Resilient Roots: Otoe-Missouria ThriveMap

The solution of creating storytelling maps using GIS provides a modern platform to showcase and contextualize the historical indigenous knowledge from Otoe Missouria ancestral lands. These maps offer an interactive way to engage with and preserve this rich cultural heritage while also integrating contemporary insights from the Otoe Missouria's relocation to the Oklahoma landscape for resilience in the face of climate change.

 Zhi Li, et al.,(2024) Future Heavy Rainfall and Flood Risks for Native Americans under Climate and Demographic Changes: A Case Study in Oklahoma posits that "climate and demographic changes disproportionately put many Native Americans at risk. The heavy rainfall, 2-yr floods, and flash floods are all projected to have increased risks .... "  These risks are staggering for heavy rainfall, 2 year floods and flash floods and by "501.1%, 632.6%, and 296.4%, respectively. Additionally, in most Native communities, rising population growth will simply add to the existing risks without mitigating them.

Unfortunately, there is a shortage of information regarding how these communities can mitigate risks. Relevant data from climate change studies in Oklahoma is limited. Additionally, not all Native communities in Oklahoma possess abundant resources or benefit from progressive governance. There are thirty-nine distinct Native nations coexisting as sovereign entities within the state. Each nation holds unparalleled stewardship practices and priorities that have been accumulated over generations.

Researching generational traditional ecological knowledge can provide valuable insights into how Indigenous communities have historically coped with and adapted to environmental variability, offering lessons for contemporary climate change adaptation efforts. Overall, creating storytelling GIS maps from historical and present community traditional knowledge benefits a Native community facing risks from flash floods by increasing risk awareness, preserving cultural heritage, empowering residents, informing decision-making, and fostering intergenerational learning and resilience. Furthermore, this study will allow researchers to improve the quality and rigor of research projects by identifying and addressing potential problems early in the research process, ultimately enhancing the validity and generalizability of the study findings.

This approach to community driven capacity building would provide pathways for other Native communities in the Southern Plains and in the United States to have a sustainable approach for improving the human condition in the Americas and perhaps other Indigenous and unique landscapes globally. 

Proactive, grassroots approaches in mitigating climate change risks, coupled with the utilization of high-resolution technology to create resources and tools, provide a tangible outcome for vulnerable populations by validating ancestral and transformed Indigenous knowledge found in Oklahoma and securing Earth's stewardship as a crucial element of our cultural identity and capacity.

I plan to use a unique approach centered around collaboration, leveraging an established relationship to gather and convert Indigenous ecological knowledge from the Otoe-Missouria Tribe in Oklahoma. The data collected will be used to create storytelling map tools for application within the tribe's jurisdiction. This process aims to achieve two main goals: preserving traditional ecological knowledge and cultural practices related to flood management and adaptation, and facilitating intergenerational knowledge transfer. 

The technology involved in creating these storytelling maps will be supported by training sessions for self-identified Otoe-Missouria tribal members who are interested in participating. These sessions will teach participants how to use a graphical user interface (GUI) featuring intuitive icons and visual prompts to navigate and input data. The resulting platform of data will inform the community about natural resource management strategies, with a focus on incorporating traditional ecological support. Additionally, the collaborative nature of the process will foster an environment for brainstorming and encourage suggestions for addressing the impacts of climate change within the community. 

This approach will encompass both the pragmatic elements of developing storytelling map tools and the overarching objectives of safeguarding cultural heritage and bolstering community resilience amidst environmental injustices and the challenges of climate change.

During a rigorous hydrology class, I stumbled upon a paper authored by my instructor, which sparked the idea for a proposal aimed at empowering underserved communities in the Southern Plains through capacity building and technology transfer. The premise was simple: leverage highly accurate satellite datasets available on the cloud and employ high-resolution hydrologic models to assess the impacts of climate change indicators in these vulnerable areas. Engaged community members would be trained in machine learning techniques to analyze vast spatial datasets.

To facilitate this initiative, I proposed the use of machine learning techniques and technological advances and tools. Some tools, such as GIS storytelling maps leverage user-friendly GUI interfaces in GIS systems to streamline spatial data workflows.

With the support of my advisor and mentor, I gained access to hydrologic modeling lab resources, enabling me to forge collaborations, refine our research methodology, and chart the course for our future endeavors. He also encouraged the use of tribal Indigenous ecological knowledge that I acquired from my upbringing and life experiences.

After researching strategies for collecting Indigenous knowledge within tribal communities, I reached out to the Native American Studies department. There, I connected with the endowed chair of Native American Ecology and Culture, who facilitated our engagement with the Otoe-Missouria tribe. 

Otoe Missouria Tribe :

The Otoe–Missouria Tribe of Indians (OMT) is a federally recognized tribe located in Oklahoma. The tribe consists of individuals from the Otoe and Missouria communities, and the Chiwere language, spoken by the Otoe-Missouria Tribe (OMT), is part of the Siouan language family. The headquarters of the OMT is located in Red Rock, Oklahoma, with the tribal jurisdiction extending across Noble and Kay counties. As of 2011, the tribe had 3,089 enrolled members, the majority of whom lived in Oklahoma.

Given our lab's expertise in flash flood forecasting, we introduced ourselves to the emergency management director and subsequently, the community in January 2023 with his assistance. Through multiple visits and discussions, we began building trust and rapport with community members and elders. We began to collect oral histories and identified sacred sites and areas of concern that guided us in utilizing our resources. This information allowed our lab to provide climate change information and assist the tribe's development of sustainable resilience strategies.

I serve as the team lead for our project. Here in Oklahoma, it often feels like most tribes were forced into a state of refuge within this region. Their ancestral lands were either taken by force or surrendered through treaties and agreements that were later dishonored by settlers and colonizers. Consequently, it's common to see intermarriage between tribes that were once adversaries. Many tribal members may officially belong to one tribe but live according to the customs of their other ancestral lineage.

As an elder and trained environmental science researcher with relatives in the community we're studying, I bring a unique perspective. I am enrolled in a tribe that, along with another, granted the land on which the University of Oklahoma now stands. My engineering colleagues are part of a hydrologic modeling lab renowned internationally. Our research approach, blending traditional ecological knowledge with modern methods, involves collaboration with Native undergraduate and graduate students. One of these students is a descendant of the community we're focusing on.

Our team of social scientists shares similar worldviews and ethnic backgrounds, and they are equally passionate about our work. They bring expertise in their respective fields to our project. Additionally, we all embrace a holistic, non-Westernized pedagogy that guides our research orientation and goals.

Some honors we have received include: we received an OU seed grant for the previous year given to support research teams in conducting data science research that addresses societal changes. Outcomes from the study enabled us to successfully publish a well received and well read article in the American Meteorological Society Journal, a Tier One peer reviewed publication, on flash flooding and its affects on the Otoe Missouria and other tribal lands.

We are part of recently federally funded study center that is incorporating traditional ecological knowledge in datasets used to assemble infrastructure and transportation features in the Southern Plains.

Lastly, our research team student members and research associates were awarded  First Place in the Graduate College's all disciplines poster presentation on Graduate and Postdoc Research Activity Day in March of 2024.

These achievements would not have been possible if we had not collected oral histories, listened to what the Otoe Missouria wants and needs were for their community, constructed technological tools they weighed in on and went in with good hearts, intentions and good ways.

This entire project and relationship was fully endorsed by the Otoe Missouria tribal members and by the Tribal Council.

It's essential to formalize and document the understanding and agreements surrounding data sovereignty, even after data has been presented on a national level therefore a document has been drafted and is pending on the issue of data sovereignty at this stage and will provide clarity and legal protection regarding the ownership, control, and use of the data by the sovereign tribe. It shall also outline how the data will be managed, shared, and accessed, ensuring that the tribe's interests and rights are respected and upheld.

Ho' Hou MaHeo

We conducted a Zoom session for introductions and discussed the current status of OU's HyDROS lab in traditional ecological knowledge mapping, as well as the detailed results that have been obtained so far.

I'll be straightforward. Institutional racism is present at the University of Oklahoma. There have been numerous studies conducted here that failed to prioritize formalizing data sovereignty for the communities being researched and also neglected to leave organic, tangible outcomes that elevated the human condition in marginalized tribal communities.

Although Oklahoma was designated as "Indian Territory" under the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the energy sector, influenced by dark money and powerful oligarchs, heavily influences state economic policies and natural resource governance in the state.

There is absolutely no excuse for Oklahoma not to take the lead in acknowledging and validating the traditional ecological knowledge present in our 39 tribal communities.

Upon returning to school and pursuing a degree that only values quantitative research gathered from biophysical features as legitimate science, I excelled in all my classes with an above-average understanding. However, I encountered significant resistance when expressing my interest in researching environmental and climate justice for marginalized communities in Oklahoma, including tribal nations.

It seems only the large successful nations receive academic consideration and funding to work on environmental issues and management.  Sure things will always be winners when it comes to sustainable outcomes. Native tribes in Oklahoma are always characterized by those more advanced when it comes to resource allocation and technical support. The seven southwest tribes and others in various areas of Oklahoma do not share in the wealth the more accomplished tribes do yet the monolithic description of tribes persists in institutions that should know better.

I would like to receive a fellowship so I might use this resource to fund my work on researching and maybe restoring some erased ancestral traditional ecological knowledge and also receive some legal support and information to develop work arounds when coming up with environmental and climate justice actions and campaigns.

I have family that are enrolled there. I am aware of the conditions and concerns there. I am also of Pawnee descent and we were relocated from Nebraska like the Otoe Missouria and share some cultural connections.

I am also an elder born in Oklahoma and my identity, like that of the studied area of interest, is tied to these parts.