Natalie Michelle

Sustainability science offers an alternative space for research that challenges colonial histories of western science, especially in its orientation to interdisciplinarity and for addressing complex problems through equitable knowledge co-production processes. However, the justice-oriented commitments within sustainability science remain underdeveloped, in particular for centering indigenous research methods (IRM) and promoting decolonization of academic institutions. In this paper, we draw from more than 10 years of experience across three cases of conducting sustainability science in Indigenous homelands. The cases focus on (1) adaptive responses to the Emerald Ash Borer insect which threatens black ash basketmaking cultures and economies; (2) efforts to link science with decision making to protect public health and reduce shellfish bed closures; and (3) collaborative research to support dam removal and river restoration. We identify tensions in science as a discourse, including how sustainability science is uniquely shaped by practices of naming and social constructions of time. We then describe how we engage these tensions through four main commitments to critical praxis, or tailored practices that respond to emergent problems and systems of power. These commitments include centering Wabanaki diplomacy and IRMs, redesigning all stages of research for inclusivity and dialogue, attending to multiple temporalities, and supporting Wabanaki and Indigenous students as leaders and researchers. To conclude, we reflect on how these practices may be adapted to other contexts, histories, and sustainability-related issues.

American Indian and Alaska Native tribes are uniquely affected by climate change. Indigenous peoples have depended on a wide variety of native fungi, plant and animal species for food, medicine, ceremonies, community and economic health for count-less generations. Climate change stands to impact the species and ecosystems that constitute

Sustainability science offers an alternative space for research that challenges colonial histories of western science, especially in its orientation to interdisciplinarity and for addressing complex problems through equitable knowledge co-production processes. However, the justice-oriented commitments within sustainability science remain underdeveloped, in particular for centering indigenous research methods (IRM) and promoting decolonization of academic institutions. In this paper, we draw from more than 10 years of experience across three cases of conducting sustainability science in Indigenous homelands. The cases focus on (1) adaptive responses to the Emerald Ash Borer insect which threatens black ash basketmaking cultures and economies; (2) efforts to link science with decision making to protect public health and reduce shellfish bed closures; and (3) collaborative research to support dam removal and river restoration. We identify tensions in science as a discourse, including how sustainability science is uniquely shaped by practices of naming and social constructions of time. We then describe how we engage these tensions through four main commitments to critical praxis, or tailored practices that respond to emergent problems and systems of power. These commitments include centering Wabanaki diplomacy and IRMs, redesigning all stages of research for inclusivity and dialogue, attending to multiple temporalities, and supporting Wabanaki and Indigenous students as leaders and researchers. To conclude, we reflect on how these practices may be adapted to other contexts, histories, and sustainability-related issues.

We collected data through three focus groups conducted with Wabanaki citizens (members of the Penobscot Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe, Maliseet, and Micmac Nations) residing in Maine, USA, and the Canadian Maritime region. These sessions used a collective storytelling and discussion approach consistent with Wabanaki cultural practices to explore environmental knowledge, information on environmental change, and its impact on traditional lifeways (TLW) over time. Wild foods such as fiddleheads (Matteucia strutiopteris (L.) Tod.), berries such as blackberries (Rubus allegheniensis & R. Canadensis) and strawberries (Fragaria x ananasa), deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmerman), fish, and seafood provide not only physical nourishment, but also cultural connections through storytelling, harvesting, processing, and sharing of resources. It is this strong and multifaceted dependence on natural resources and systems that makes Wabanaki citizens particularly “vulnerable” to climate change, but also potentially resilient because of stories and other cultural traditions that help process and understand environmental change. We suggest storytelling continues to remain relevant as a way to connect the generations and for continued adaptation to ecosystem change and sustaining traditions.