This episode of the Ground Shots Podcast is a conversation with Ali Meders-Knight, out of Chico, California.
Ali Meders-Knight is a Mechoopda tribal member, mother of five, and traditional basketweaver based in Chico, CA. She is a Mechoopda Tribal liaison working to form partnerships for federal forest stewardship contracting and tribal forestry programs authorized in the 2018 Farm Bill. She has been a Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) practitioner for over 20 years, collaborating on environmental education and land restoration projects with Chico State University and the City of Chico. In 2009 she helped plan and establish Verbena Fields, a unique 17-acre interactive food forest and interpretive park in North Chico to help educate the community about the rich ecological heritage of the Mechoopda people.
In this episode with Ali, we talk about:
what is TEK?
Ali explains the advanced nature of Traditional Ecological Knowledge which is evolving ecosystem knowledge and land tending techniques acquired by indigenous peoples over hundreds or thousands of years through direct contact with the land
issues around forest management in California and the U.S. on the whole, and how money has influenced decisions made about management strategies instead of what makes the most sense for the land and the local community
why forest management should be localized and indigenous led
the intentions and goals of the TEKChico project: creating a trained workforce that can complete long term contracts with the USDA to manage forests locally
how disaster capitalism influences land management and doesn’t actually take care of people and the land
the need for fire on the landscape in California
modern cultural misunderstandings of fire and how trauma and racism play into these misunderstandings
how the 2018 US Farm Bill increased federal support and opportunity for Native farmers and ranchers, and how this bill links federal land management needs more directly to sovereign indigenous nations
Links:
TEK CHICO’s website: http://www.TEKChico.org
2018 Farm Bill info: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/IF11287.pdf
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Theme music: 'Sweat and Splinters' by Mother Marrow
Interstitial Music: “Breathing Tide” by Samara Jade (ft. Aimee Ringle & Alexa Sunshine Rose)
Find Samara Jade’s music on bandcamp
“California Hillside” by Stow Lake
find Stow Lake’s music on bandcamp
https://www.redbudresourcegroup.org/
Hosted by: Kelly Moody
Produced by: Kelly Moody and Opia Creative
