Axayacatzi Kuauhtzin
Remote sensing can support Indigenous-led climate resilience and sovereignty by applying Indigenous frameworks to guide data analysis and mapping. In Northeast Los Angeles, I worked with transnational Indigenous communities from Mexico and Latin America, the Gabrielino Shoshone Nation of Southern California (one of the original tribes of LA), and researchers from the Ordway Lab at UCLA. We utilize large-scale mapping and remote sensing datasets to investigate urban ecosystem dynamics. Recognizing the lack of Indigenous-led research on urban ecosystems and in direct response to ongoing community restoration efforts, we developed protocols and built capacity for long-term monitoring of Indigenous-led restoration. We developed methodologies to engage Indigenous youth, parents, educators, and community members in active reforestation and data collection, as well as providing accessible community trainings and multilingual resources. One of our main study sites was the Chief Ya’anna Regenerative Learning Village, established in 2022 as the first land-base to be rematriated to the Gabrielino Shoshone Nation. The village continues to develop as a space for cultural revitalization, Indigenous ecological research, and as an urban climate resilience hub. Through this ongoing collaborative research, we have identified key learnings around co-designing biodiversity monitoring frameworks that uphold Indigenous data sovereignty. Remote sensing technologies and GIS mapping serve as tools and are only one piece of a broader understanding of ecosystems. Remote sensing can support Indigenous sovereignty and environmental research when guided by Indigenous frameworks and established relationships with local land and wildlife relatives through intergenerational Indigenous ecological knowledge systems and/or on-the-ground data collection.