What is the Role of Culture in Restoring Ecosystems?

The connections Indigenous peoples had with ecosystems like Camassia quamash (camas) meadows have been largely replaced by philosophies that were founded upon principles laid out in federal Indian policies like the Doctrine of Discovery. This shift in philosophies across the landscape has led to the decline of this culturally and ecologically important lily species in many areas where it previously flourished. The foundations for this shift were set centuries ago but still pervade federal policies like the U.S. Land Natural Resources Policy with words like extract, utilize, seize, control, preserve, and conserve. Although these words aren’t inherently extractive or negative in their connotation, neither they nor their use implies a reciprocal relationship. This project seeks to engage the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in western Montana with a cooperative research methodology to identify relevant cultural indicators for healthy camas meadows. This requires an Indigenous research agenda from the outset of the project and time spent with the community. Focus groups and interviews will be conducted on a spectrum between standard (planned) and reflexive (conversational) to honor cultural values and the cooperative nature of this project. All of this will be used to inform the co-research and co-development of cultural indicators for healthy camas meadows.