Protecting Mother Earth Conference: Sustainable Land Management

In August of 2025 Kerri Pulley and I attended the 18th “Protecting Mother Earth conference” in Cherokee North Carolina. The conference was hosted by the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. The conference was held at the Qualla Boundary land trust in a valley surrounded by mountains and the Oconaluftee River. The conference is an official event of the Indigenous Environmental Network.  
The conference was marked by rituals such as the daily Welcoming of the Sun around the Sacred Fire, dance and purifying sweats. Participants ate locally gathered and harvested authentic traditional meals together. There was a profound sense of community. All of this helped to sustain the participants for the serious work of Protecting Mother Earth. 

 Speakers, leaders and participants were from all over Turtle Island, South America, and the Pacific. There were Plenary sessions, trainings sessions and breakout sessions.  Kerri Pulley, the production assistant (and my daughter) created a mobile recording studio, identified potential interviewees, and kept us on schedule in an environment where the schedule was fluid. One of the interviewees was Dane DeSouza. 

Dane is a member of the Metis Nation. This was an identity I was only recently familiar with. I was attending virtual trainings through the Outdoor Learning Store. They introduced me to the First Nations University of Canada. Through taking virtual classes at the university, I was introduced to the Metis. Canada recognizes three large groups of indigenous peoples. The include First Nations (think Indian tribe or indigenous nations, Eskimos and Inuit, and the Metis. The Metis are a distinct culture and history. They share European ancestry and Indigenous ancestry but maintained indigenous original culture, language, and a sustainable worldview. 

Dane spoke of his journey from City Indian to a more engrained Metis identity. Dane spoke of his introduction to disaster relief work, firefighting, and living and working in nature. This led to a greater understanding of the differences between the colonial extractive economy and the indigenous sustainable approach to living in balance with Mother Earth. 

While articulating these differences he was respectful of all the people he worked with and encountered. He is a bridge-builder. The interview provides numerous examples of colonial extractive economy versus a sustainable indigenous approach. Perhaps the clearest example was the wildfires as consequences of exploiting the land versus the life-sustaining generative approach of living in harmony with the land. 

Dane's work is in the service of all. This is seen most clearly when he addresses his international work. It was an honor to interview this Indigenous activist for the environmental. I hope you enjoy the video. 

---