Mashkiki: Remembering the Medicine of the Land

Panel Title

Healing the Land and the People: Responding to Contemporary Challenges via Food Sovereignty, Coalition Building, and Indigenous Knowledge

Presenter Name

Melissa Nelson PhD, Arizona State University

Presenter Bio

Melissa K. Nelson, Ph.D. joined Arizona State University in August 2020. She is a professor of Indigenous Sustainability in the School of Sustainability. Dr. Nelson is an Indigenous ecologist, writer, editor, media-maker and scholar-activist. Before joining the School of Sustainability, she served as a professor of American Indian Studies at San Francisco State University (2002 – 2020), specializing in Indigenous Environmental and California Indian Studies. Dr. Nelson is a transdisciplinary and community-based scholar dedicated to Indigenous rights and sustainability, biocultural heritage and environmental justice, intercultural solidarity, and the renewal and celebration of community health and cultural arts. She actively advocates for Indigenous Peoples rights and sustainable lifeways in higher education, nonprofits, and philanthropy, and is particularly passionate about Indigenous food sovereignty at local, regional and global levels. Dr. Nelson has led numerous community-based projects through her work at The Cultural Conservancy, an Indigenous-led organization, which she has directed since 1993. She is Anishinaabe, Cree, Métis, and Norwegian (a proud member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians).

Link to Website(s)

The Cultural Conservancy

The Native Seed Pod

Sogorea Te Land Trust

Occidental Arts and Ecology Center

Presenter Photo

Keywords

Indigenous; Food Sovereignty; Seed Saving; Cultural Conservation