Support Reforestation Across the Indigenous West

On October 17^thof 2019, Trees Water & People National Program staff facilitated the very first “Tri-Pueblo” ecosystem management meeting at the Santo Domingo Pueblo community center!

The Pueblos of Cochiti, Jemez and Santo Domingo all came together to ideate and plan conservation and management strategies of their natural resources on Tribal lands. Thanks to your support, we are playing an active role in forming a coalition of indigenous communities that work towards regenerating their Tribal lands. Massive wildfires have devastated an abundance of their culturally important trees and sacred sites of prayer over the last decade. 

Each tribe shared how their current projects and future aspirations could merge with one another, ultimately to increase the capacity of Tribal communities to protect natural resources on their homelands.

As a result of this meeting, we are already beginning to order seedlings for next year’s tree planting season from the spring through the summer. We are thrilled to begin planting beyond ponderosa pines, as we will be supporting tribal food sovereignty initiatives by planting indigenous food species in South Dakota. This will bring culturally-based diets back to tribal communities by reintroducing chokecherry, buffalo berry, and wild plum in the region. 

We set our sights towards these future opportunities that will strengthen potential collaborations together and rehabilitate the ecosystems that these communities call home. In honor of Native American Heritage Month in November, we hope you will continue to support our GlobalGiving fundraiser to Reforest the Indigenous West, and please stay abreast of all our social channels for the latest updates!