Northwestern’s Native American and Indigenous Student Alliance Advocacy Committee and student publication In Our Nature co-hosted a panel discussion titled “Indigenous Approaches to Environmental Justice” to celebrate Native American Heritage Month on Friday afternoon. 

Members of the NU community gathered in Parkes Hall to listen in on a conversation between Forrest Bruce (SESP ’17, ’25) and third-year learning sciences Ph.D. student Cece Hoffman. 

The session began with a discussion on land-based pedagogies, which refer to Indigenous approaches on education by directly interacting with nature.

“Indigenous people had systems of education that went before colonization,” Bruce said. “That is different from the current model of schooling.”

As part of the Indigenous STEAM Collaborative, Bruce is working on an initiative that creates learning opportunities and content grounded in Indigenous educational methods. Bruce, who is Ojibwe, shared the personal significance of carrying on his people’s traditions of harvesting wild rice in remembrance of his ancestors. 

He expressed how outdoor learning can help people foster connection with their ancestors and develop responsibility to the environment.

Hoffman explained how reviving Indigenous practices is critical for thinking about environmental justice, especially as environmental issues deteriorate and urbanization progresses.

“People often ask, ‘How are we responding to environmental harms?’” Hoffman said. “But rather, sometimes it’s about reflecting on the relationship between humans and the land.” 

In response, some audience members shared their own Indigenous experiences, detailing how continuing ancestral practices and hearing traditional stories help retain connection with the land and water.

Other attendees emphasized historical connections with the land as something uniquely Indigenous, viewing the identity as a political concept originating in the need to differentiate themselves from others to protect their natural resources.

“There’s Indigenous peoples all over the world and a lot of times our presence is erased,” Bruce said. “So I think it’s the responsibility of non-Indigenous people to disallow that erasure and make sure that people are recognizing the Indigenous sovereignty.”

The discussion topics expanded to a broader question of “are we all Indigenous to Earth?” Audience members attempted to untangle this in a discussion through indicating unique characteristics of Indigeneity. 

For instance, some audience members referred to how some Indigenous languages center around verbs, mirroring nature’s tendency for movement.

Meanwhile, other attendees shared personal anecdotes on instances when Indigeneity was mistaken for outdatedness. Through it all, there was a consensus on Indigeneity being the groups’ history with the land dating before colonization. 

Some audience members brought global perspectives to the table as well. Among the participants, McCormick sophomore Abigail Buell is Shimanchu, Indigenous to the Ryukyu Islands in Japan. 

“I feel grateful that the Native community here has accepted my experiences,” Buell said. “It’s really cool to see how many parallels there are between all of the stories that my Native friends are saying, and the stories that my family has been saying.” 

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