| NATASHA MYHAL (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians), Provost’s Fellow Indigenous Environmental Studies at Ohio State

Indigenous peoples have cared for their environments since time immemorial. Guided by traditional stories and protocols, Indigenous peoples used their own governance systems to care for the land, non-humans, and each other. With the advent of settler colonial ideals and practices, traditional Indigenous governance structures were dismantled and Indigenous lands were made available for settler occupation and development. As a result, these violent processes and policies reshaped Indigenous experiences and animated new relationships to land and non-human life. Even with these profound displacements, Indigenous Nations remained adaptive and resilient, and with Tribal sovereignty, continue to protect their lands and waters for the next seven generations. This talk will discuss Indigenous approaches to environmental restoration in the Great Lakes, specifically with nme (Lake Sturgeon). As an environmental social scientist, who strives to use collaborative methods, I will share my research approach, data dissemination, and preliminary findings from my doctoral work with the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Tribal Natural Resources Department. Moreover, this presentation will center Indigenous stories of environment(s) in all their capacities, to encourage a felt and lived approach to Indigenous data sovereignty (see: Dian Million 2009). Coupled together, this presentation will reflect on the question: what do stories and data tell us? How do we connect both to allow for historical understandings and contemporary experiences of Indigenous peoples today. My aim is to explore the possibilities that Indigenous storytelling and data sovereignty, when used together, inform and support Indigenous restoration science.