Monitoring of black oak (xánthiip) to center indigenous ecocultural revitalization
Indigenous Knowledge, Practice, and Belief Systems (IKPBS) are an ecological and cultural framework with which Indigenous communities have (and continue to) adaptively manage their land since time immemorial. In the current context of climate change and colonial forest and fire management in the western US, Indigenously-led ecological research and cultural revitalization offers a path forward where tribal sovereignty of land stewardship is maintained and the resiliency of natural systems are reestablished. We describe our process of developing an Indigenous-Directed Research (IDR) partnership to study xánthiip (Karuk for black oak, Quercus kelloggii), a Karuk cultural focal species, in the context of Karuk-led forest restoration.
Co-authors: Jessie Thoreson, Kathy McCovey, Colleen Rossier, Frank K. Lake, Reem Hajjar, Chook-Chook Hillman, Arielle Halpern, Bill Tripp, Meg Krawchuk
