An equitable future.
Excerpt from Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts (COLT) 2022 State of the Lands report:
In 2021, the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts launched a year-long Learning Journey to support a cohort of 65 land trust staff and board to focus on land reparations to tribal communities and sharing conservation resources to support Indigenous sovereignty.
The purpose of the Oregon Land Justice Project is to learn how to partner with Indigenous people in their effort to reclaim and reconnect to their traditional landscapes and first foods.
The Blue Mountain Land Trust joined the community of conservation organizations in the Oregon Land Justice Project, a commitment to expand land access and align our work with Indigenous priorities. Through a collective learning journey, land trusts move toward developing and practicing equitable principles for engagement, repairing relationships, granting legal access, and sharing and rematriating land to tribal communities.
There is a diverse human history of how we’ve supported ecosystems, access, and management of lands. To grow in our conservation movement, we must first relearn the history and impacts of Indigenous land loss. Our awareness is a responsibility to make amends, repair, and be an ally in building Indigenous capacity and prosperity.
As part of the Learning Journey, we met with tribal members across Oregon and witnessed firsthand how collaborative efforts in conservation and restoration benefit plants, wildlife, land, and ultimately all humans.
“Land management needs to be in harmony with nature and attuned to the migration of animals and waterways. Who better to lead the way than the First Nations, the original stewards of the land. Their traditional ecological knowledge has been used for thousands of years, and we have already witnessed the benefits of collaborative restoration.” said Katy Rizzuti, BMLT Education Director.
Reflections in watercolor by Katy Rizzuti during a Learning Journey site visit with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR).