Four Rausser College of Natural Resources graduate students in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (ESPM) received grants from the Joseph A. Myers Center for Research on Native American Issues (CRNAI) to support their research on issues impacting Native American communities in the United States today.
The Myers Center was founded in 2010 to provide Indigenous communities across the U.S. with pragmatic research resources to enhance their quality of life. Since 2011, the CRNAI Small Grants Program for graduate and undergraduate students has supported research on Indigenous communities. Forty-eight students’ projects have been funded since then, including research on education, language revitalization, and land stewardship.
In addition to the small grants program, the Myers Center is currently partnering with Rausser College on a donor-funded initiative to support more student projects through this program
Read more about Rausser College student research below, and find a full list of grant recipients at the Myers Center website.
Ryan Reed
Project: The Influence of Power and Authority on Indigenous Management in the Northwest Forest Plan
Master of Forestry Student Ryan Reed received a grant to examine the Northwest Forest Plan amendment process, focusing on the historical and ongoing exclusion of Indigenous and Tribal perspectives in federal land management. By analyzing public comments, tribal engagement summaries, formal consultation processes, and interviews with key stakeholders, his work explores how power dynamics, settler colonial frameworks, and management practices shape Indigenous inclusion. Through this research, Reed aims to highlight Indigenous resilience in contemporary land management and provide recommendations for more inclusive and equitable decision-making processes.
Michelle Katuna
Project: Facilitation Training for Indigenous/non-Indigenous Relationship Building
Indigenous communities play a crucial role in creating place-based solutions to environmental challenges. However, rules on contemporary land ownership often undermine their authority to make decisions about ancestral lands, exacerbated by the inclusion of superficial and appropriative non-Indigenous actor collaborations. The literature emphasizes the importance of building trust and establishing long-term relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous actors to create meaningful connections. Effectively navigating power dynamics, promoting active listening and learning, and resolving conflicts within partnerships require skills that academic programs and employers do not always teach. PhD student Michelle Katuna is using her grant to support her participation in facilitation training grounded in anti-oppression. This training will support her community-engaged research on a four-year collaboration between a Tribal Nation, environmental agencies, organizations, and private landowners. Effective facilitation in land-based work and research is essential for learning with Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners about practical repair, according to Katuna.
McKalee Steen
Project: Landscapes of Landback: Examining trends in land return to Indigenous communities in the United States
PhD student McKalee Steen’s research examines trends in land return to Indigenous communities across the United States. Grounded in the historical context of federal policies that have dispossessed Indigenous peoples of their lands, her work explores how land re-acquisition supports Tribal sovereignty and well-being. By compiling a database of over 100 ‘Landback’ cases from 1970 to 2023, Steen identifies effective methodologies for land return and analyzes associated management strategies. Her research also uses geospatial and statistical analysis to evaluate the types of lands being returned and the stewardship approaches used. Steen aims for her findings to provide meaningful insights that support Indigenous-led land management practices and sovereignty.
Royale Williams
Project: Co-Management within the Lower Klamath River Basin: Linking cultural fire and riparian restoration to better understand the effects of Indigenous fisheries management
PhD candidate Royale Williams examines how cultural fire and riparian restoration intersect to enhance Indigenous-led environmental governance. By analyzing the impacts of state and federal interventions on community-led revitalization efforts, she highlights the importance of Tribal sovereignty and co-management agreements. Her research focuses on the Ti Bar Demonstration Project, a long-standing co-managed initiative where cultural burning has been employed to reconnect people to the land. Williams aims to integrate riparian restoration within this project through cultural burning and community management to fortify the riparian area of Ti Bar Flat and Ti Creek and provide habitat for culturally relevant species such as the Chinook salmon and other freshwater organisms.