ENST Digest 4/25/22- The Celebration One with big reveal

 Hello ENST and E&C Community!

Hope you did something amazing on Earth Day last week. There was a lot going on...

We have 10 transfer students just added to our listserv, so welcome to them! This is our weekly digest of information from the Department chair about the events happening on and around campus, to keep us all connected and informed.

In other exciting news, so far we have 63 confirmed new students coming to ENST in the fall! This is almost double our usual number, and that's just HUGE news. Congratulations to the peer mentors for their call campaign and all the help they and other students gave at the Spring Preview tabling event. Thanks again to Meridith Oram and Mark Baker for all their work onboarding and recruiting. It's so amazing to have such a great team.

'Tis the season for celebration! Let's keep this vibe going... One way that the white supremacist patriarchal colonial-capitalist ethos of never-enough-ness shows up in all of us (I'm guessing) is that we fail to see how far we have come, the progress we've made toward our goals, and the ways we have inched toward the life we desire over time. Pausing our "go-go-go" pace to celebrate ourselves may be counterintuitive in mainstream culture-- seen as selfish or egotistical-- but among social change agents, who tend to be supremely hard on themselves for never doing enough, it is an antidote to despair and self-loathing. It is my hope that we build a community of celebration in ENST, which is one reason I'm always asking, yes, in each and every digest, that you send me your achievements. Nobody ever takes me up on it, though, because I suspect you all think you're being humble. Humility is great, but it can exist alongside taking stock of your progress so you can see that your efforts are yielding results in your life. This is buoying, and keeps us all going. What goals, however small, have you achieved this year? This semester? Today? Can you take a few deep breaths and enjoy yourself?

So, let's celebrate some of our amazing students! (Hint, the big reveal of ENST's Student Leadership Awards for 2021 and 2022 is in this email!)

E&C Master's Students Thesis Defenses

First, we celebrate the 2022 graduating class of the E&C Master's program with these following thesis presentations-- please attend and support these stalwart, determined students, and more to follow:

Aleena Church is defending her thesis, "Settler Colonialism and White Environmentalism in the 'Uba". All are invited to support Aleena, ask questions, and celebrate her work. 

The defense is scheduled for April 29, 2022 at 10:00am

Zoom: https://humboldtstate.zoom.us/j/82543883022?pwd=Q25nb2JWbVhnZUdDeHVTZy9XVFp5dz09

Abstract:

Settler colonialism continues to shape present injustices of Indigenous Peoples. The settlers of Nevada County do not recognize the historical past of colonialism and how it has changed the Nisenan Tribes relationship to these lands/waters. Or how colonization still thrives in Nevada County through settler relationships with these lands/waters. Settler colonialism is ongoing, it is not an event that happened during the gold rush. I use the South 'Uba River (South Yuba River) as an example for how settler colonialism continues to perpetuate violence and genocide amongst the Nisenan Peoples. As we, settlers, occupy these lands and waters we must understand how our relationship is extractive from the Indigenous relationships to these lands and waters. By continuing to un-acknowlege Indigenous Peoples and their lands, white settlers continue to oppress Nisenan sovereignty and identity. In this thesis I argue that the use of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in land management practices is how environmental organizations can acknowledge the Nisenan Tribe as stewards of the land with the goal of Indigenous sovereignty. I will also be looking at the heightened ‘localism’ in the ‘Uba River. Settlers call the waterway “our river”, when it was never their river to claim. Using archival research, Participatory Action Research, settler colonial framework, and decolonizing methodologies as a framework, I hope to influence the settler community of Nevada County to acknowledge the Nisenan Tribe’s sovereignty that is deserved. The Nisenan Tribe of the Nevada City Rancheria continue to remain “terminated” from the federal recognition, whose borders flow through and past the 'Uba. The 'Uba is famous within Nevada County, where ‘'local's’ live and enjoy its waters. As a community member of Nevada County, I have seen the extreme 'local'ism that takes place around the 'Uba. Nonprofit organizations rally around the 'Uba to protect the waters without knowing whose waters these are, the Nisenan. I will attempt to uplift Nisenan voices by showcasing Indigenous relationships to water, art, and Traditional knowledge bases. Archival research allows me to give a historical background of the settler colonial beginnings of the gold rush in Nevada County. Some of the questions that I am focusing my thesis on is; How can Nevada County better acknowledge the Nisenan Tribe as stewards of the ‘Uba? How can we use TEK to create better coalitions between the community of Nevada County, the 'Uba, and the Nisenan Tribe? How can we use art as a tool for decolonization? I will use the art, poetry, and storytelling of the Nisenan Peoples to allow their voices to rewrite their own historical narrative of the 'Uba. A chance to show the community that these waters hold a connection to their cultural identity as a Nisenan person.

Cynthia Boshell is defending her thesis, "Johnson v. M'Intosh: Christianity, Genocide, and the Dispossession of Indigenous Peoples" on Friday April 29th at 1:00. All are invited to support Joe, ask questions, and celebrate Cynthia's work. 

Zoom Link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82021322335?pwd=YkQ4akZaL2R2NFNVMmZDOW9abWZXZz09

Meeting ID: 820 2132 2335
Passcode: 354705

Abstract:

Using hermeneutical methodology, this paper confronts legal fictions that form the foundation of Federal Indian Law. The text of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1823 Johnson v. M’Intosh opinion is evaluated through the lens of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide to determine the extent to which the Supreme Court may have incorporated genocidal principles into United States common law. The genealogy of M’Intosh is examined to identify influences that are not fully apparent on the face of the case. International jurisprudential interpretations of the legal definition of genocide are summarized and used as a basis for constructing an analytical framework. The framework is then applied to the reasoning in the M’Intosh case to evaluate the extent to which principles of Christian Discovery shaped the M’Intosh Court’s reasoning and, by extension, are the basis of dispossessing Native peoples of their lands, autonomy, and lives.

ENST BA Students Representing Strongly in the University's Outstanding Student Awards 2022!

Krissi Fiebig, Abbey Ramirez, Maddy Hunt, and Princess Jintcon Colegrove were all nominated for Outstanding Student Awards in various categories by the ENST faculty and others around campus. There will be a formal F2F celebration of all the nominees and winners this Wednesday. I'm so excited to attend! I'm definitely gonna cry. Congratulations to these ENST nominees!

ENST Student Leadership Awards - 2021 & 2022

In the Department of Environmental Studies, we have developed an award for student leadership, the primary focus of which is to acknowledge a student's work on building community within ENST, the campus, or beyond. The award comes with $100 prize, and a feature in our annual newsletter. Many of our students are activists in some way, and sometimes those activities impede on academics (unless you have a class where those external activities are part of the class, like many ENST classes!), and so we wanted to honor that work, especially when those students may not have the GPA for nomination for any of the University-wide awards. We did not have an award last year, and so this year, ENST is proud to announce two awardees, one for 2021, and one for 2022.

Congratulations to ENST STUDENT LEADERSHIP AWARDEES Kory Lamberts (2021) and Abbey Ramirez (2022)!  Kory's work in many spaces such as Project Rebound has made news several times, such as here, and here. In classes, Kory has taught me far more than I have taught him, and it has been a pleasure to watch how he's unfolding into this world. Abbey Ramirez is co-director of CCAT this year, having worked in CCAT over the past few years in a variety of capacities. She has really found her passion and voice since arriving at Cal Poly Humboldt, and her professors attest to her contributions in and outside of classes. Please celebrate these two amazing ENST student leaders. Thanks to all the faculty who have helped identify these fabulous ENST students. Congratulations!!!! 

And, onto our regularly scheduled stuff:

The last of our ENST professional development workshops is coming right up! Interested in attending grad school ever? Not sure how to even begin to think about it? Check out our ENST-focused event on April 26:

1. SFS Speaker on Children's Legal Rights and Climate Crisis- April 28, 5:30

Andrea Rodgers, Senior Litigation Attorney for Our Children’s Trust, is this Thursday's presenter in the Schatz Energy Research Center’s Spring's Sustainable Futures Speaker Series. Rodgers will deliver her talk, Children's fundamental rights and the climate crisis: the call for judicial branch engagement, via webinar this Thursday, April 28th at 5:30pm. 

 

Register here to join us!

 

Andrea Rodgers serves as co-counsel on Juliana v. United States and as lead counsel on Aji P. v. State of Washington and Reynolds v. State of Florida. Dubbed the climate “trial of the century,” Juliana v. United States advocates for the constitutional rights of children to a livable environment in the future. Rodgers graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1998 and Arizona State University School of Law in 2001, where she served as co-Executive Editor of Jurimetrics: The Journal of Law, Science and Technology. Andrea then clerked for the Hon. John C. Gemmill on the Arizona Court of Appeals. She has served as an Honors Attorney for the U.S. Department of Transportation, In-House Legal Counsel for the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe, and Staff Attorney for the Western Environmental Law Center. Her law practice has focused on reducing pollution from industrial agricultural operations, protecting and enhancing instream flows for people and fish, and fighting climate change for young people and future generations.

 

Rodgers’s talk will grant attendees a front-row seat into the courtrooms presiding over climate issues in the U.S.. She will identify critical turning points where youth have evolved legal approaches to fundamental climate protections, and share recent developments where youth are gaining leverage in the fight for a livable future. To learn about other webinars from the Schatz Center or to watch recordings of recent presentations, visit: http://schatzcenter.org/events/.

 

We hope to see you there!

2. Internship: Hispanic Access Foundation

The MANO Project is offering enriching internship experiences nationwide for Latinx college students and upcoming professionals of color who are passionate about the outdoors, geography, community engagement, public lands, cultural resources, and natural resources. We'd like to ask for your help in sharing these opportunities with talented students and recent grads who may be interested in getting work experience with a federal land management agency.

 

Applications can be submitted through our website: MANO Project

 

Please see the attached flyer for more information about our partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and visit our website for additional information regarding other federal internship opportunities. Interested candidates may contact us by email with any questions regarding internships. We appreciate your support in sharing these opportunities with students in your network.

3. Northcoast Environmental Center monthly activism workshops, coordinated by ENST major and NEC intern, Cassidy Hollenbeck!

NEC is hosting monthly activism workshops for anyone looking to learn more about community organizing and movement building. This month's topic is non-violent direct action! The workshop will be held on zoom on May 9th, 6-7pm. You can register here! 

4. Climate Change and Youth Mental Health event tomorrow, April 26, 11am with Sarah Ray

watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV2n1gjIYAw 

Check out Dr. Ray's latest essay for KCET: "Overwhelmed by Climate Change? Try Reframing Your Impact", here.

_______________________And as always, a poem for the stalwart, this one is one of many where the Earth features heavily, in honor of Earth Day just passed________________________

“School Prayer" In the name of daybreak And the eyelids of morning And the wayfaring moon And the night when it departs, I swear I will not dishonor My soul with hatred, But offer myself humbly As a guardian of nature, As a healer of misery, As a messenger of wonder, As an architect of peace. In the name of the sun and its mirrors . . . And the uttermost night . . . And the crowning seasons Of the firefly and the apple, I will honor all life ---wherever and in whatever form It may dwell---on Earth my home, and in the mansions of the stars.” ― Diane Ackerman Sarah Jaquette Ray (she/her) Professor & Chair, Environmental Studies Cal Poly Humboldt