Highlighting Indigenous Relationships with the Land

Wednesday, November 2, 2022  10:00 AM–12:00 PM MT

Speakers

 

Kiana Etsate-Gashytewa, Indigenous Mapping and Research Coordinator, Partnership for the National Trails System

Kiana Etsate-Gashytewa joined the PNTS team as the Indigenous Mapping and Research Coordinator in January 2022. She will lead a project occurring in collaboration with Native Land Digital (Native-Land.ca), Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps, and Federal land management agencies in 2022 that will develop a public, interactive GIS map that integrates the National Trails System map and data disseminated by Native Lands Digital, the creators of an online, interactive map showing Indigenous territories.

Etsate-Gashytewa is an Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps member and received her education from Northern Arizona University’s Applied Indigenous Studies and Political Science programs. Etsate-Gashytewa is from the Pueblo of Zuni and Hopi tribes and has developed an extensive policy and research resume that includes working on numerous programs related to Native youth enrichment and in the Flagstaff office of Congressman Tom O’Halleran. 

 

Amanda Grace Santos, USFS Region 2 Cultural Resources Resource Assistance (RA) for the Continental Divide Trail

My name is Amanda Grace Santos. I am from Connecticut and studied at Boston University where I received both my bachelors and masters in Archaeology in 2020. My master’s thesis discussed cultural heritage management and pedagogical approaches, specifically place-based pedagogy and conservation education. This thesis still aligns with my professional goals of conservation, outreach, and effective, respectful collaboration. My role with the FS for the next year as a Resource Assistant involves just this, specifically with tribes along the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. I am looking forward to learning how the FS, and other agencies consider cultural landscapes. From there, I hope to improve relationships with tribes and cultivate opportunities that benefit them and allow them to connect directly with their ancestral lands.

During this next year, I hope to improve my survey skills, facilitating skills, and understanding of tribal relations. Our larger goal is to build an effective and inclusive framework to evaluate cultural landscapes, with the goals and needs of tribes at the forefront. My hope for this framework and my work with the FS, is that it can help identify climate change impacts and put indigenous knowledge at the forefront of mitigation processes, as well as conservation education. 

 

 

Cornell “Corey” Torivio, New Mexico Regional Representative, Continental Divide Trail Coalition

Photo of Corey TorivioCornell “Corey” Torivio was born in San Bernardino, CA. He is Native American from the Pueblo of Acoma, NM. Corey has a BA in Culinary Arts and a passion for the outdoors, particularly wilderness and desert areas, and has devoted his life to giving Native youth an opportunity to be successful in the ever-changing world. The founder of Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps, he has built a strong foundation that, to this day, continues to change the lives of Native youth. Corey has been in the preservation and conservation field for more than 20 years. Having worked with Acoma’s Historic Preservation Office, he received the Heritage Preservation Award from former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson for his outstanding work on the San Estevan Del Rey Mission at Old Acoma. He also has devoted his time to working with the National Park Service in the preservation of Native and Non-Native Historic and prehistoric sites in the El Malpais/El Morro conservation area and monument, Petrified Forest National Park, and Aztec Ruins National Monument. He continues to advocate for the protection of all cultural sensitive areas in and around the Four Corners Region, both Native and Non-Native. Corey began conservation work with the Southwest Conservation Corps in 2006, and he played a key role in SCC’s transformation to Conservation Legacy. Having served as a vice chair and board member for more than 13 years, he has been instrumental to conservation and trail efforts in the Southwest. Corey brings his knowledge and expertise in working with Indigenous communities, preservation, and conservation, with him to the Continental Divide Trail Coalition. Corey’s most successful effort was having Ancestral Lands Youth Corps be the model of the Native American Conservation Act. Working with former Senator Tom Udall (D-NM), and many others, Corey helped guide this act through Congress, and it now provides opportunities for all Indigenous communities across the United States to build community conservation organizations. Corey believes in giving his 110% to CDTC and hopes to help build a stronger, brighter future, not only for CDTC, but for the trail itself.

 

Darrien Benally, Communications and Outreach Manager, Colorado Plateau Foundation

Darrien Benally is a member of the Navajo tribe. Her clans are Tł’ízí lání, the Manygoats clan, born for Naakai Dine’é, the Mexican People clan. Darrien was born and raised in Flagstaff, Arizona, where she currently resides. Darrien received her Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Indigenous Studies with a minor in Environmental Sustainability from Northern Arizona University in May 2019. She is currently in the Master of Arts in Communication program at Northern Arizona University. Darrien has experience as an environmental educator and in environmental communication. Darrien is the Communications and Outreach Manager for the Colorado Plateau Foundation, where she works to promote narratives centered on the caretaking of Colorado Plateau’s land, water, and Native communities. Throughout her career, Darrien has learned the value of intergenerational engagement and empowerment in working with Native communities to address social and environmental issues.

 

 

 

 

 

Jaylyn Gough, Founder & Executive Director, Native Womens Wilderness

Jaylyn, is from the Diné (Navajo) Tribe in New Mexico. Native Womens Wilderness was created out of the frustration of the lack women of color, let alone a Native Woman, represented in the outdoor industries. Her desire is for NWW to be a platform for Native voices, a place to express the love and passion for the Wild, and to provide education of the ancestral lands we all love to explore. Jaylyn has been a guide, a mountain bike race coordinator for eight years, and an avid mountain climber, hiker, mountain biker, climber, and a landscape photographer. You can always find her exploring the Wild with her camera in hand!

 

 

 

 

 

Jame Othole, Zuni Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps 

 

 

 

2022 National Trails Workshop Schedule