Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Document Type

Article

Anticipated Volume

92

Anticipated Issue

1

Abstract

Climate change and human activities continue to result in negative environmental impacts that alter land productivity, ecosystem health, and their potential land-uses. However, these environmental impacts are being addressed through land restoration frameworks that do not include the robust narrative on the links between land and Indigenous peoples. This link between land and Indigenous peoples is not visible in restoration frameworks due to the linearity these frameworks follow and their deep roots in western science. In this paper, we contend that restoration projects must incorporate three indicators that re-evaluates restoration from an Indigenous lens. Through a literature review & our ongoing restoration project, we identify three major indicators that are important to incorporate in restoration. These indicators are eco-colonialism, kincentric ecology, and environmental narratives. After discussing the three indicators in our paper, we apply these indicators to provide the historical context of our on-going field site, Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center located at Discovery Park. Discovery Park is the largest urban park located in Seattle, Washington. We conclude that including these three indicators into restoration frameworks not only indigenizes restoration, but can also help us create more effective solutions to environmental problems persisting for decades in unhealthy ecosystems.

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