Harmonious Convergence of Science
In the heart of the Klamath River, Indigenous biologist Jamie Holt, working for the Yuroks, a Native American community, is meticulously examining bits and pieces of fish through a microscope onboard a small, handcrafted canoe called Little Sister. The Yuroks, known as the Salmon People, are hoping to designate a 5,600 square mile marine sanctuary off the Central California coast to protect the ocean from oil drilling and offshore wind farms.
This project is a significant step in the tribe's fight, as the sampling will help track the effects of the protection on the oceans. The collaboration between Western scientists and Indigenous communities is a recent trend, with examples including the Yuroks working with universities to reroute waterways, remove invasive Russian olive trees, create riparian buffer zones, and reintroduce beavers and potentially the Bonneville cutthroat trout.
Violet Sage Walker, chairwoman of the NCTC, is the driving force behind both the collaboration and the sanctuary. The public comment phase for the marine sanctuary designation is ongoing, and the US Forest Service is finally beginning to work with tribes in earnest, with the agency's work including the expansion of tribal co-management opportunities, support of tribal self-governance, and collectively, upholding their trust obligations.
Traditional ecological knowledge, also known as native science or Indigenous science, has been around for centuries but has been all but ignored by the science world until recent times. The merging of Western science and traditional ecological knowledge is important because it directs research towards topics that are useful in the real world.
In California, the Chumash Tribe is also making strides in collaboration with Western scientists. Joseph Lopez, a member of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council, is working with Stephen Palumbi, a marine biologist from Stanford University, to collect marine samples as part of a new collaborative science project. The collaboration aims to use a capture-free method of assessing marine biodiversity using environmental DNA (eDNA).
Managing harsh conditions is nothing new for many tribes, who have suffered through centuries of racism. The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation is restoring 700 acres of land they purchased in 2018, which is sacred to the tribe, is a burial ground, and the site of the biggest massacre of Native Americans by the U.S. military.
The academics jumped at the chance to help, and visited the site the following day to make notes on invasive plants and offer assistance. Darren Parry, former tribal chairman who leads the project, visited professors in the natural resources department at Utah State University to seek help in restoring the land to its original state in 1863.
As the Yuroks and other Indigenous communities continue their fight for the protection of their lands and oceans, they are being approached by government agencies desperate for help managing the land in the face of an increasingly inhospitable climate. The collaboration between Indigenous communities and Western scientists is a promising step towards a more sustainable and equitable future.
