Support Reforestation Across the Indigenous West

After many months of deliberation and planning, Trees, Water & People (TWP) is finally ready to implement the first expansion of our long-standing National reforestation program outside of South Dakota. In addition to planting on the Pine Ridge Reservation, this summer TWP will be planting in collaboration with the Kewa Pueblo (formerly known as Santo Domingo Pueblo) in New Mexico. We spent the last week in planning sessions with the Pueblo's tribal Governor’s council and the Tribal Natural Resource Management Department to better understand the needs and capacity of the area, and are finally ready to begin this next phase of reforesting the Indigenous West.

We will continue planting trees on Pine Ridge this spring and are planning to plant 17,000 Ponderosa Pines, and between 500-1,000 Cottonwood ceremonial trees, a new addition to our repertoire. This will take place near Oglala and the Bear Butte Reservation close to Cheyenne River, and with the continued support of the Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center, TWP aims to make this season as successful as the last. 

In addition to the trees being planted on Pine Ridge this May, the Colorado State Forest Service has prepared 13,000 Douglas Fir seedlings for us to plant in Santo Domingo, along with the possibility of leaving some trees with the Cochiti reservation as a gift for letting us use their roads to access our main planting site. Guided by the leadership of local tribal members, we’ve learned that these sacred native trees have a great potential to revitalize areas most heavily impacted by human-driven desertification and abnormally long droughts. 

“These 13,000 Douglas Firs will enlighten the spirit in the Pueblo people as a way to honor and respect the ecology on these Native lands. Our purpose is to use these trees in accordance with the traditional customs of our culture and to strengthen the bond between humanity and nature by honoring the values that we are all interconnected through Mother Earth. In the respect of the Pueblo way of life, with each seedling we replant into the ground, we are giving back one aspect of life to her as a sign of appreciation and gratitude for her sacrifices.” - James Calabaza, National Program Coordinator, Kewa Pueblo Member

TWP is honored to be invited by the tribal leadership in New Mexico to bring our knowledge and expertise to the Kewa Pueblo, and we are looking forward to contributing to local livelihoods in this way. All of this is made possible by your contributions - financially, physically, and spiritually - which empower local communities to develop appropriate long-term solutions to the environmental challenges they are facing today. Stay tuned for more updates on this program as we approach the spring and summer planting season!

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