Written By: Marissa McClenton
November is Native American Heritage Month, and I want to encourage folks to reflect on the legacy of stewardship, conservation, and the rich traditions that indigenous peoples have maintained for centuries. As environmental and other protections come under attack from the federal administration, it can feel like we are losing the battle for our environment and the plants, animals, and people that call it home. When I reflect on the ways that indigenous folks globally, and the Nanticoke and Lenni-Lenape Nations locally, have persisted despite horrific attempts to erase culture, ancestry, and ties to the land- I feel a deep sense of gratitude, appreciation, and wonder that give me hope. In this moment, uplifting Native American heritage and stewardship practices feels like a crucial piece to building a better world.
One of the groups that has brought this realization to life for me is The Native Roots Farm Foundation, a Native (Lenape) and woman-led nonprofit with a mission to “reclaiming, cultivating, and celebrating Native relationships with land, plants, and community for the next Seven Generations.” For years, they have connected the native plants with which many are familiar with their names in native languages and held other events to highlight rich cultural practices like beadwork. When I look back at the events they host across the Delmarva region, it reminds me how much knowledge about caring for the natural world is missing from larger environmental conversations. This is what I hope folks can reflect on if they celebrate Thanksgiving, a day The United American Indians of New England protest as a National Day of Mourning, which can serve as a reminder of both the resilience, oppression, and rich ancestry of indigenous peoples here and around the globe.
In a country where apathy towards people and the environment is becoming commonplace, dedication to reciprocity, gratitude, and a strong recognition of where we fit amongst everything around us could be how we choose to move forward. It is much easier to fight for a stop to pollution of our communities if we are better stewards of that land to begin with, and learning about Native American heritage shows us that path. From food justice and environmental justice to protecting native plants and animals, much of what we advocate for already has a long history in our area, which can guide us if we are committed to learning and uplifting those stories. As artificial intelligence and biased media seem to take more and more control over the information we have access to, it makes sense to me that prioritizing and respecting indigenous knowledge is a crucial part of how we fight back.
I know that a better world and a better environmental movement are possible because I have seen the shifts within my own organization. Sierra Club’s founder, John Muir, is known for his work documenting natural areas and advocating for the preservation of places like Yosemite Valley and the Sierra Nevada. His work lives on in the creation of several National Parks out west, but he was also part of an early conservation movement rife with racist attitudes that dismissed the stewardship that indigenous people, like the Ahwahnechee, and Muir himself used racist and derogatory language referencing African-American and indigenous folks. That’s part of the environmental movement we must acknowledge and move beyond to achieve a better world. In the same way that environmental organizations like the Sierra Club have reflected on the past and chosen a better path forward, we, as a movement, face the same decision right now as environmental protections are under attack. We can choose to make space for indigenous learnings and to seek out different perspectives that challenge what we thought about our environment, and this change is for the better!
This Native American Heritage Month, I hope you can take the time to learn about the Nations and people who have stewarded the land where you eat your dinner. Native Land Digital is an amazing resource that I would recommend as a first step; just make sure you have both languages and territories selected on the map to capture both Nanticoke and Lenape areas here in Delaware. If you are looking for a way to uplift and support Native American Heritage Month, here are some resources to help. Each of these groups is currently fundraising to help support existing spaces, like the Nanticoke Indian Museum in Millsboro, or planned projects that help heal the land through investing in indigenous stewardship practices and knowledge.
Native Roots Farm Foundation
Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware
Nanticoke Indian Tribe
Much of the progress the environmental movement has made over the past few decades is at risk, with many policies, like the Clean Water Act, shrouded in uncertainty. While we push back at the state and federal level, there is an opportunity at the local level to recommit ourselves to being better stewards of the places we live. I hope that you and your family can take some time this month to learn the history of the Lenni-Lenape and Nanticoke nations and reflect on the powerful legacies of connection, care, and resistance that they carry on now and into the future.