NilaVena
Reclaiming Our Role as Stewards of Land, Culture, and Community
The Indigenous Guardians effort within the Nila Vena Sustainability Forum is about more than just monitoring the environment—it is about restoring capacity, honoring cultural knowledge, and rebuilding our relationship with the land, language, and one another. At its core, NVSF’s Guardians effort is an evolving, community-driven initiative to:
Invest in local stewardship through training, job creation, and monitoring
Create environmental programs led by Tribal knowledge holders
Support healing through reconnection to land and culture
Bridge Indigenous knowledge and Western science through “two-eyed seeing”
Ensure the next generation can live and learn in deep relationship with place
Across Indigenous communities globally, the term “guardian” has come to represent a modern expression of something that has always existed: the responsibility to protect the land so it can continue to protect us. Inspired by thriving Indigenous Guardians and Rangers programs in Canada and Australia, this initiative brings those principles home to the Bristol Bay lakes region.
As Valérie Courtois of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative says: “If we take care of the land, the land takes care of us.”
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What Do Guardians Do?
Guardianship reflects the unique priorities and ecology of each village. This work includes:
- Monitoring azalif’biak (salmonberries) and sayak (sockeye salmon), both identified as vulnerable to climate change
- Water quality sampling and data logger installation
- Drone-based mapping of tributaries, erosion, and vegetation
- Maintaining trails to improve Elder access to berry-picking areas
- Incorporating Yup’ik language and terminology into data systems
- Uplifting stories and observations from elders, parents, and youth
Guardianship is not limited to environmental metrics—it’s also about cultural continuity, traditional knowledge transfer, and wellness. As Courtois describes in her talk, returning to the land can also be a path toward individual healing and collective strength.
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Who Are the Guardians?
Everyone who lives in a relationship with a place is a guardian. However, through this initiative, NVSF is also creating paid positions and seasonal opportunities that support this work as a profession and a viable pathway.
Guardian roles are inclusive, welcoming participants across age groups and backgrounds. The program honors personal strengths—some may prefer fieldwork, others may contribute through coordination, outreach, or data work. Guardianship is flexible by design, as it must reflect the unique landscape, traditions, and capacities of each community.
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Indigenous Knowledge Meets Western Tools
The Guardians program combines Indigenous knowledge and Western science—valuing both, and choosing methods that best serve community goals. Community observations inform what data is collected and why, and tools like drones and apps help visualize and share that knowledge in ways that can support long-term advocacy and self-determined stewardship.
NVSF’s Guardians’ work is supported by:
- Indigenous Sentinels Network, provider of the mobile observation app used in the field
- Knowledge-sharing relationships with Yakutat Indigenous Guardians, Seacoast Indigenous Guardians, and Ahtna Intertribal Resource Commission
- Collaborations with researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and University of Washington
- Additional partners include federal agencies and philanthropic allies, with care taken to ensure all partnerships align with Tribal sovereignty and self-governance
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Looking Ahead
Over time, we envision a region where communities across the Nila Vena area recognize and support guardian roles tailored to local needs—through seasonal and full-time positions rooted in stewardship. As the network grows, we aim to see guardians monitoring what matters most to their people, guided by local priorities and protected by Indigenous-led protocols. Ultimately, guardianship will be understood not as a temporary program, but as a core pillar of community health, self-determination, and environmental responsibility. This is not new work—it is ancestral work, given new form. By honoring the wisdom of our ancestors and investing in future generations, the Nila Vena Guardians initiative helps ensure our communities can continue to protect what protects us.
