In undergoing forest policy efforts, agencies will sometimes cluster tribes’ input into the public comment period. However, tribes are sovereign nations that deserve a distinct space for contributing their perspectives separate from the general public comment period. Tribal sovereignty in the United States refers to the inherent rights of Indigenous tribes to govern themselves within their borders. Many tribes have their own public natural resources management plans in which they outline their distinct history, goals, and objectives for forest practices and habitat restoration efforts. These plans provide a starting point for recognizing tribal perspectives.
In managing the land, Native people believe in keeping places open; otherwise, encroachment of non-native species will occur. Tribes use the tool of fire as a way of actively managing the forests and landscape. Over time, the dominant culture has underestimated the Native Americans’ ability to modify their environment as well as their knowledge of the environment. Going back to the 1920s, the federal Forest Service viewed fire as a threat and opposed the practice of light burning, even though many ranchers, farmers, and timbermen favored it because it improved land conditions. Eventually, federal land managers began to see the positive role fire plays on forest ecology. However, in undertaking scientific research, colonial experts did not look to or give credit to the people that have always been in the landscape: Native Americans have actively used fire to manage the land and remove resources for basketry, hunting, and gathering seasonally.
Oak habitats in the Willamette Valley of Oregon have dwindled over the past 230 years, primarily due to the lack of low-intensity wildfires. Organizations such as the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and others are working to restore oak habitat areas for their value as food and cover to wildlife habitat and to forest ecology as a whole. These kinds of efforts allow for the incorporation of diverse conservation values into restoration work and employ tribal methods and approaches to forest management.
As society engages in work to improve current forest policy for future generations, we must open our minds to include traditional ecological knowledge and invite the voices of those that have been here since time immemorial to share their perspectives. Indigenous insights will provide a liminal, inclusive ecological approach to living in harmony with the earth and ensure sustainability of our forests for years to come.