The Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska and USDA Forest Service signed a long-term partnership agreement supporting the creation of an Indigenous Guardians program for Southeast Alaska.
The five-year agreement awards up to $300,000 of federal funding and, through collaboration, will support a variety of projects and programs connecting community-led indigenous stewardship, technical knowledge, conservation science and natural resource management of the national forest system and adjacent lands throughout Southeast Alaska.
Tlingit and Haida and the Alaska Region Forest Service entered into the agreement to ensure the integration of diverse perspectives into activities and efforts associated with shared stewardship to bring new capacity to watershed restoration efforts; adaptation planning to ensure integration of diverse knowledge into vulnerability assessments and adaptation efforts; heritage to provide assistance in monitoring and protecting heritage sites and resources; and subsistence to increase information sharing and opportunities for public and tribal involvement related to the Federal Subsistence Management Program.
Dave Schmid, Alaska Regional Forester: “We recognized that the tribes are the land’s first stewards, conservationists, and multiple users of the Tongass National Forest. Through this agreement, we will continue to enhance our collaboration and identify priorities to meet the needs of the people in our communities who depend on forest resources for food security, health, and sustainable economies.”
A network of partners will continue to build the capacity of the Indigenous Guardians program and identify priorities and future visions that promote shared leadership by tribes and other indigenous entities. Current partners under the program include Hoonah Indian Association, Organized Village of Kake, Sitka Tribe of Alaska, Sealaska Corporation, Southeast Sustainable Partnership, Spruce Root, Nature Conservancy, Ecotrust, and the Alaska Conservation Foundation.