Undersecretary Homer Wilkes emphasized the honor of participating in the Summit’s peer-to-peer and intergenerational learning with elders, youth, elected Tribal leaders, holders of Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and partners. He acknowledged that the federal government has not always worked with Tribes and other historically excluded communities with dignity and respect, but that has been rapidly changing. Homer talked about steps the U.S. Forest Service is taking to ensure diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility at the relational and programmatic levels, including creating stewardship agreements with funding that allows communities to implement the data-driven ecocultural restoration work that their people and lands need, and responding to the responsibility to improve access to support and funding through outreach and communication with Tribes.

“We have a moral responsibility to make sure that we have an inclusive process, that everyone feels that they are actually a part of what we do.”