Harriet Tubman Memorial
Harriet Tubman Memorial, Cambridge, MD, via Creative Commons
“We Have Always Been Present”
Written By: Shawndra Miller
Date Published: March 29, 2021
Shawndra Miller
For Women’s History Month, we have been seeking the “sheroes” of American conservation, particularly among marginalized communities. Realizing many of their names have been lost to time, we honor the BIPOC* women who have long been deeply connected to the land, as well as advocating and caring for the earth.
Sacagawea Interpretive Center, Salmon, ID, via Creative Commons
We start with Sacagawea, a bilingual Shoshone woman who accompanied explorers Lewis and Clark from the northern plains through the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean—and back again. She is lauded for her translation skills and ability to bridge divides with the people the company met. But she also was a skilled naturalist who was instrumental in helping the party navigate difficult terrain.
Harriet Tubman, celebrated conductor on the Underground Railroad, served as a scout, spy, guerrilla soldier, and nurse for the Union Army during the Civil War. According to a recent Audubon article, she was also an incredible naturalist and outdoorswoman. She had to be, in order to conduct so many enslaved people to safety. Her sweeping knowledge of the region’s environment and wildlife enabled her survival. She used a signature birdcall to communicate, skillfully imitating the barred owl call of Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you-all?
Uncountable women today are carrying the legacy forward. For example, biologist Mamie Parker is a trailblazing conservationist. Before her retirement she served 30 years with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). She was the first Black woman to serve as the Assistant Director of Fisheries and Habitat Conservation. She gained her love of nature from her mother, an avid angler. Dr. Parker endured harassment in the field and went on to receive the US government’s highest honor for career service employees for her accomplishments, the Presidential Rank Meritorious Service Award. She was the first African American inducted into the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame in 2005.
The late Hazel Johnson, “the mother of environmental justice,” founded People for Community Recovery in Chicago in the 1970s to boost environmental awareness and encourage a more sustainable society. She was instrumental in the passing of legislation that directed federal agencies to address their disproportionate adverse health and environmental impacts on minority and low-income populations.
Meanwhile Audrey Peterman, with husband Frank, has been a voice in the conservation movement since 1995. A leader in the movement to make America’s public lands relevant to every demographic group in our population, she has long served on the board of the National Parks Conservation Association. She has authored several books, including Legacy on the Land: A Black Couple Discovers Our National Inheritance and Tells Why Every American Should Care. (She will be a keynote speaker at the upcoming virtual “Biggest Week in American Birding” from Black Swamp Bird Observatory.)
Younger BIPOC women who are showing up for the land include Betsabé D. Castro Escobar, a PhD candidate in the integrative biology program at the University of California, Berkeley, whose passion is preserving traditional plant knowledge; Hawaiian-born Aja Grande, founder of the Ethnobotany Society at Brown University, who seeks to sustain mindful relations with the ‘āina (that which feeds); and Naya Jones, a geographer who studies and archives Black geographies of food and traditional medicine.
“The outdoors belong to all of us,” declared Dianne Dillon-Ridgley in a recent National Wildlife Federation panel. Ridgley was the campus representative at Howard University during the first Earth Day in 1970, interned at the EPA in 1972 and has gone on to become a force in the environmental movement. Her own grandmother’s faculty advisor at Tuskegee in 1919 was none other than George Washington Carver. “The parks belong to all of us. All these spaces belong to all of us…We have always been present.” She is a fierce advocate for “righting and rewriting” the story of land use in the United States.
Resources:
Rooted in the Earth: Reclaiming the African American Environmental Heritage by Dr. Diane Glave
Legacy on the Land: A Black Couple Discovers Our National Inheritance and Tells Why Every American Should Care, by Audrey Peterman
The Rise of the American Conservation Movement: Power, Privilege, and Environmental Protection, by Dorceta E. Taylor
*Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
DJ Connors
Guest Blogger
DJ Connors, a Central Indiana native and late-to-life hunter, combines a lifelong appreciation for wildlife and the outdoors with a deep passion for exploring the natural beauty of the area he has called home for most of his life. As a husband and father of three, he is committed to ensuring his children have the same opportunities to connect with nature and appreciate the outdoors in their community. DJ’s unique journey into hunting emphasizes sustainability, responsible stewardship, and the importance of preserving these experiences for future generations.
Bridget Walls
Guest Blogger
Bridget is our first ever Communications and Outreach Intern. She is a graduate of Marian University, where she combined English, studio art, and environmental sciences in her degree studies. As treasurer for Just Earth, the university's environmental club, she helped plan events encouraging a responsible relationship between people, nature, and animals.
Jordan England
Guest Blogger
Jordan England is a lifelong Shelby County resident who graduated from Waldron Jr. Sr. High School (just a few miles from Meltzer Woods!). After earning her B.S. degree in Retail Management from Purdue University, she returned to Waldron to start a family with her husband, Brian. Together they have 3 young children and enjoy sharing with them their love of the community. Jordan is the Grants and Nonprofit Relations Director at Blue River Community Foundation, managing BRCF’s grant program, providing support to local nonprofits, and promoting catalytic philanthropy in Shelby County.
Cliff Chapman
President and CEO
As CILTI’s President and CEO, Cliff keeps CILTI’s focus on good science and stewardship. He’s mindful that the natural places you love took thousands of years to evolve and could be destroyed in a single day, and that knowledge drives his dedication to their protection.
Stacy Cachules
Chief Operating Officer
Among her many key duties as Assistant Director, Stacy has the critical task of tracking our budget, making sure we channel donations for maximum efficiency. When her workday’s done, Stacy loves to spend time with her two young boys—and when not traveling, she’s likely planning the next travel adventure.
Joanna Nixon
Board Member
Joanna Nixon is the owner of Nixon Consulting, an Indianapolis-based strategy and project management firm focused on the nonprofit sector. She currently serves as the Philanthropic Advisor for the Efroymson Family Fund. Prior to opening her consulting practice in 2000, Joanna was vice-president for grantmaking at Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF). Joanna has more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit and arts and culture sector. She is passionate about the environment and loves bringing big ideas to life and creating high-quality arts and culture programs and experiences. Joanna enjoys outdoor adventures, including competing in fitness obstacle course races and hiking with her high energy Australian Cattle Dog, Jackson.
Karen Wade
Board Member
Before retiring, CILTI board member Karen Wade worked for Eli Lilly & Co. In retirement she volunteers for a number of organizations, including the Indiana Master Naturalist program, Johnson County Native Plant Partnership CISMA, Meadowstone Therapeutic Riding Center, and Leadership Johnson County.
David Barickman
Development Systems Manager
Born and raised in Central Illinois, David spent many days as a child wandering around the river, forest and lakes there. He works behind the scenes as a key member of our fundraising team. When not working, David loves to be outdoors hiking, fly fishing, kayaking or woodworking.
Jamison Hutchins
Stewardship Director
Jamison leads our stewardship team in caring for the land that is so important to you. He comes to our team after eight years as Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator for the city of Indianapolis, where his work had a positive impact from both health and environmental perspectives.
Ben Miller
Land Protection Coordinator
Ben is excited to have officially joined the CILTI team, after many years of collaboration in partner organizations. He spent ten years of his environmental career with the Indiana DNR: Division of Fish & Wildlife, first as a Fisheries Biologist and most recently leading the Healthy Rivers Initiative (one of the state’s largest land protection projects).
Jen Schmits Thomas
Media Relations
An award-winning communicator and recognized leader in Central Indiana’s public relations community, Jen helps us tell our story in the media. She is the founder of JTPR, which she and her husband John Thomas own together. She is accredited in public relations (APR) from the Public Relations Society of America, and loves to camp and hike in perfect weather conditions.
Shawndra Miller
Communications Director
Shawndra’s earliest writing projects centered around the natural world, starting when a bird inspired her to write her first “book” in elementary school. Now she is in charge of sharing our story and connecting you to our work. Through our print and online materials, she hopes to inspire your participation in protecting special places for future generations.
Phillip Weldy
Stewardship Specialist
Phillip enjoys nature’s wonders from an up-close-and-personal perspective as he works to restore the natural places you love. As an AmeriCorps member in Asheville, NC, he had his first full immersion in relatively undisturbed land while reconstructing wilderness trails in National Parks and National Forests.
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