UBC Forestry’s new Bachelor of Indigenous Land Stewardship (BILS) program provides students with the knowledge and skills to bridge Indigenous science and current land-management practices. We sat down with BILS student Emma Charles as she shares her journey from Seattle to UBC, future career aspirations, her experiences in the program, and how it has deepened her connection to land and community.
Tell us about your background and where you’re from.
I am from Seattle, Washington, the traditional, unceded territory of the Duwamish people. I am Cowichan and Duwamish through my maternal grandmother, and Lower Elwha Klallam through my maternal grandfather. I have lived in Seattle my entire life but have family in Duncan, Port Angeles and Vancouver.
What inspired you to pursue the Bachelors in Indigenous Land Stewardship at UBC Forestry?
Coming from the States, there are not many opportunities similar to Indigenous Land Stewardship at the university level. Other Indigenous studies and sustainability options exist, but as a Pacific Northwest Native, I wanted to stay close to home, which I have achieved. Especially with the other opportunities through UBC Forestry, the First Nations Longhouse, and events and research at UBC, I made the right choice.
How does the program help you connect with the land and understand holistic land-management practices?
This program taught us about land-management practices from so many different communities. We have learned from Indigenous communities in BC, and across North America, Australia and Indonesia. We’ve really been able to look at how Indigenous people from different areas of the world and locally connect their values to the earth and each other.
What has been the most meaningful or impactful part of the program so far?
Our field camp at the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest at the beginning of the program helped welcome me to my new community. We spent a week sharing stories, learning, laughing and participating in great activities. This helped me build meaningful connections to my professors and classmates and make new friends at UBC.
Tell us about your experience learning about weaving together Indigenous science and current land management systems?
Because our program is within a Western system, everything we learn is from weaving together both forms of knowledge, not just from a traditional science perspective. This is often called the two-eyed way of seeing, and we are learning to balance both through classes like Ways of Knowing, Community Engagement, and our field course. This way of seeing and knowing is the future of land management, and it is an important value to our program that we learn how to work with and not leave Indigenous perspectives out as they have often been.
How do you see this program preparing you for a future career?
This program serves as a basis for many different career paths, whether in forestry, government, or Indigenous tourism, to name a few. I want to work in law and policy in the future, and the education I’ll receive through this program will hopefully prepare me holistically. Because this program is so well-rounded, we learn not only how to work in forestry but also in other fields through business, law, ecology, and community development classes we have taken and will be taking.
Learn more about the Bachelor of Indigenous Land Stewardship program.