Renewing Tribal Stewardship By Replenishing Yosemite Oak Trees

Yosemite National Park photo

Yosemite, CA – Planting oak trees to renew tribal stewardship in Yosemite National Park is helping to restore black oaks in the valley.

Since the beginning of this year, seven tribes have been working to replenish oak trees in the park and, in turn, their traditions. Announced in October, over 100 volunteers planted over 1,000 oak saplings for the 2022 Black Oak Tribal Tending Project during the year. That hard work was done by tribal members and groups, including the North Fork Mono Tribal Assistance for Needy Families, the Fresno American Indian Health Project, and members from the seven traditionally associated tribes. Earlier in May, tribal participants and Yosemite fire staff cooperated in a historical first to ignite sixty burn piles in the black oak grove near the Yosemite Valley Elementary School, as reported here.

“These together mark a first step towards renewing tribal stewardship of oaks in Yosemite Valley, an ancient relationship fundamental to both tribal traditions and the very ecosystem of what is now Yosemite National Park,” noted park officials.

Additionally, black oaks, a staple food for American Indians of the region, evolved with fire and need mild burns to clear competing trees, giving them space to grow healthy, open canopies. For millennia, American Indians periodically burned the valley to remove dead debris and cultivate certain species. As outsiders arrived and the park idea formed, the maintenance of the oak groves decreased.

“The return of tribal involvement in planting and burning will foster these traditions while restoring a guiding influence that in part yielded this stunning natural and cultural landscape,” according to park officials.