Indigenous Stewardship of Oak Ecocultural Systems

The importance of the oaks is shared through ancient stories, tribal and family traditions and ceremonies, and on-going connection to the landscape today. The oak savannah landscape provides food, medicine, cultural, and utility resources for the tribes. The interaction between the tribes and these environments is critical for honoring their ancestors, supporting subsistence resources and first foods, and providing these cultural beneficial uses for future generations.

The term Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK) refers to the Indigenous interrelationship with the landscape. This usually conflicts with concepts of conservation that emphasize a “hands off” approach to human interaction with the land. The Indigenous relationship is built upon ancestral knowledge and sense of place and its diversity. This knowledge has been passed down generation to generation through oral traditions, customs, and practices. From the tribal perspective, this relationship is reciprocal. The Indigenous people have a sense of responsibility to ensure there is wise stewardship of their ancestral lands, and the first foods, including acorns.

An important Indigenous element of ITEK in this region is the use of fire to keep the savannas open, reduce disease, improve wildlife habitat, and increase acorn production. Early contact records extensively document tribal use of fire. The “Eden-like” landscape described by early European settlers in the Willamette Valley, mistaken by many for untouched wilderness, was in fact carefully tended for millennia through sophisticated methods including cultural fire. Fire was, and continues to be, important for the interrelationship between oaks and other plants, wildlife, and the people. The oak understory includesd native grasses and additional first foods such as camas, mariposa lily, brodiaeas, tarweed, and wild celeries, to name a few. Carefully applied, low- to moderate-intensity Indigenous burning is a time-proven method for enhancing oak habitat, helping to maintain healthy oak density and reduce competition from other trees, such as Douglas fir, which often overtops and kills off oaks if left unchecked by fire. Burning can help improve wildlife habitat for the deer, elk, and other game. Seasonally-applied fire can also reduce the occurrence of the larger, more destructive wildfires.

Tribes of this region have used and will continue to use fire extensively in their relationship with the landscape. Ancestral knowledge is passed generation to generation, with observation, experiences, and interaction with the land over time guiding interrelationships with specific oak landscapes. This ITEK provides important tools for when to set the fires, how often to apply them, and how to manage the areas burned.

The stewardship of oaks, water, and other ecocultural resources through multi-generational care is a top priority for tribes today. However, there are many barriers to the use of ITEK on the landscape, including lack of access to ancestral lands, and pollution and contamination that impact access to and use of first foods and other resources. Tribal involvement in ITEK practice is a foundational element. This includes cultural fire practitioners and tribal community involvement. It is important to include tribal people tied to their ancestral homelands.

Often ITEK is tied to a seasonal round of activities that may involve multiple interactions with the landscape. It involves seeing a bigger picture of place instead of land tracts within property boundaries. It can include very large areas such as watersheds, firesheds, or multiple ecoregions, each with their own unique characteristics. From an Indigenous perspective, these are all inter-related to the traditional and modern way of living. It can be families and their generation to generation use of the landscape as well as tribal and inter-tribal gatherings and stewardship.

Water stewardship is another important element of ITEK. This can be snow, snowmelt, springs, creeks and larger waterways and water bodies. Tribes have long interacted with waterways for important cultural and subsistence practices. Clean, unpolluted water is necessary for healthy ecosystems. This includes healthy fish runs, gathering of uncontaminated first foods, and food processing in traditional ways. For instance, certain types of springs are important for storing and removing the bitterness of acorns. Clean, safe water is needed for these purposes. These can be in the oak savanna areas or perhaps processing and gathering locations away from where the acorns are gathered. Tribal involvement in ITEK is critical. For property owners who would like ITEK practices integrated with their landscapes, it is important to learn about the specific tribes who have ancestral connections to the lands.

The tribal practices related to ITEK are more than consultation or technical assistance. It is involvement of the tribal communities and the opportunities to access and utilize sites for traditional cultural practices. The Indigenous interaction with the landscape is what will drive the ITEK practices. This may include the use of fire, gathering of first foods, stewardship activities, an understanding of restoration and enhancement opportunities, and knowledge of the post-contact use of the landscape including pollution and contamination issues.

The use of ITEK practices within oak areas includes the ancestral knowledge and aboriginal connection to the landscape and is a multi-generational endeavor that elevates important knowledge from time immemorial.