This project will support the respectful cultural exchange and braiding of Indigenous Science and values of ecosystem health in ways that will enhance watershed restoration, land management, and biodiversity outcomes within the commonwealth of Virginia. This existing Indigenous Knowledge represents thousands of years of expertise yet it is not meaningfully guiding work to the state’s detriment.

Through the auspices of the Indigenous Conservation Council (ICC), an intertribal consortium of seven federally recognized tribes, tribes are now engaging in  multiple state-level planning initiatives in the Commonwealth, including the Wetlands Policy Taskforce, Virginia Security Corridor Sentinel Landscape, and the Virginia Outdoor Planning Technical Advisory Group. State-level policies that recognize the importance of Indigenous Knowledge are in their earliest stage of formation, for it is not yet informing state-level goals and collaborations, nor are definitions of ocean and coastal biodiversity being shaped with the input of Tribal Nations in ways that support multi-generational resiliency and adaptation strategies.

The ICC will convene Tribal leadership, knowledge keepers and communities alongside key state-level partners including the Department of Conservation and Recreation-Natural Heritage, and the scientific community in a three part webinar and workshop series that seeks to:

  • identify culturally respectful ways to share Tribal perspectives and discuss shared priorities between Tribes and state partners; 
  • develop methodologies for braiding Indigenous Science that respect Indigenous and Tribal data-sovereignty; 
  • engage in exploratory Tribal community-based and co-produced research to identify biodiversity indicators and approaches to ecosystem monitoring; 
  • finalize a State of the Science report that will include research findings on Indigenous Biodiversity Indicators and recommendations on best practices for consultation and tribal partnerships; and 
  • explore connections between state-level goals, policies, and land management strategies and Indigenous indicators of health.

Tribal community engagement will occur in multiple ways and be woven into ICC’s Listening to Our Lands —a program that seeks to reconnect Tribal citizens to ancestral sites to explore land tenure opportunities, conservation priorities, and revitalize Indigenous lifeways. 

This project was funded in August 2026 as part of the 2026 Ocean Biodiversity Program Regional Engagement Grants.