Strengthening Sovereignty through Collaboration & Community
In the last two decades, wildfires have ravaged Tribal lands and its protective boundaries. As the fires were suppressed and recovery plans started to percolate, one key restoration item was never brought up - replacing and updating the pre-existing fence line. Fixing or updating a fence line may not be a priority for many, but for Tribes, reestablishing a fence line is an important factor towards their Sovereignty. It protects their Tribal lands and cultural resources from humans and feral animals damaging critical ecosystems and archaeological sites. It’s one of the last mechanisms left to protect what has been forcefully taken from Tribes.
In the Fall of 2023, Trees, Water & People was privileged to be part of a unique, cross-collaborative project that not only re-established a critical fence line in the Jemez mountains but strengthened Tribal Sovereignty by assisting three New Mexico Pueblos in this effort. Conceptualization of the project started back in 2022 when Tribal land managers and leaders started to identify the movement of feral animals from public lands onto their tribal lands, leading to ecological damage and uncontrollable numbers of animals. After assessing the need for this project, Tribes and partners realized the importance of establishing an inter-tribal collaboration and network that unifies resources, labor and knowledge.
Throughout the length of the one-week project, we experienced the true value of collaboration and community strength. We worked alongside the leadership of the Tri-Pueblo Coalition (Cochiti, Jemez & Kewa Pueblos), with support from the Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps, The Nature Conservancy and the Bureau of Indian Affairs - Cultural Surveys Unit. The project days were not just filled with the focus of getting the fence re-established, but also on cultural knowledge exchange and sharing of best practices related to restoration. Our marketing team had the privilege of joining the project and capturing stories, testimonials and videos from the field. We’re currently working on getting these pieces edited and polished, so you can see this story through your own eyes.
A few months have passed since the project but the stories and smiles we experienced that week remain in our hearts. Most of us think of Indigenous Sovereignty through the political or economic lens of government relations. What we learned that week was that Sovereignty is deeper than that. It is deeply embedded within Tribal lands, their local cultures and the people.
