notice when they are eating their fish [that] they eat a really wide range of large fish. it’s not like they’re specialists, so they are a sign that there’s lots of different species around and doing well.” in other words, biodiversity is one key to having a healthy osprey population. moreover, “you can tell if you have healthy ponds and waters and good fisheries if the ospreys are doing well.”

according to the ospreywatch website, ospreys are “one of very few truly global sentinels for aquatic health” because they live on every continent except antarctica and they can be affected by overfishing and environmental contaminants, like ddt. research about where ospreys nest and successfully produce chicks is important because it helps us to understand the health of the rest of the ecosystem. if the ospreys could not nest or produce young, it could mean that the fish population is unusually low or that pesticides, like ddt, or other chemicals are interfering with the ospreys.

forys encourages everyone to get involved in monitoring ospreys. “people can monitor ospreys through project ospreywatch anywhere in the world. locally it’s mainly, you know, students are doing it on the campus, but [with] project ospreywatch, anyone can collect data on ospreys and enter it. it’s a really easy to use interface, and i think the more nests are monitored the more data they’ll have, so it’s something that anybody can get involved in. a lot of people have an osprey near them.”

we don’t have to continue with this destruction, however. according to sam thayer, a forager and author from northwestern wisconsin, the key to better stewardship of the environment may be reconnecting emotionally with the natural world.  he believes it’s time we viewed the earth as sacred, like many indigenous cultures do.

“i think that sacredness is a way in which culture speaks to individuals about what is important,” thayer said.

if we view the ecosystems that surround us as sacred, we might just realize how much we rely on their support. when we acknowledge that relationship, appreciation will likely follow, and from appreciation could stem the action our ailing planet needs: a major change from how we’re treating it today.

seeing the sacredness

so how do we transform the “ordinary” earth into something so special, so sacred? if you look at the stories that pepper our past, you might think it takes a legend, maybe a war.  but thayer thinks there’s an easier way, no violence involved: if you want to make something sacred, all you have to do is eat.

it may sound ridiculous, but thayer’s not suggesting we munch on the stones beneath our feet: he’s urging us to see the sacrality in the plants we already consume. according to thayer, modern humans have forgotten how important the plants that feed us really are, because we spend little time on basic needs like finding food.

“so many people don’t know that cotton is a plant, or that potatoes have leaves,” thayer lamented.  and if you’ve never witnessed your food sprouting up from the soil, it’s hard to see that soil is sacred – it’s not just dirt.

sam’s experience has taught him that it is through direct interaction that we develop a sense of sacredness. physical connections to the environment will become emotional the longer they last: from objective knowledge to subjective feeling, our bond grows stronger over time.  eventually the connection strengthens into “a spiritual relationship, and a feeling of deep responsibility to our landscape and our descendants,” thayer said.

the problem is that in today’s culture very few people have any direct contact with the plants that provide them with food: as urbanization continues, more people spend their lives in the concrete jungle of cities instead of the “real” jungles beyond.  that means many people lack the physical connections to the environment from which a sense of sacredness might sprout.

a scrumptious solution

thayer knows there’s a way to reverse this trend: interacting more with nature is the solution to our woes.  and this is far from an arduous, difficult task, because that interaction can take the form of a meal.

“i believe that gathering and eating food directly from nature is the easiest and most effective way to build an appreciation for plants and the ecosystems they create,” thayer said.  “it fosters gratitude. it creates sacredness… it is better for us and better for the earth.”

if thayer is right – and there’s evidence he is – we should snack on berries and nuts, not burgers and fries. but just shifting our diets won’t solve the whole dilemma, because how we obtain our food is what really needs to change.  “gathering and using a plant is the process that makes it sacred,” thayer explained. “look at the plants considered sacred by native peoples–they are all plants that were extensively gathered and used.”

if this sounds over-the-top, don’t run away yet, we don’t have to return to our primitive past.  “we need to create, maintain, foster, and reinforce those physical relationships that lead to an attitude of sacredness,” thayer said, but that doesn’t mean abandoning modern life!

by taking small steps to explore wild food, you’ll build relationships with the land outside your door.  even in cities, there are plenty of opportunities to sample a few wild plants in your salad and connect to the ecosystems from which they come.

building that relationship isn’t a chore either, it can be a pleasure. “i tell people to forage because it is fun, first and foremost” thayer said. “the rest grows naturally and automatically from that.”

the more you get to know local ecosystems (including the urban ones so many of us now inhabit) the more fun you’ll have.  but it’s not just you that will benefit. as you grow closer to plants you once passed without a thought, your attitude towards the earth is likely to improve as well.

“the act of gathering builds and compounds gratitude,” says thayer. if we all tried foraging, our collective gratitude could grow.  we could learn to see the earth as sacred, worth our time and effort to protect.  as this attitude spreads and begins to gather strength, we could radically shift the way we treat our planet.  the more plants and places we really get to know, the less likely we are to replace them with a parking lot.

the environment would certainly benefit from this shift, and we might notice our own bodies changing as well. by replacing processed foods with nature’s nutrient-rich fare, foraging would do our health a favor too.  but even more than the planet, your body, or your tastebuds, thayer believes foraging is good for the soul.  “i think a connection to nature is a vital part of what it is to be human,” he explains; in other words, our human nature could be more natural than we know.

what thayer is implying is truly profound: foraging is about more than gathering food. it is a way of reminding ourselves how sacred life is – human life, and all other forms in the world. so why not just try it: give gathering a chance! there are more edible plants out there than you might think, and many are growing in the abandoned lots, sidewalks, and gardens that surround you even in the concrete world of the city. so grab a foraging guidebook, and pull your friends out the door, as well: as you connect with each other and the planet, you’ll be defending our sacred earth.

of the many approaches being taken we believe greening the city is of utmost importance. by incorporating nature within city structure, cities are reversing their carbon footprint and creating a healthier place for you to live. health bonuses come both physically and psychologically. the city of atlanta for example is currently under construction of a beltline project. this 22 mile loop around the city will connect over 20 parks and reclaim 1100 acres of brownfield site. allowing greater community accessibility to sustainable transport, the beltline will provide a gateway and act as a green connection for the city. at its finish the program will be running tours and informational sessions all along its paths, as it becomes a living and functional tourist attraction.

the city of detroit, mi, has undertaken the implementation of “green and blue” landscape systems. the importance of restoring it’s land to it’s natural state, while also improving residents’ quality of life serves as the basis for their mission. a complex action plan detailing strategies like carbon forests, industrial buffers, and surface lakes has been implemented. real results have been noticed by the people. a reduction in construction, maintenance and operation costs, an increase in property values, creation of attractive neighborhoods, vacant land recapture, storm water recollection, and the creation of new jobs, have all led to a greater city government support rates, and overall better health within the city as a reach out to ecological balance is underway.

the city of el paso is a pioneer in prioritizing green infrastructure as a way to improve the city’s appeal to business and visitors and achieve the title of the united states most livable city. el paso has adopted a multifaceted approach to become one of the leading green infrastructure cities in the southwestern united states by making public participation the focus of their initiative to employ green infrastructure techniques in the most effective ways possible. public participation has proven central to el paso’s success because it involves citizens in the decision-making process, which earns their approval and support.

rationale: if multiple people in a neighbourhood place orders in a window of time, wouldn’t it make sense if they are able to coordinate their orders? wouldn’t it make easy for the cargo delivery guys to make few visits to a neighborhood and deliver the goods? most importantly doesn’t it make economic and environmental sense?

what the app does: let’s say a person “x” order in parkstreet. an ecoorder will come in effect in the parkstreet area for a limited period of time. this means that anyone who places orders in the parkstreet area in that limited time will be delivered on the same day along with the delivery for person “x”. since the orders in parkstreet are coordinated, the delivery guy makes just one trip and delivers all the goods for the consumers in parkstreet. in turn consumers who opt for ecoorder can either get credits or lower shipping fees.

consumers: they can add the items to the cart and check ecoorder. the order will be placed when the ecoorder for their neighbourhood is in effect. if there is no ecoorder (within a stipulated time), the order will be automatically placed. they can get alerts about ecoorder for their locality. for instance the alert says “ecoorder in effect for parkstreet. place order before 4 p.m.”

subscribe and save consumers: show them the window of ecoorder for their neighbourhood. if they select ecoorder, their subscribed items will arrive during that period.

this will be add-on functionality which is easy to implement. therefore consumers who are only interested can opt in. ecoorder is social ordering which presents a unique sustainable choice to consumers.

market: this would be attractive to environmentally conscious consumers in countries like usa. it presents a win win opportunity that was not possible before. particularly in markets like asia, pacific region amazons shipping costs range from $4.99 to $29.99. the average consumers in these parts of the world are cost conscious, therefore any opportunity to reduce the shipment costs would be a welcome feature.

impact:

• streamlined delivery for service providers and service personnel.
• lower number of delivery trips .helps save fuel,emissions and positive impact on traffic.lower delivery fees for consumer.
• win win win for business, consumers and environment.

the idea “ecoorder” truly is an untapped opportunity and uncharted territory in the world of business apps.