Angela Sondenaa, Ph.D.—Siletz Tribal Member, ecologist and “student of ecology,” and longtime land steward with the Nez Perce Tribe—is a passionate advocate for the paradigm shift in resource / “life source” management that Indigenous voices can bring to the field of land management in this time of climate crisis.
Tribes have been powerful shapers and stewards of land on their own terms for thousands of years. They've also been leaders in contemporary conservation, working tirelessly on behalf of species and places ranging from California Condors to salmon and rivers to oak savannas—and Angela herself has brought a powerful voice, despite many barriers, to this legacy of contemporary Indigenous leadership. The US Government's current interest in co-management of public lands with Tribes, which we discuss in this episode, also goes some way toward healing the harm that has happened to both land and its traditional stewards since their forced dissociation.
While we don't shy away from the fraught histories of what has happened between people in this land, or the wrongs that humans have perpetrated on the rest of the living world, there is so much will to heal, and felt experience of healing, in this conversation. As we mend our separations, break old habits, and embrace new/old ways of sustaining the web of relationships that sustains us all, the part of Earth that is us heals.
If some part of this episode makes our mutual healing feel more possible, please consider becoming a subscriber: kinwardmoves.substack.com
