On:
In: burn, dendrochronology, Duluth, Evan Larson, fire, indigenous, Melonee Montano, Minnesota Point, pine, prescribed burning, scar, sea grant funded, Superior, TEK, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Wisconsin Point, wood

Research into centuries-old fire-scarred trees in northern Wisconsin is helping shape current fire management practices for tribal and state partners. The project, We are all gathering around the fire, or Nimaawanji’idimin giiwitaashkodeng in Anishinaabemowin, combines dendrochronology, Native Experiential Knowledge (NEK), and community engagement to uncover the intertwined ecological and cultural history of this Lake Superior coastal landscape.

The two-year Wisconsin Sea Grant-funded project, featured in a new video, confirmed something long known in Indigenous communities but rarely acknowledged in scientific literature: the beloved red pine forests on Wisconsin and Minnesota Points were not shaped by nature alone, but by people who used fire to care for the landscape. Red pine struggles to produce new generations without fire.

Aerial photo of Wisconsin and Minnesota Point, two peninsulas in Lake Superior.

Wisconsin and Minnesota Points are Lake Superior coastal peninsulas off the shores of Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin.

Evan Larson uses a belt sander in his workshop.

Dendrochronologist and Professor Evan Larson sands a wood sample to get it ready for the microscope.

The exclusion of Indigenous perspectives and burning practices in the forest management has led to reduced ecosystem resiliency, biodiversity, and a drop in the pine tree population. In order to prove that people, and not natural phenomena like lightning, set fires to the landscape, the team looked for centuries-old fire scars from tree samples collected on the Points. The data confirm what the team expected.

“The fires on both Points ceased abruptly after the signing of the 1842 and 1854 treaties,” said Evan Larson, professor at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. “It is undeniable that the reason that we love the Points and protected the pine forest is because of the fires that people were setting,” Larson said. “That act of ‘protecting’ – moving people out of that space – is literally dooming the things that we’re hoping to protect.”​

After two years of research, engagement, and outreach, the team has shown the importance of fire and NEK to Wisconsin and Minnesota Points. This has allowed them to take important steps to return cultural fire to the landscape.

Melonee Montano smiles.

Melonee Montano, project leader and University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Forestry Department graduate student, talks about the deep significance that Wisconsin and Minnesota Points hold to the Anishinaabe people.

A pine forest on Wisconsin Point.

Fire helps red pines, like the ones pictured here on Wisconsin Point, regenerate.

“One thing that has made this research extremely successful is the funding from Wisconsin Sea Grant, because that’s been our starting point for all of this,” says project and tribal leader Melonee Montano. Throughout the project, Larson, Montano, and their students talked to local residents about the history of fire and the possibility of returning it. “The funding made it possible for us to go out and actually build these relationships on the ground, in people’s homes, at their kitchen tables, and at the city meetings.”

Larson and Montano have been surprised by the amount of support they’ve gotten from the community. “Through this work, we’re seeing, in ways that I can’t put into words, that it’s time for fire to come back,” says Montano. The city of Superior is now in advanced discussions with fire experts from the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa about burning practices on Wisconsin Point.

“A lot of this really has only been possible because of this grant, which is really weird for my mind to process,” reflects Montano. “It’s strange to think that it took a grant – a piece of paper, some money – to bring these folks together to actually start tearing down through the layers of trauma to figure out what is at the base and what really happened.”

While the Sea Grant funding has come to a close, the team continues their work supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation. They will be broadening their research to encompass the whole Great Lakes region.  

Watch the video here.

The post Watch: How tree rings and community conversations are bringing fire back first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/watch-how-tree-rings-and-community-conversations-are-bringing-fire-back/

Bonnie Willison

On:
In: First Nations, graduate assistant, indigenous

The Sea Grant field office on the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus has an opening for a First Nation’s graduate assistant at the masters or Ph.D. level, in collaboration with the  First Nations Studies Program and Cofrin Center for Biodiversity to develop a place-based research or professional project focused on First Nation connection to the Green Bay watershed. Project activities could include, but are not limited to, archival research, archeology, oral tradition and application of Indigenous knowledge systems.

The individual will also work with the three supervising partners on outreach and educational activities.

The candidate must be enrolled or eligible for enrollment at UW-Green Bay in either the M.S. Environmental Science and Policy Graduate Program or the Ed.D. First Nations Education Doctoral Program for the fall 2022 semester.

This opportunity is open until filled. Full details are available here.

The post First Nations position opening in Green Bay field office first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/first-nations-position-opening-in-green-bay-field-office/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=first-nations-position-opening-in-green-bay-field-office

Moira Harrington

On:
In: Climate, indigenous

Michigan State University and the Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians are fighting climate change while preserving Anishinaabeg cultural practices. 

The post Center combines Indigenous and Western knowledge to fight climate change first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.

Original Article

Great Lakes Echo

Great Lakes Echo

http://greatlakesecho.org/2022/01/07/center-combines-indigenous-and-western-knowledge-to-fight-climate-change/

Guest Contributor

On:
In: Echo, food sovereignty, indigenous

When Ziibimijwang Farm sells maple sugar at Minongin Market in Mackinaw City, it’s  more than a business transaction – it represents Indigenous food sovereignty.

The post Indigenous entrepreneurs reclaim food system first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.

Original Article

Great Lakes Echo

Great Lakes Echo

http://greatlakesecho.org/2021/11/02/indigenous-entrepreneurs-reclaim-food-system/

Guest Contributor

On:
In: American Indians, Bad River Band, book club, children's literature, Chippewa, First Nations, GLIFWC, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, indigenous, Lake Talks, Native American, Ojibwe

As fall leaves continue their colorful turn and cooler winds blow, it’s a perfect time to curl up with a good book—and encourage the young readers in your life to do the same.

Wisconsin’s Sea Grant’s “Lake Talks” continue on Thursday, Nov. 11, from 7-8 p.m. with a literary theme. The evening’s presentation will be “Maadagindan! (Start Reading!) Literature for Young People about the Great Lakes and Ojibwe Culture.”

The virtual event, held on Zoom, is open to all. Registration is required. (Register for this event now.) The hour includes time for audience questions.

It will feature a trio of speakers:

  • Hannah Arbuckle, outreach coordinator for the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC), member of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians
  • Morgan Coleman, a summer 2021 Wisconsin Sea Grant intern who focused on Great Lakes literacy and Ojibwe culture
  • Anne Moser, senior special librarian and education coordinator, Wisconsin Water Library and Wisconsin Sea Grant

All who are interested in books for young readers are welcome at this event, including—but not limited to—parents, librarians and educators.

Attendees will learn about a related book club, also free and online, that will launch in spring 2022 and further explore the topics discussed. The book club will mainly center on books for children from birth through age 12.

Morgan Coleman (submitted photo)

As a summer intern, Morgan Coleman was sponsored by Wisconsin Sea Grant and placed with GLIFWC, where she worked on a book club discussion guide. Coleman will discuss how and why she created it. A recent graduate of UW-River Falls, she is now pursuing graduate studies in English at the University of St. Thomas.

Hannah Arbuckle (submitted photo)

Hannah Arbuckle, who helped mentor Coleman, will talk about the role of GLIFWC and some of the publications it produces, which range from a quarterly newsletter to the book for young readers, “Growing Up Ojibwe.” Formed in 1984, GLIFWC represents 11 Ojibwe tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan and their hunting, fishing and gathering rights according to their treaties with the U.S. government. The commission provides natural resource management expertise, conservation enforcement, legal and policy analysis, and public information services.

Anne Moser

Moser, librarian of the Wisconsin Water Library since 2008, works to ensure that it maintains a broad and diverse collection, from water quality reports to children’s books that reflect diverse perspectives. Said Moser, “I’m eager to talk about what we know about effective strategies for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education for young people, and how diversity is key to many of the approaches.  Black, Indigenous and children of color have not received enough attention either in children’s publishing or in science education.” Moser presents frequently at libraries throughout Wisconsin and provides curricular support to educators statewide.

After this event, one more fall Lake Talk remains: a Dec. 9 event, also on Zoom, with Minnesota-based poet Moheb Soliman, for whom the Great Lakes are an important subject and source of inspiration.

For Lake Talks event and registration information, visit the Sea Grant website, or follow Wisconsin Sea Grant on Facebook or Twitter. You can register for the Nov. 11 presentation now.

For questions about this series, contact Wisconsin Sea Grant science communicator Jennifer Smith.

The post Lake Talks series to explore books for young readers with an Ojibwe and Great Lakes focus first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/lake-talks-series-to-explore-books-for-young-readers-with-an-ojibwe-and-great-lakes-focus/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lake-talks-series-to-explore-books-for-young-readers-with-an-ojibwe-and-great-lakes-focus

Jennifer Smith

On:
In: Echo, history, indigenous, Native American

A historic archaeological site on the shore of the Grand River in Ottawa County’s Crockery Township may contain the largest collection of Upper Great Lakes cache pits ever excavated.

The post Abandoned food caches offer evidence of Native American survival strategies first appeared on Great Lakes Echo.

Original Article

Great Lakes Echo

Great Lakes Echo

http://greatlakesecho.org/2021/06/02/abandoned-food-caches-offer-evidence-of-native-american-survival-strategies/

Guest Contributor