Building Capacity for Indigenous Futures

Potawatomi botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer writes in her book “The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World,” that in the traditional Anishinaabe economy, the land is the source of all goods and services, distributed in a kind of gift exchange where one life is given in support of another, focusing on supporting the good of the people.

The book, and the lessons “The Serviceberry” imparts, are being shared through a book club developed as a part of a new Medicine Action Plan (MAP) for University of Maryland Extension (UME), with the goal of bridging the educational gap between UME and Maryland’s Native Communities. The book club is one of several tools being developed by educators Andrea Franchini and Kayle Krieg to help UME provide culturally-relevant programs to the over 128,000 people in Maryland who identify as Native American or partly Native American.

The MAP, created by Shelbi Nahwilet Meissner, assistant professor and director of the University of Maryland Indigenous Futures Lab, from her "Make a Medicine Action Plan” workshop, is tailored to UME’s strengths and opportunities for growth to begin understanding the complementary relationship between traditional practices and modern science, and how to incorporate that into education and outreach. 

“Part of this is exposing our departments to an Indigenous methodology -- which we learned through the MAP workshop process includes mind, body, spirit, and emotion, and addressing the relationships of past, present, and future -- so as educators, we can make a way for a reparative future and foster respectful relationships and programming that honors Indigenous Knowledge," said Franchini, Extension program management specialist in the Agriculture and Food Systems program in Baltimore City. “It’s a holistic approach to guide engagement with Maryland’s Indigenous communities.”

The MAP project, initiated by Bill Hubbard, Assistant Director of UME’s Environment and Natural Resources Program, includes efforts such as a speaker series amplifying Indigenous voices in agriculture, natural resources, and education; professional development field trips; as well as the institution of the new book club which meets regularly to discuss texts that have both cultural and scientific significance, like “The Serviceberry.” 

The MAP also includes creating or adapting curriculums that integrate Indigenous knowledge and epistemologies into outreach programs which could include activities like modifying recipes to use traditional Native foods, or incorporating traditional planting techniques using mutually beneficial plant species in gardening and agricultural programs. Many Tribal communities may also benefit from existing UME programs that provide agricultural information or financial literacy, and UME educators will be able to use the teachings garnered through the MAP activities to develop, or re-develop, their programs for Indigenous audiences.

“Nationwide and even globally, Indigenous people disproportionately face impacts of changing climates and other socio-economic issues such as food insecurity, but because Maryland communities may not follow all of the patterns we see, we’re trying to learn first and then respectfully engage to find out what Maryland’s specific needs are,” said Krieg, a Coastal Climate Specialist with Sea Grant Extension who is also an Anishinaabe member of the White Earth Ojibwe Tribe. “Things like food access and digital literacy are important in Indigenous communities, so we can make these connections with our own program areas and how they can connect to them.”

“All flourishing is mutual,” Kimmerer reminds us in “The Serviceberry.” “Receiving a gift from the land is coupled to attached responsibilities of sharing, respect, reciprocity, and gratitude...”  

“These Medicine Action Plans really intend to promote the healing relationship between the University and Maryland’s Indigenous community,” said Krieg.

To learn more about the Indigenous Futures Lab, go to https://wgss.umd.edu/research/ifl. To learn more about University of Maryland Extension’s mission, go to https://extension.umd.edu/about/