Ojibwe Wetland Conservation Approaches: Peat Bog Resource Use and Protection in Red Lake, Leech Lake, and Sax-Zim Bog
Location
PANEL: Intersectional Perspectives on Education
CELA A019
Moderator: Mary Rose
Document Type
Presentation - Oberlin Community Only
Start Date
5-1-2026 4:30 PM
End Date
5-1-2026 5:30 PM
Abstract
Peatlands are terrestrial ecosystems where high water levels, low-oxygen and high(er)-pH create peat: accumulated layers of partially-decomposed plant material, which can be centuries old.
Peatlands are currently experiencing a deluge of attention from environmental management groups: financial, technical, and media resource support is being channeled towards peatland conservation projects, spurred by peatlands’ potential roles in climate change mitigation. At the same time, peatlands are widely misunderstood outside environmentalist circles.
However, worldwide, Indigenous people have deep connections with peatlands located on lands and adjacent to waters they depend on. They are the original stewards of peatlands, whose management goals are directly related to their communities’ environmental and cultural health, and overlap but are also distinct from non-Indigenous environmental organizations’ goals.
This project aims to educate public audiences about peatlands through research grounded in understanding peatland conservation as an Indigenous issue. I focus on Ojibwe connections to peat bogs in what is now northern Minnesota. This research surveys histories and methods of harvesting peatland wildlife, cultural and ecological knowledge about these areas, and peatland protection efforts that have long been practiced by Ojibwe communities and Ojibwe-led organizations. It analyzes Ojibwe involvement in non-Indigenous-led restoration projects; the history of dispossession, fraud, and land defense that led to the patchwork of land ownership in northern Minnesota today; and financial influences on peatland ownership, resource extraction, and contemporary protection models. It intends to emphasize the ongoing work by Ojibwe people as the most informed and committed protectors of peatlands in northern Minnesota today.
Keywords:
Indigenous studies, Peatlands, Conservation, Environmental history
Recommended Citation
See metadata.
Major
Environmental Studies
Project Mentor(s)
John Petersen, Environmental Studies and Biology
2026
Ojibwe Wetland Conservation Approaches: Peat Bog Resource Use and Protection in Red Lake, Leech Lake, and Sax-Zim Bog
PANEL: Intersectional Perspectives on Education
CELA A019
Moderator: Mary Rose
Peatlands are terrestrial ecosystems where high water levels, low-oxygen and high(er)-pH create peat: accumulated layers of partially-decomposed plant material, which can be centuries old.
Peatlands are currently experiencing a deluge of attention from environmental management groups: financial, technical, and media resource support is being channeled towards peatland conservation projects, spurred by peatlands’ potential roles in climate change mitigation. At the same time, peatlands are widely misunderstood outside environmentalist circles.
However, worldwide, Indigenous people have deep connections with peatlands located on lands and adjacent to waters they depend on. They are the original stewards of peatlands, whose management goals are directly related to their communities’ environmental and cultural health, and overlap but are also distinct from non-Indigenous environmental organizations’ goals.
This project aims to educate public audiences about peatlands through research grounded in understanding peatland conservation as an Indigenous issue. I focus on Ojibwe connections to peat bogs in what is now northern Minnesota. This research surveys histories and methods of harvesting peatland wildlife, cultural and ecological knowledge about these areas, and peatland protection efforts that have long been practiced by Ojibwe communities and Ojibwe-led organizations. It analyzes Ojibwe involvement in non-Indigenous-led restoration projects; the history of dispossession, fraud, and land defense that led to the patchwork of land ownership in northern Minnesota today; and financial influences on peatland ownership, resource extraction, and contemporary protection models. It intends to emphasize the ongoing work by Ojibwe people as the most informed and committed protectors of peatlands in northern Minnesota today.
Notes
Access to the presentation slides is available to Oberlin College users only.