November is Native American Heritage Month and the Land Trust recently took the time at a gathering of our staff and Board to reflect on our partnerships with the Tribal communities on whose ancestral lands we work. We are often asked by community members just how we partner with Tribes, and while we have much more to do and learn, we are proud of the ways we are contributing to the efforts of local Indigenous communities as they seek to restore and connect with the lands they have stewarded since time immemorial.
Below are a few of the ways we look to Tribes to partner, guide, and inform our work to conserve and care for the lands and waters of Central Oregon:
- Natural Resources staff from the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs have served on our Board and as formal Advisors for more than 20 years. We regularly seek direction and input on conservation and stewardship priorities from their staff and committees.
- Since 2005, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, in partnership with PGE, have provided funding, technical support and guidance for Land Trust conservation and restoration projects on Whychus Creek, Priday Ranch, and Ochoco Preserve through the Pelton Round Butte Fund. These efforts are focused on restoring salmon and steelhead—important first foods—into the upper Deschutes River basin.
- Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and other partners are leading efforts to conserve land in the Metolius Mule Deer Winter Range; the Land Trust is providing technical support and staff resources to this effort.
- Klamath Tribes have provided feedback and support for our newest Preserve, Paulina Creek Preserve, which is inside their ceded lands. We will continue to welcome their guidance and expertise as we plan for restoration and interpretation at the site.
- The communities of Warm Springs and Chiloquin have planted milkweed and pollinator plants from the Land Trust in their communities to increase habitat for Western monarch butterflies and other pollinator species. Thanks to Warm Springs Community Action Team, the Museum at Warm Springs, Warm Springs Academy, and Chiloquin Elementary School for helping with these efforts!
- Warm Springs youth have and will continue to support restoration and stewardship on Land Trust properties within their ceded lands through internship and youth conservation crew programs like Project Zero and Warm Springs Work Experience and Development Department.
- Columbia River Institute for Indigenous Development is a newer partner for the Land Trust with whom we are working to find ways Land Trust properties can serve as resources for their cultural and language revitalization efforts.
In addition to these local partnerships, the Land Trust continues to participate in the statewide leadership of the Oregon Land Justice Project whose vision is to expand Indigenous access, ownership, and stewardship of land in Oregon. This cohort of more than a dozen land trusts is focused on advancing this vision through collaboration, shared learning (like the field trip pictured above), and creating resources. One such resource is the Indigenous Land Relationship Fund which supports Indigenous-led community projects to reclaim and reconnect to culture, traditional landscapes, and First Foods. To date the fund has provided over $50,000 in grants to projects across the state.
During Native American Heritage Month and throughout the year, we encourage you to consider supporting the Indigenous Land Relationship Fund or donating to one of the many great organizations whose work advances the goals of our Tribal partners.
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