Our Lands

We work to restore balance to our forests through Indigenous stewardship practices such as cultural (cold) burns, traditional harvesting, and seasonal cycles rooted in the teachings of our ancestors. Guided by ecological assessments and GIS mapping, we ensure long-term forest health while also strengthening cultural connections. This work is closely tied to our Tututni Phenology Program – Nelh-’i~, which records seasonal cycles of our homelands.

We work to protect forests, cultural sites, and communities through early detection, prevention, and response to wildfire. By combining Traditional Ecological Knowledge with modern tools, NAIC builds resilience across Curry County and beyond. Current projects include partnering with ALERTWest for real-time fire monitoring, advancing the NCRP3 Disaster Plan to safeguard natural and cultural resources, and restoring the Quail Prairie Lookout as a hub for fire detection, cultural protection, and community education

When fire strikes, the land and the people both need time and care to heal. Our recovery program supports soil and water health, cultural monitoring teams, and habitat restoration while creating space for community healing practices.

Our trails are living connections between villages, sacred places, and the stories of our people. For generations, they have been the pathways of trade, ceremony, and kinship. Today, NAIC is working to preserve and protect these culturally significant trails so that future generations can walk the same paths as their ancestors.

Current Projects:

• Healing of the Trails – a cultural wellness program that brings Native youth back to the land, reconnecting trails with ceremony and community healing.

• Native Trails Crew – a hands-on stewardship team restoring and maintaining traditional pathways while creating opportunities for Native youth leadership.

• Research and Mapping – documenting historic routes and cultural trail networks to ensure they are remembered, protected, and honored.

Revitalizing meadows, waterways, and habitats is key to ecological and cultural survival. Guided by TEK, we are restoring plant communities, protecting riparian zones, and bringing balance back to the lands that sustain Native foods, medicines, and lifeways.

Food is culture, medicine, and identity. NAIC works to safeguard traditional foods such as salmon, acorns, berries, and elk while strengthening community food systems and intergenerational teaching. These efforts connect directly to food security, wellness, and sovereignty for our people.

Our programs center Indigenous science and place-based knowledge in stewardship, research, and policy. By creating opportunities for TEK to guide decisions, we ensure healthier forests, waters, and communities for generations to come.

Honoring the seasons as living relatives, this program records the cycles of our homelands through cultural teachings, ecological observation, and climate science. Phenology guides our forest restoration, informs wildfire preparedness, and ensures seasonal knowledge is carried forward for future generations.