Back to the future: Indigenous relationality, kincentricity and the North American Model of wildlife management

For more than a century, wildlife conservation in the United States has been built on the notion that nonhuman animal populations are resources to be regulated by law and managed efficiently, according to the best available science and in the public trust. This approach, known as the North American Model of Wildlife Management, has come under increasing criticism for excluding diverse viewpoints that have the potential to advance both conservation and environmental justice goals. How might the greater inclusion of Indigenous worldviews and Indigenous Studies concepts, such as radical relationality and kincentricity, improve western wildlife management? In this paper, we review three case studies of tribal wildlife stewardship programs in the land currently known as California—the Maidu Summit Consortium’s beaver restoration project, the Karuk Tribe’s elk management program, and the Yurok Tribe’s condor recovery effort—that illuminate generative connections among ecological restoration, Indigenous cultural practices, community wellbeing, and environmental justice. Radical relationality and kincentricity offer enormous potential for informing stewardship and recovery efforts that produce more just outcomes for both people and wildlife.