Our work grows out of a harmful legacy where conservation was synonymous with removing Indigenous people from the land. How can we grow the concept of conservation so that, instead of removing people from the land, we center Indigenous land relationships as a core part of our work?
Time to Indigenize Land and Water Conservation by Melissa Nelson
Full Moon Rising by Peter Forbes
The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature by William Cronon
Worldwatch: A Challenge to Conservationists by Mac Chapin
Mark Dowie’s Report to Blue Mountain
Exploring Park Board’s Colonial Roots and Current Practices by the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
Reconciliation at Riding Mountain National Park
This episode of Threshold podcast links the persecution of Bison with the persecution of Native people.
The North American Declaration on Biocultural Diversity made by UNESCO. Argues that biocultural diversity – the diversity of life in all its interdependent manifestations: biological, cultural, linguistic, and spiritual – is a fundamental component of environmental conservation, sustainable development, and decision-making at local, regional, and global scales. This 2014 report published by UNESCO draws a link between cultural and biological diversity.
Conservationists See Rare Nature Sanctuaries. Black Farmers See a Legacy Bought Out From Under Them, a ProPublica article about conservation and injustice in Pembroke, Illinois, highlights the harms of the white-centered environmental movement.
For more resources about conservation culture and white privilege, click here.
For resources about decolonizing conservation, click here.