This Environmental Studies 600 Community-based Capstone partners students at the Nelson Institute with members of the Menominee Nation. The Menominee Nation is a sovereign Tribal Nation residing on a portion of their ancestral lands in what is now known as northeastern Wisconsin. The Menominee Origin Story begins at the mouth of the Menominee River, where the five clans of the Nation came into being. Today, their reservation lands share coterminous boundaries with Menominee County, which is a remnant of the impact from federal assimilation policies. The Tribe is world-renowned for their sustainable forestry practices, which is guided by Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and western science. The Menominee Reservation is also home to one of the two Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU’s) in Wisconsin.

Threats to the Menominee’s environmental resources include dams, climate change, and mineral mining. Menominee resource management is exemplary in their incorporation of both TEK and western science to tackle these environmental issues. Students in this capstone will visit the Menominee reservation to learn first-hand about indigenous environmental philosophy and practice. Integrating ecology, natural resource management, environmental health, mapping, and education, we will work directly with Tribal professionals and leaders on projects that will be useful to the Nation as they shape environmental policies that protect their culture and their homeland.

Please explore the  2018 Capstone Syllabus.