12. WE Are The Lorax Part II
An Earth Day Invitation
How Will We Breathe?
Not long after I drafted what would become WE Are The Lorax (part I), published over on I Dissent (a fantastic ‘Stack curated by Mesa Fama), I came across a writing exercise during a Writing In The Dark Intensive For The Joy and the Sorrow Intensive, inspired by The Book of Delights by Ross Gay and essayette #92, Filling the Frame.
I FINALLY VISITED The Grand Canyon, and perhaps the most disappointing spectacle was the people. Cantankerous bus drivers giving flawed directions. The racist one- young brown faces waiting for permission to sit in mostly empty seats. Unsafe to teach, I watch the child tossing rocks over the edge, father’s handgun protruding from his waistband. Tiny pieces deadly for hikers below. Forced off the sides of busy trails wide enough for two. A body not yet equipped for the trek away from the horde, steep climb out from the threat. Crushed toes and blocked views- so involved in their selfies. Sun cast shadows melding with smoky air over two billion years of red and tan, brown and blue, purple, pink and green. Controlled burns adopted too late by us, the extractors. Sacred tradition for millennia, protecting the land and all its inhabitants. Trees, beautiful wisdom keepers, some 5000 years old, ordered to be ravaged by a tyrant. Where will the spotted owl nest her owlets? What organ might be sold for the last clean water? Where will the lynx feed, away from traps set for her fur?
How will they breathe?
How will I breathe?
How will we breathe?
WE Are The Lorax (part I) came about because like
(at I Dissent) and many others, I too believe a better world is possible! It is that belief that inspired the writing of part I which spoke to some of the current threats to our public lands (National Parks, Forests, Monuments, etc) and ways I’m navigating the overwhelm to continue showing up to do something about it. I shared a collection of practical options we have individually and collectively to engage in resistance based on my experiences and what I’ve learned from others. I hope that part I lit a fire for you to find YOUR way to resist in whatever ways you have access to.While working on We Are The Lorax, I was listening to The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates where he “originally set out to write a book about writing, in the tradition of Orwell’s classic “Politics and the English Language,” but found himself grappling with deeper questions about how our stories—our reporting and imaginative narratives and mythmaking—expose and distort our realities.…“. “Finally, in the book’s longest section, Coates travels to Palestine, where he sees with devastating clarity how easily we are misled by nationalist narratives, and the tragedy that lies in the clash between the stories we tell and the reality of life on the ground.” I was reminded of the importance of reminding both myself and readers, that when I share stories, it is through the lens of a visitor, an observer, and for the purpose of this newsletter, a colonizer. One who is aware that my voice may be more accessible to you AND who will urge you to follow the threads when you are intrigued or disturbed or called to action by anything you read from me. Invest in learning from folks who share their own stories about these issues and the impact on their communities.
It was similar guidance on the necessity of learning from those with lived experience I carried forward from professional consultation, continuing education, and a personal commitment to anti-racism and anti-oppression focused learning, growth, and unlearning that guided me to seek out Palestinian voices over the last 18 months. I watched as mainstream media spoke and wrote about the citizens of Gaza, and most of the world began to formulate opinions on right and wrong, justice and harm. I went to the source and watched live streams, got to know the voices of those speaking directly to the world through their phones. Voices that spoke of harm, yes AND of love and family and community and culture and ancestry.
In The Message, Coates reminds us that “Writing is a powerful tool of politics” as history showed with Black authors Harriet Jacobs, Ida B. Wells, and W.E.B. Du Bois. He goes on to say “This has happened despite a concerted effort to deny Black writers access to leading journals and publishers, to assault their schools and libraries, to outlaw reading and writing itself, and thus deny their access to this tool which is not just powerful but nonviolent.”
The ongoing threats to intellectual freedom and dissent are real. The historical parallel is illuminated in the 2025 documentary, THE LIBRARIANS, in which librarians reveal their experiences with book banning, and share how they are on the front lines of combatting censorship.1
As is true on many social and political fronts right now, there are too many updates to include in this newsletter as far updates to all that was discussed in part I regarding the ongoing threats and harm to the environment and its inhabitants via related legislation, governmental dismantling and destruction of public lands. So much so that in the overwhelm of writing part I and taking a social media break before picking up part II, I completely missed a massive multi-site protest on April 5th! Fortunately, this speaks to the idea of everyone choosing a lane in activism and not needing to do all the things at once. I managed to catch the end of a protest on 4/19/25 and it felt SO great to be in the company of so many humans who agree that something has gotta change.
I’ve included some great resources with updates and calls to action at the end of this newsletter if you have the desire (and bandwidth) to catch yourself up.
What follows is a combination of the intersecting stories centering places and history (often unknown, misrepresented, and currently in process of erasure) I visited, and what stood out to me as relevant to share about the present connection between public lands and its original (and current) Indigenous stewards. You got a taste of how my writerly mind is processing all of this via the opening prose about my (disappointing 🤫) 2023 visit to Grand Canyon National Park.
Further, I elaborate on how current events fuel predictions for worsening the existing water insecurity crisis on Native reservations and the rest of us. Finally, in keeping with Soft Place to Land norms, you will also find several quick invitations for contemplating your relationship with nature.
The Lorax speaks for the trees. Who will speak for me?
One of my most memorable moments in 2023 was on Yurok reservation land. I will never forget stumbling across a place I lovingly dubbed ‘Narnia’ for the way a wooded trail turned a corner and opened up to a wildlife filled wonderland of beach and ocean. I have so much gratitude for the honor of visiting that place day after day.
Aside from private ceremonies, public access is unlimited. Unlimited access to a protected sanctuary where a sandbar covered in rocks turned out to be 100+ seals digesting (aka sunning themselves in a giant cuddle puddle). The ‘rocks’ were flanked by pelicans and seagulls, the latter of whom I had never witnessed preying upon anything beyond beach trash. Later a lone sea lion honked itself into my awareness as it shared the water and plentiful nourishment with the seal colony and Yurok fishermen. I walked the beach as an osprey dropped a snake from high above onto the sand. I spent days tucked out of view watching the creatures live their wild lives. I was already captivated by seals from my encounter two campgrounds earlier when I discovered the Harbor Seal Rookery in Carpinteria, CA.2 This really felt like Narnia. Hours spent watching seals tumble off the sandbar shrinking with the tide. The immeasurable joy of witnessing one playful body surf toward the shore (video included below so that you too can be entertained by the playful creature!).
Here’s the thing. All National Parks and public lands are on occupied territory (i.e., stolen land). The original stewards were forcibly removed and those who survived were moved to reservations (i.e., the United States government forcibly removed Indigenous peoples to designated spaces either on their ancestral lands or elsewhere), typically in areas without adequate natural resources to continue their ancestral ways of life. Pause to think about this:
The original stewards -those who carry forward the knowledge and practices that respect and protect the earth- to this day do not have safe, clean, reliable water in many of their homes. Water is now sold to reservation residents at exorbitant costs. Instead of returning to well-established practices, the current administration is determined to assault the environment and skirt the safety measurements in place to protect the land on which we reside. Stolen land which is set to be extracted for its natural resources at unparalleled rates.
THERE MUST BE A BETTER WAY!!
I’m with you. There is. Solutions exist.
You ready?
Breathe.
Solutions lie within a return to Indigenous values and practices.
Breathe again as ‘Land Back’ enters the chat.
Many folks hear Land Back and visions of being forced out of their home flood the mind, curiosity cut off by scarcity fueled panic. Let’s interrupt that pattern and look at an example of what Land Back can include. Namely, the Yurok Tribal co-stewardship with National Park Service and California State Parks is a historic and effective representative of the powers of co-stewardship (co-management) of land.
This partnership is creating MORE access to Redwood National Park. O’Rew, upon which operated the 125-acre Brick Mill Site and redwood lumber mill with acres of asphalt interrupting the Prairie Creek eco-system, is being restored. ‘Land Back’ doesn’t mean visitors are suddenly restricted from visiting Redwood National Park. On the contrary, the Yurok Tribe is utilizing their ancestral and cultural practices to implement tribal land management to fix the devastation to the region by commercial logging. Conservation has been ongoing and I can’t wait to visit the recreational and cultural gateway being built, including the planned trails connecting with existing trail systems, interactive exhibits where I’ll learn about Yurok history. Already, the conservation efforts are paying off “As part of that effort, Yurok Tribe restoration crews built a new, nearly 1-mile-long meandering stream channel with abundant features to support fish, two connected ponds and approximately 20 acres of floodplain habitat. More than 50,000 native plants, including grass-like slough sedge, black cottonwood and coast redwood trees, have been planted in specific locations on the banks of the creek, ponds and floodplain of the Redwood Creek tributary. Thousands of juvenile coho and chinook salmon and steelhead are already taking advantage of the new habitat. Multiple wildlife species are also returning to the restored environment. Red-legged frogs, northwestern salamanders, elk and many species of waterfowl and songbirds have been observed at ‘O Rew.”3
This brings us back to the administration’s use of fear and misinformation from part I where I noted: “"Finally there is the false assertion that the existing barriers to logging are responsible for degraded fish and wildlife habitats. Large scale, for-profit extraction of trees (i.e., clearcut logging) is a known cause of degraded fish and wildlife habitats." O’Rew is clear evidence that co-stewardship is effective for restoration of lands devastated by the logging industry.
Grand Canyon National Park- Tribal Consultation and Involvement:
The Grand Canyon National Park is consistently one of the most visited national parks and thus may be the most relatable example of a modern role of tribal consultation and involvement. People from all over the world flock to get a look at America’s most famous natural wonder.
While it was low ranking on my 2023 park visiting experiences (see introductory essayette), one of the things I was most looking forward to was visiting the Desert View Inter-tribal Cultural Heritage site. There, “Led by the 11 Grand Canyon tribal communities, in partnership with the National Park Service, the Desert View Inter-tribal Cultural Heritage Site begins to address the historic inequities faced by Native Americans through new pathways for cultural and economic opportunities to determine a new thriving future.”4 Including cultural demonstrations, where tribal artists engage in and sell their traditional crafts. Public (and infrequent private) sacred tribal ceremonies. The tower itself was renamed to its present title with support of the tribal community members. In 2023, a ceremony was held to bless the space formally renamed Havasupai Gardens. “In 1928, the National Park Service forcibly removed the last Havasupai farmer living in Grand Canyon. Captain Burro resided in a lush oasis halfway down Bright Angel Trail called Ha'a Gyoh. …In May 2023, that farmer's descendants attended ceremonies to bless and dedicate the sacred place, formally renaming the site Havasupai Gardens.”5 The Havasupai have lived and worked the lands all along- despite forcible removal- constricted by an 1880’s executive order to the meager 518 acres making up the Havasupai Reservation. Over time, their Tribal Council fought for the return of more land and on January 3, 1974, the largest amount of land ever returned to a single tribe was restored by law. Historic, yes. Ever enough to repair the historic and ongoing harms? Nope.
In comparison to the research I had done leading up to my trip and the resulting hope it gave me that the Grand Canyon NP would be a history altering breakthrough in recognition and celebration of the the original stewards, I was disappointed by how place specific the efforts were.
There are 11 remaining nations who have sacred and historical connections to the place time immemorial (far beyond the 100+ years it has been a National Park). The land is home to many origin stories. It holds wisdom carried and shared between generations. Renaming the offensive titles is something. The updated signage and cultural demonstrations are much more something than many of the other parks I visited that year and since. To learn more, the video We Are Grand Canyon is a great watch. Watch now or save it watch the next time you consider a National Park visit: https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/indian-garden-officially-renamed-to-havasupai-gardens.htm
I asked Tewa and Hopi singer/songwriter/‘edutainer,’ Ed Kabotie of Tha 'Yoties6 after one of their performances how he felt about the Desert View Inter-tribal Cultural Heritage Site. Like his song Don’t Worry, Be Hopi, he was less critical and more hopeful than I about the future potential of tribal recognition, representation, and movement toward co-stewardship of more national parks, forests, and other pulic lands.
Admittedly, it’s been almost two years since that conversation and I haven’t sought opportunities to ask other Indigenous folks since then. There are sure to be countless thoughts on this and as we know, there is danger in generalizing the experience or opinion of an individual to that of an entire group. Indigenous folks like any marginalized peoples, are not a monolith.
Ed’s experience and perspective is partially informed by his own connection as an invited performer at the Desert View Watchtower, plus a significant direct ancestral link. His grandfather, Hopi artist Fred Kabotie (1900-1986) was commissioned to paint one of the original murals in the very same building by the architect, Mary Colter. The murals were restored in partnership with The Grand Canyon Conservancy, official nonprofit partner of the park. Again, an example of Indigenous involvement and collaboration facilitating land and wildlife conservation, restoration, and enhanced visitor experience.
Resistance comes in many forms. Choose yours.
Reader Invitations 💌:
✨A quick word association experiment- express (write, sketch, voice memo, etc) your first thoughts in association with the following words/phrases/concepts (it’s perfectly OKAY if any of these are unfamiliar, this is a non-judgmental exploration of how our minds categorize information):
National Park(s)
Nature
Conservation
Clean water
Activism
Public Land
Land Back
Eco-system
Co-management
Restoration
Stewardship
Ownership
I would truly LOVE if you would be willing to share any word association that surprised, delighted, or sparked worry for you. Remember, I am not an expert and am ALWAYS learning and it is so important to me to use this space to provide opportunities to gently sift through the maze that is our human minds and begin to illuminate the ways our conditioning is blocking our ability to live our values
✨It’s Earth Day!! Find a photo, write about, draw/paint, and/or describe a memorable experience with a tree or a forest.
.
.
.
.
Got it? Great.
On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being not at all and 10 being the most, how devastated would you be if a young person in your life never has an opportunity for a similar experience?
Again, share as much or as little as you would like in the comments whether it is your rating or the description or any related thoughts. Allow these devices to be a source of connection. Plus, I have a fun idea if a few folks are willing to share!
✨Practice acquainting yourself with the Indigenous nations who share geography with land significant to you. Whether it is where you currently reside, your favorite public lands, the street you grew up on, you can find out who originally lived and loved on those lands as well as the nations still in connection with the land. A quick tool to reference is https://native-land.ca/. Plug in an address and then follow the links to learn more.
TLDR: I shared about places I visited and the present connection between public lands and its original (and current) Indigenous stewards. A bit of prose about my 2023 visit to Grand Canyon National Park. At the end there are several quick invitations for contemplating your relationship with nature.
Land Acknowledgement: This newsletter was written and inspired by multiple geographical locations. Primarily written on lands sharing geography with the following Indigenous Nations: Clackamas; Umatilla & Walla Walla; Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians; and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde; and Cayuse. I am publishing today on lands of the Lenni-Lenape peoples. On an Earth Day land tending break where I am supporting the stewards of The Harmony Mountain House who practice reciprocity and reverence with the earth.
A special acknowledgement for the Yurok, and the cherished memories of visiting their lands in 2023.
Harm and violence occurred for me to have the privilege to write about and visit these places. I thank those who originally and in many cases continue to steward this land in resistance to the continued damage to the lands and and nearby waters via practices and laws maintained by colonizers.
Resources:
As mentioned in part I, it’s important to acknowledge the dangers of providing lists, particularly of anyone engaging in dissent. Especially with the disappearing of students, increased censorship and continued vengeful responses of administration to any form of dissent. If you would like any particular recommendations for topics of interest, please message me and I’ll send along some folks I learn from
In the meantime, a friend recently sent me a 2023 We Can Do Hard Things podcast episode I somehow missed as I was gearing up for my roadtrip: 5 Ways to Be More Present: Indigenous Wisdom from Kaitlin Curtice.7
Check out this 4/17/25 instagram post with relevant updates to our public lands and some action steps:
https://thelibrariansfilm.com/
Directed by Kim A. Snyder and produced by Janique L. Robillard, Maria Cuomo Cole, and Jana Edelbaum. “As an unprecedented wave of book banning is sparked in Texas, Florida, and beyond, librarians under siege join forces as unlikely defenders fighting for intellectual freedom on the front lines of democracy.”
Tha Yoties Youtube Channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UCA1kxyBlf4YH_kXn9He4mPw?si=Be1ts773MjjzsD95
We Can Do Hard Things Episode 187: https://momastery.com/blog/we-can-do-hard-things-ep-187/