Inter-Tribal Summit Draws to a Close

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Published November 16, 2023

On the final day of the Inter-Tribal Ecosystem Restoration Partnership Peer-to-Peer Learning Summit, we heard from many amazing presenters, including a keynote talk from USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources & Environment Dr. Homer Wilkes, who oversees the U.S. Forest Service. Dr. Wilkes helped honor USFS Deputy Regional Forester Merv George, who gave a keynote yesterday, the first Native American to serve in that position in the USFS. The second keynote today was Doug Grafe, Wildfire and Military Advisor for Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, who shared about Oregon’s collaboratively developed 20-year wildfire resilience strategy.

Over the past two days we heard so many excellent presentations from tribal, agency, and nonprofit leaders – many of whom are tribal AND agency leaders – all focused on how to better partner with Tribal Nations and tribal communities to further ecocultural restoration and work toward more resilient ecosystems and communities.

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A huge thank you to the nearly 300 people who came from near and far to join the Summit and share in peer to peer learning and to support tribal inclusion in forest and watershed restoration. We honor the tribal elders, representatives, and community members who participated, and extend a heartfelt thank you to all the sponsors, supporters, and planning team members who made this historic event possible. We are very grateful to you all.

Stay tuned – we plan to share many more photos and video from the Summit soon!

(Photo credits: Ammon Cluff, Taylor Marie, & Lomakatsi)