Paper short abstract:

The homeland of the Blackfoot consists of a series of named places connected by paths, movement and narratives. During their annual movement across this landscape, humans behaved as stewards in their interactions with their non-human relatives and, in the process, created the 'pristine' prairies.

Paper long abstract:

Researchers today acknowledge the impact of Indigenous populations on the supposed ‘pristine’ environments of ecologists but few accept the nature and extent of landscape management practices by nomadic bison hunters such as the Blackfoot of western North America. Unlike the ecosystem of ecologists, the homeland of the Blackfoot includes an upper, a middle, and a lower world, each of which is populated with sentient beings who treat each other with respect. The Blackfoot homeland is also more than a series of resource patches; it is a succession of named places connected by paths, movement, narratives, songs and rituals. The narratives explain the origins of the homeland and the history of the group whereas the songs and rituals ensure the renewal of the land, the resources and the people. More than the pursuit of bison, the annual movement across the homeland is simultaneously an historical journey, a social odyssey, and a ritual pilgrimage where the respectful treatment of non-human relatives involves prayers and offerings during the harvest, processing and disposal of the remains. Beyond such species-level practices, the Blackfoot engaged in community-level and landscape-level management practices such as the selective harvest and displacement of resources and the use of controlled burns to create summer and winter pastures for the bison. To the Blackfoot then, the resources are available because of the actions of their culture heroes and the practices of their ancestors and their role as stewards is to behave accordingly to ensure the renewal of the homeland for future generations.

Paper short abstract:

In 2018, Pimachiowin Aki, “The land that gives life,” was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Anishinaabe applicants challenged the modernist separation of nature and culture which had framed UNESCO decisions and created space for other Indigenous cultural landscape proposals.

Paper long abstract:

In 2018, Pimachiowin Aki, “The land that gives life,” was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It took the Anishinaabeg communities of Poplar River, Pauingassi, Little Grand Rapids, and Bloodvein, 18 years, working patiently with the Governments of Manitoba, Ontario, and Canada, to achieve this status. They argued that their territorial lands are not just an example of a healthy boreal ecosystem, where rivers run free from source to mouth and there are no mines, no forestry operations and no industrial structures, but that the Anishinaabe people, as stewards of this land for the last many thousands of years, are successful ecosystem managers. Pimachiowin Aki is a vibrant cultural landscape because the people who live there live Anishinaabe lives and speak Anishinaabemowin. Their experiences of the land and rivers, the animals and spirits are framed by an Anishinaabe ontology which is elegantly expressed in Anishinaabemowin. Their ideas are different from conventional understandings of the world and the way it works; different enough to present a challenge to visitors who struggle to imagine the forces which shape Anishinaabe lives and contribute to their well-being. In submitting their application, they caused UNESCO rethinks its method of evaluating nominations where land and culture are interrelated, and ultimately, in addition to securing their nomination, they challenged the modernist separation of nature and culture which had framed UNESCO decisions for many years.

Paper short abstract:

This paper will begin to explore and examine the practices of non-profit entities that come to Native reservations and "help" people - with conservation, for example.

Paper long abstract:

Within the nine districts on the Pine Ridge Reservation there are alleged to be handfuls of groups with PO Boxes that have their respective mail forwarded to other locations across the country. These groups are often claiming to help the people of the Pine Ridge Reservation, their animals, in some cases their pets, or Lakota people in general. And yet, their home bases and administrative functions exist and occur elsewhere. This paper will begin to explore what this whole process is all about in terms of sovereignty or outsiders imposing their efforts to "do good" for indigenous populations—American Indians, Lakota in particular. This paper will explore practices of conservation agencies and their social impacts on reservation communities.

Paper short abstract:

Conservation, as the conference abstract says, can only be accomplished with indigenous peoples. More importantly for our future, this paper argues that it can only be truly achieved by people who practice what it means to be native, to be settled with the land.

Paper long abstract:

Anthropology is still often consulted by conservation when conservation practices reach Indigenous peoples. This paper argues that we should look at all peoples engaged with conservation from an anthropological perspective. At the bottom of the present ecological crisis lies alienation from the land. The question for our future is, then, how we can practice being native. Beyond respecting those who have been on the land for a much longer time than us, this also means becoming conscious of our own relationships to the land on which we live.

This paper discussed some obstacles to these practices, showcases some solutions, and takes the northern plains as an example for a landscape in which people have become native. I argue that especially recent events around resource extraction showcase that ancestral-based categories of Settlers and Natives need to be refined based on practice and relations.