Advancing Indigenous Land Rights and Stewardship in the U.S.: Promising Paths Forward
Indigenous Peoples have cultivated and stewarded their ancestral lands for millennia, enabling their ecosystems and cultures to thrive, be resilient to climate change, and provide meaning and purpose for their people. There is growing recognition of the social and environmental costs of colonization and dispossession and the urgency of re-establishing indigenous ecological practice and governance across landscapes. Many Tribes in the US have led path-breaking initiatives to regain land ownership and advance their sovereign rights on federally-held lands. Despite growing opportunities and policy support, challenges such as bureaucratic inertia and resistance from some organizations persist. In 2023, Indigenous leaders invited SEAS master’s students to support land return and co-stewardship initiatives, documenting innovative strategies for land recovery and conservation.
The event aims to contribute to the indigenous-led movements to secure Indigenous land rights and stewardship in the United States. It will highlight innovative initiatives by leading Tribes in the United States and projects by SEAS students to support those initiatives. This event is convened by the Pathways Alliance for Change and Transformation (PACT), in collaboration with the Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment, and the Sustainability and Development and Environmental Justice Specializations of the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) at the University of Michigan.
Attendees include representatives from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Buffalo Nations Grassland Alliance, Karen Diver of Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and national and international indigenous leaders, and Faculty and Master’s Students of the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability.
Attend virtually via Zoom here.
Tentative Agenda
2:00-3:00 p.m. |
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3:00-3:05 p.m. | 5 minute break |
Pathbreaking Tribal Initiatives and Student Projects (75 mins), Chaired by Andy White (Professor of Practice)
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4:20-4:30 p.m. | 10 minute break |
4:30-5:00 p.m. |
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5:00-6:00 p.m. | Reception - Ford Commons, Dana Building |