Rooted in Healing and Connection

The Opening Circle was our first invitation into the kind of wisdom that would carry us through the week. Each person introduced themselves and placed a personal item on a quilt gifted to Emerald Edge Network Director Mariana Velez by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy in a 2023 global Gathering that oriented The Nature Conservancy’s approach to standing in Right Relations with our Indigenous partners. The quilt became a living tapestry of our shared purpose—feathers, geodes, tea, photos and stories passed down through generations. Each one is a thread in the larger fabric of Indigenous-led stewardship and community care across the largest remaining coastal temperate rainforest in the world.

Yes, it took a long time. We were sleepy from travel, and the introductions stretched on like a slow tide. But no one rushed. No one interrupted. And in that slowness, something rare happened: we listened, learned and began to see each other not just as colleagues or collaborators, but as people carrying stories, responsibilities and resonant hopes.

In conservation, we often skip this part. We leap into strategy, metrics and deliverable—forgetting that the work we do is only as strong as the relationships that hold it. It reminded us of a motto we adopted from our partners from the Sustainable Southeast Partnership: “move at the speed of trust.” The Opening Circle was not a formality — it was the foundation for richer exchange between leaders, filled with laughter, tears and the quiet power of being seen.

After the Opening Circle, we split into smaller groups to embark on learning journeys across Quinault territory. These were not field trips—they were invitations. These experiences deepened our understanding of what it means to care for land and people in tandem.

Our journey to the Quinault Wellness Center began with a conversation about the complexity of running the facility, designed not just as a sustainable business but as a lifeline. One of its guiding principles, “to bring whole people back to whole communities,” came to life as we toured the center—mouths agape at the stunning facility, which offers state-of-the-art medical and dental care, impressive design, and an excellent counselor-to-patient ratio.

We learned that the first thing patients receive is not paperwork, but a warm smile and a cup of coffee—an act that sets the standard of care for the community. The Quinault Wellness Center addresses substance use and wellness needs across the county, not just for Quinault members. It’s a true beacon for whole community care and the living acknowledgment that environmental health cannot happen without human healing. Conservation work only sticks when people are whole.

From the hatchery, we made a surprise stop at a treasured location. Guided by Councilman John Bryson, we walked single file through a forest, dodging branches and stepping over roots as Councilman Bryson explained the value of prairies and wetlands and their First Foods, like Labrador Tea. When the trees gave way, we gasped at the quiet, golden green expanse before us. During our debrief, Elders compared notes on the plants they saw and the seasons they gather them, noting subtle regional differences and climate-driven shifts.

Across the 100 million acres of the Emerald Edge, we saw undeniable proof: this is one connected ecoregion, stitched together by plants, tradition and shared responsibility. We bore witness to how culture and land are inextricably linked as one and the same. One participant noted, “There is something that opens up in you when you’re working on land and speaking up for it—something so healing that now I’ll always ally myself with anyone who stands up for the homelands of their ancestors.”

Prairies are increasingly rare across North America, and the Emerald Edge is home to some of the rarest among them. Their disappearance is accelerating, largely due to the loss of traditional stewardship.

Since time immemorial, the Quinault people, our co-hosts of the Gathering, have stewarded lands and waters in the southern Emerald Edge, but federal allotment policies fragmented their reservation and disrupted communal lifeways. In response, the Nation began a decades-long journey to reclaim what was lost, steadily increasing Tribal ownership from just 7% to 35% over the past several decades.

Land return is both a legal process and a healing process. As one Elder noted, “land return is bringing history home.”

As we carried these reflections with us, we prepared to close the circle, returning to the same space where we began—now changed by what we had seen, shared and learned.