April 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 51

the tribes. So, they'll partner on
different programming. In a lot of
our state parks, we have these historical markers that talk about the
park or the history of that particular piece of land. A lot of these
historical markers have some tribal
connotation or tribal tie that goes
with them and [tells] the story of
that particular area. So, it might be
a local family that lived nearby or a
village that was in that area, and a
piece of history that might've happened on or near that land.
[T]here's a lot of opportunities for
partnership, but it really takes that
drive and curiosity to go out and find
somebody who is knowledgeable
and willing to work on it together...
having some type of cultural liaison
to be able to talk about the history,
talk about what's relevant and talk
about it with a level of accuracy
based on the stories that...have been
passed down from generation to
generation. What we might know
at the historical society may not
be the same as what is known by a
tribal community with the accuracy
of what is documented versus what
actually happened at that site. So,
reaching out to those partners and
building a relationship. And that level of partnership is really important
to go forward and see what would
work for that community. But that's
where the relationship comes in.
P&R: At this writing, we're
awaiting Congresswoman Deb
Haaland's confirmation as the
next Secretary of the Interior.
What are your thoughts about
her confirmation and what do you
believe should be at the top of
her agenda?
Sinclair: It just makes me happy. I
know that she's still going to have
to work within a lot of really challenging and limiting structures, but

she's going to be bringing a very
different mindset and set of values
with her to that office. And, I'm excited that someone with her point
of view and with her values is going to be the person navigating that
very particular set of challenges.
Lozano: I think there's going to be
a lot of competing interests, a lot of
different wants, desires and needs out
there that she's going to have to try to
balance. At the heart of the administration, they're placing a high priority
on this concept of tribal consultation.
And tribal consultation, hopefully, in
a different way. It's, hopefully, going
to move away from sitting around the
table and reporting out everything
that you've done in the last year and
really [move] toward having a conversation about where priorities lie.
Not to say that should be her entire
agenda, but, hopefully, it will guide
the direction...in terms of where she
wants to take the department and the
relationship. [But] I'm really excited.
It's been incredible to...see women
of color being considered, even for
some of these high positions in our
federal government.
P&R: Is there anything that you
didn't get a chance to talk about
that you would like to share or
that you feel is important for
people to know?
Sinclair: One of the things that I
was really hopeful [for] with the
book, How We Go Home, is that it
would give people...some good
foundational knowledge so that
they wouldn't be afraid of having
further conversations. You can
start this work in the privacy of
your own home. You don't need to
reveal that you didn't have this education, because it's become so obvious with the research that is happening today, that so many people

are not learning this in their traditional educational experiences.
But there are now so many other
ways to pursue it. There are so many
incredible Indigenous thinkers on
Twitter and Instagram and many
organizations, like IllumiNative, to
follow to get a sense of what people
are working toward, what Indigenous
people are fighting for, what they care
about, and then as Stephanie said, it's
going to be really different in different
cities and reservations across the continent, but there's a lot of information
out there to start this learning.
Lozano: I go back to the start of our
conversation about the importance
of amplifying voices and making sure
that we're using the tools and the privileges that are afforded to us to help
amplify the voice of another. We talk
a lot about equity and inclusion, and
to me, those are some of the bigger
buzzwords that are happening right
now. If you're not doing equity, inclusion and diversity, then you're just
not doing well in your organization.
But I'd like to take that to a different
level in terms of what it means to truly be equitable and truly be inclusive
in the work that we're doing and really making sure that the voices that
typically aren't at the table are there
and taken into consideration at the
point of development versus having
to retrofit. Let's stop baking the cake
and taking it out to our stakeholders,
and let's start building relationships
and picking ingredients together.
Tune in to the April bonus episode of
Open Space Radio to hear Sinclair and
Lozano talk more about preserving the
history and land of Native people at
nrpa.org/April2021BonusEpisode.
Cort Jones is NRPA's Communications Manager and Cohost
of Open Space Radio (cjones@nrpa.org). Vitisia Paynich is
NRPA's Executive Editor, Print and Online Content (vpaynich@
nrpa.org). Roxanne Sutton is NRPA's Communications
Director and Cohost of Open Space Radio (rsutton@nrpa.org).

PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N .O R G | A P R I L 2 02 1 |

Parks & Recreation

http://www.nrpa.org/April2021BonusEpisode

April 2021 - Parks & Recreation

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