Indigenizing Restoration: Indigenous Lands before Urban Parks

Area of Science:

• Environmental science
• Indigenous studies
• Restoration ecology

Background:

• Climate change and human activities cause negative environmental impacts, affecting land productivity and ecosystem health.
• Current land restoration frameworks often overlook the crucial link between land and Indigenous peoples.
• The Western science foundation of many restoration frameworks limits the inclusion of Indigenous narratives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To advocate for the incorporation of Indigenous perspectives into land restoration frameworks.
• To identify key indicators for evaluating restoration through an Indigenous lens.
• To demonstrate the application of these indicators in a real-world restoration project.

Main Methods:

• Literature review on Indigenous-land connections and restoration ecology.
• Analysis of an ongoing restoration project at Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center in Seattle, Washington.
• Identification and application of three core indicators: ecocolonialism, kincentric ecology, and environmental narratives.

Main Results:

• Three critical indicators—ecocolonialism, kincentric ecology, and environmental narratives—were identified for an Indigenous-informed restoration approach.
• These indicators were applied to the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center site, providing historical context.
• Integrating these indicators was shown to indigenize restoration practices.

Conclusions:

• Incorporating Indigenous indicators into restoration frameworks is essential for effective environmental problem-solving.
• This approach can lead to more robust and culturally relevant solutions for long-standing ecosystem degradation.
• Indigenizing restoration fosters a deeper understanding of human-environment relationships.