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Nicholas Reo

Simon Fraser University, Indigenous Studies, Faculty Member

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@wnishin
I am an interdisciplinary scholar focused on the human-environment interactions of Indigenous peoples. My research concerns Indigenous environmental stewardship, Indigenous knowledge systems and Indigenous experiences with environmental change, which all fit within the burgeoning field of Indigenous environmental studies. I link the natural and social sciences, utilize qualitative and quantitative approaches and engage concepts from cultural anthropology, human geography, Indigenous studies and ecology to address environmental and socio-political issues facing Indigenous nations.
Address: 6182 Steele Hall
Hanover, NH 03755

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Papers by Nicholas Reo

Contribution of Indigenous Peoples' understandings and relational frameworks to invasive alien species management

by Nicholas Reo and Katie Kamelamela

People and Natue, 2023

1. Introduced species that spread and become invasive are recognised as a major threat to global... more 1. Introduced species that spread and become invasive are recognised as a major threat to global biological diversity, ecosystem resilience and economic sta-bility. Eradication is often a default conservation management strategy even when it may not be feasible for a variety of reasons. Assessment of the sub-stantive socioeconomic and ecological impacts of invasive alien species (IAS), both negative and positive, is increasingly viewed as an important step in management.
2. We argue that one solution to IAS management is to align models of alien species management with Indigenous management frameworks that are rela-tional and biocultural. We make the theoretical case that centring Indigenous management frameworks promises to strengthen overall management re-sponses and outcomes because they attend directly to human and environ-mental justice concerns.
3. We unpack the origins of the ‘introduced species paradigm’ to understand how binary framing of so-called ‘aliens’ and ‘natives’ recalls harmful histories and al-ienates Indigenous stewardship. Such a paradigm thereby may limit application of Indigenous frameworks and management, and impede long-term biodiversity protection solutions.
4. We highlight how biocultural practices applied by Indigenous Peoples to IAS cen-tre protecting relationships, fulfilling responsibilities and realising justice.5. Finally, we argue for a pluralistic vision that acknowledges multiple alternative Indigenous relationships and responses to introduced and IAS which can contrib-ute to vibrant futures where all elements of society, including kin in the natural world, are able to flourish

Invasive Species, Indigenous Stewards, and Vulnerability Discourse

American Indian Quarterly, 2017

41.3.0201?seq=1&cid=pdfreference#references_tab_contents You may need to log in to JSTOR to acces... more 41.3.0201?seq=1&cid=pdfreference#references_tab_contents You may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact

Mechanical Harvesting Effectively Controls Young Typha spp. Invasion and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Data Enhances Post-treatment Monitoring

Frontiers in plant science, 2017

The ecological impacts of invasive plants increase dramatically with time since invasion. Targeti... more The ecological impacts of invasive plants increase dramatically with time since invasion. Targeting young populations for treatment is therefore an economically and ecologically effective management approach, especially when linked to post-treatment monitoring to evaluate the efficacy of management. However, collecting detailed field-based post-treatment data is prohibitively expensive, typically resulting in inadequate documentation of the ecological effects of invasive plant management. Alternative approaches, such as remote detection with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), provide an opportunity to advance the science and practice of restoration ecology. In this study, we sought to determine the plant community response to different mechanical removal treatments to a dominant invasive wetland macrophyte (Typha spp.) along an age-gradient within a Great Lakes coastal wetland. We assessed the post-treatment responses with both intensive field vegetation and UAV data. Prior to treatmen...

Scientists' Warning to Humanity on Threats to Indigenous and Local Knowledge Systems

Journal of Ethnobiology, 2021

BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access t... more

Native American Tribes and Dam Removal: Restoring the Ottaway, Penobscot and Elwha Rivers

Water Alternatives, 2022

Since the early 1900s, more than 1700 dams have been removed from rivers in the United States. Na... more Since the early 1900s, more than 1700 dams have been removed from rivers in the United States. Native American Tribes have played a key role in many significant removals, bringing cultural, economic, and legal resources to bear on the process. Their involvement contrasts with the displacement and marginalisation that have historically characterised the relationship between Native Americans and the dams built by settler-colonial governments on their rivers. Our research investigates Tribal involvement in dam removals, with examples from the Ottaway, Penobscot, and Elwha rivers. We ask the following: what roles have Tribes played in successful removals? How do dam removals affect and reflect shifting relations between Tribal governments and non-Tribal actors? Our research finds that Tribal involvement provides opportunities for inserting underacknowledged values and resource claims into dam removal efforts, and that it facilitates new collaborations and alliances. We also find evidence of Tribal involvement affecting the nature and practice of river restoration through dam removal. We conclude that the involvement of Tribes in dam removal contributes to important shifts in environmental politics in the US, and that it also creates opportunities for restorative environmental justice for Native Americans and their rivers.

Scientists' Warning to Humanity on Threats to Indigenous and Local Knowledge Systems

by Nicholas Reo and Nancy Turner

Journal of Ethnobiology, 2021

The knowledge systems and practices of Indigenous Peoples and local communities play critical rol... more The knowledge systems and practices of Indigenous Peoples and local communities play critical roles in safeguarding the biological and cultural diversity of our planet. Globalization, government policies, capitalism, colonialism, and other rapid social-ecological changes threaten the
relationships between Indigenous Peoples and local communities and their environments, thereby challenging the continuity and dynamism of Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK). In this article, we contribute to the “World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity,” issued by the Alliance of World
Scientists, by exploring opportunities for sustaining ILK systems on behalf of the future stewardship of our planet. Our warning raises the alarm about the pervasive and ubiquitous erosion of knowledge and practice and the social and ecological consequences of this erosion. While ILK systems can be
adaptable and resilient, the foundations of these knowledge systems are compromised by ongoing suppression, misrepresentation, appropriation, assimilation, disconnection, and destruction of biocultural heritage. Three case studies illustrate these processes and how protecting ILK is central to
biocultural conservation. We conclude with 15 recommendations that call for the recognition and support of Indigenous Peoples and local communities and their knowledge systems. Enacting these recommendations will entail a transformative and sustained shift in how ILK systems, their knowledge
holders, and their multiple expressions in lands and waters are recognized, affirmed, and valued. We appeal for urgent action to support the efforts of Indigenous Peoples and local communities around the world to maintain their knowledge systems, languages, stewardship rights, ties to lands
and waters, and the biocultural integrity of their territories—on which we all depend.

Conservation Planning at the Landscape Scale: A Landscape Ecology Method for Regional Land Trusts

This paper illustrates a landscape ecology approach for land trusts undertaking conservation at t... more This paper illustrates a landscape ecology approach for land trusts undertaking conservation at the watershed scale. A conservation plan was created for the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy (GTRLC) in the headwaters of Michigan's Manistee River Watershed (USA). Eight conservation drivers were devised to identify Conservation Focus Areas (CFAs) of highest ecological importance. The CFAs were ranked based on ecological importance, feasibility of protection and size. Parcels were ranked, totalling nearly 5000 ha, within the three highest-ranking CFAs in one key county. This approach is useful to land trusts trying to operationalize three distinct goals in conservation planning: to find areas of high ecological importance, to promote the landscape's spatial integrity and to delineate threats to ecological systems and processes.

Biodiversity on Indigenous lands equals that in protected areas

Declines in global biodiversity due to land conversion and habitat loss are driving a “Sixth Mass... more Declines in global biodiversity due to land conversion and habitat loss are driving a “Sixth Mass Extinction” and many countries currently fall short of meeting even nominal land protection targets to mitigate this crisis. Here, we quantify the potential contribution of Indigenous lands to biodiversity conservation using case studies of Australia, Brazil and Canada. Indigenous lands in each country are slightly more species rich than existing protected areas and, in Brazil and Canada, support more threatened species than existing protected areas or random sites. These results indicate that Indigenous lands and existing protected areas are similar in biodiversity. Enhanced partnerships between Indigenous communities and federal or state governments could help ameliorate current shortfalls in global biodiversity protection by facilitating protection for native species, helping to stem global biodiversity loss.

Vertebrate biodiversity on indigenous-managed lands in Australia, Brazil, and Canada equals that in protected areas

Environmental Science and Policy, 2019

Declines in global biodiversity due to land conversion and habitat loss are driving a 'Sixth Mass... more Declines in global biodiversity due to land conversion and habitat loss are driving a 'Sixth Mass Extinction' and many countries fall short of meeting even nominal targets for land protection. We explored how such shortfalls in Australia, Brazil and Canada might be addressed by enhancing partnerships between Indigenous communities and other government agencies that recognize and reward the existing contributions of Indigenous-managed lands to global biodiversity conservation, and their potential contribution to meeting international treaty targets. We found that Indigenous-managed lands were slightly more vertebrate species rich than existing protected areas in all three countries, and in Brazil and Canada, that they supported more threatened vertebrate species than existing protected areas or randomly selected non-protected areas. Our results suggest that overall, Indigenous-managed lands and existing protected areas host similar levels of vertebrate biodiversity in Brazil, Canada, and Australia. Partnerships with Indigenous communities that seek to maintain or enhance Indigenous land tenure practices on Indigenous-managed lands may therefore have some potential to ameliorate national and global shortfalls in land protection for biodiversity conservation using a mix of conventional protected areas and Indigenous-managed lands.

Inawendiwin and Relational Accountability in Anishnaabeg Studies: The Crux of the Biscuit

Journal of Ethnobiology, 2019

Researchers working with Indigenous nations often recognize the need to build respectful relation... more Researchers working with Indigenous nations often recognize the need to build respectful relationships with nation representatives, but too often assume that everyone has the same understandings of respect and accountability. Relational accountability, an ethical guideline for
conducting research with Indigenous nation partners, references the kincentric beliefs among many Indigenous Peoples. It implies that researchers are responsible for nurturing honorable relationships
with community collaborators and are accountable to the entirety of the community in which they work, potentially including collaborators’ more-than-human network of relations. This research examines relational accountability in ethnobiology and other research contexts, with a focus on
work within Anishnaabe territories. Anishnaabe inawendiwin, a teaching about kinship, provides a path for centering research ethics and praxis in Anishnaabe ways of knowing and being. Anishnaabe inawendiwin urges us to remain committed to Indigenous nation partners regardless of budgets and beyond research grant timelines; to attend to accountabilities towards more-than-human communities; to foster loving, personal relationships with research partners; and to involve youth genuinely in the
partnerships.

Anishnaabe Aki: an indigenous perspective on the global threat of invasive species

Conservation discourses tend to portray invasive species as biological entities temporally connec... more Conservation discourses tend to portray invasive species as biological entities temporally connected to colonial timelines, using terms such as " alien " , " colonizing " , " colonial " , and " native ". This focus on a colonial timeline emerges from scientific publications within conservation biology and invasion ecology and is enacted through invasive species management by state and NGO actors. Colonialism is influential for indigenous nations in myriad ways, but in what ways do indigenous under-standings of invasive species engage with colonialism? We conducted ethnographic research with indigenous Anishnaabe communities to learn about the ways Anishnaabe people conceptualize invasive species as a phenomenon in the world and were gifted with three primary insights. First, Anishnaabe regard plants, like all beings, as persons that assemble into nations more so than " species ". The arrival of new plant nations is viewed by some Anishnaabe as a natural form of migration. The second insight highlights the importance of actively discovering the purpose of new species, sometimes with the assistance of animal teachers. Lastly, while Anishnaabe describe invasive species as phenomenologically entangled with colonialism, the multiple ways Anishnaabe people think about invasive species provide alternatives to native–non-native binaries that dominate much of the scientific discourse.

First stewards: ecological outcomes of forest and wildlife stewardship by indigenous peoples of Wisconsin, USA

Indigenous peoples manage forestlands and wildlife differently than public and private forestland... more Indigenous peoples manage forestlands and wildlife differently than public and private forestland managers. To evaluate ecological outcomes from these differences, we compared the structure, composition, and diversity of Ojibwe and Menominee tribal forests to nearby nontribal forestlands in northern Wisconsin. These indigenous peoples seek to manage forests for mature conditions, accommodate wolves and other predators, and hunt deer to sustain traditional livelihood values. Their forests are often more mature with higher tree volume, higher rates of tree regeneration, more plant diversity, and fewer invasive species than nearby nontribal forestlands. In contrast, nontribal forestlands lost appreciable plant diversity in the 20th century and have failed to regenerate tree species sensitive to deer herbivory. Ensuing shifts in forest composition and wildlife populations have jeopardized the ability of managers to sustain wildlife and meet certification standards on nontribal forestlands. Lessons from tribal forestlands could help improve the sustainable management of nontribal public forestlands.

Seven Indigenous principles for successful cooperation in Great Lakes conservation initiatives

by Kyle Whyte, Nicholas Reo, and M.A. (Peggy) Smith

Fire History and Age Structure of an Oakpine Forest on Price Mountain, Virginia, USA

by James H Speer, Nicholas Reo, and Alexander K Anning

Fire history is an important aspect of the natural disturbance pattern of many types of forested ... more Fire history is an important aspect of the natural disturbance pattern of many types of
forested ecosystems. Nonetheless, many forests and corresponding management plans lack quantitative
information on fire interval, frequency, and seasonality. This project examined the fire history at Price
Mountain, Virginia, using fire scar samples and tree-ring analyses from live tree chronologies. Additionally,
this project investigated the fire scarring potential of two little-studied species, black gum (Nyssa
sylvatica) and sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum), as well as described the age-structure of the current
stand. We hypothesized that fire frequency would be high prior to the fire suppression era, given the
proximity to an historical railroad track at the base of the mountain and susceptibility to lightning due
to elevation. Six major fire years occurred between 1861 and 1925 at an average interval of 14 years,
followed by a period of no fires. Two-thirds of the fires burned early in the season. There was an initial
establishment of sourwood and chestnut oak (Quercus prinus) from 1930-1940 as well as another establishment
peak between 1950 and 1960 after a major logging event. Pine (Pinus pungens and Pinus
rigida) species established between 1870 and 1930. Reconstructed fire history and age structure informs
land managers that repeated fires occurred in this Appalachian ridge top forest and that modern forest
structure is in part the legacy of historic fires and fire suppression.

Research on Coupled Human and Natural Systems (CHANS): Approach, Challenges and Strategies

by Nicholas Reo, James Millington, Timothy Kohler, and Robert Gilmore Pontius Jr

Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 2011

Trails on tribal lands in the United States

Landscape and Urban Planning, 2014

Factors that support Indigenous involvement in multi-actor environmental stewardship

by Nicholas Reo and M.A. (Peggy) Smith

Regional, multi-actor environmental collaborations bring together diverse parties to achieve envi... more Regional, multi-actor environmental collaborations bring together diverse parties to achieve environmental protection and stewardship outcomes. Involving a range of participants helps involve alternative forms of knowledge, expertise, and perspectives; it may also present greater challenges in reaching agreements, particularly when both Indigenous and non-Indigenous parties are involved. The authors conduct a cross-case study of 39 regional partnerships involving Indigenous nations from the Great Lakes basin of North America with the aim of determining the factors that enable Indigenous partners to remain engaged in multi-actor collaborations. Six characteristics influenced Indigenous nations’ willingness to remain engaged: respect for Indigenous knowledges, control of knowledge mobilization, intergenerational involvement, self-determination, continuous cross-cultural education, and early involvement. Being attentive of these factors can help partnerships achieve their environmental goals by keeping important partners at the table.

Invasive Species, Indigenous Stewards, and Vulnerability Discourse

by Nicholas Reo, Kyle Whyte, Braden Elliott, Darren Ranco, and Emily Blackmer

“The river is us; the river is in our veins”: re-defining river restoration in three Indigenous communities

Indigenous communities are increasingly taking the lead in river restoration, using the process a... more Indigenous communities are increasingly taking the lead in river restoration, using the process as an opportunity to re-engage deeply with their rivers, while revealing socio-cultural and political dimensions of restoration under-reported in ecological and social science literatures. We engaged in collaborative research with representatives from three Indigenous nations in the United States, New Zealand, and Canada to explore the relationship between Indigenous ways of knowing and being (i.e., Indigenous knowledges) and their restoration efforts. Our research project asks the following: How is Indigenous knowledge enacted through river restoration and how do they affect outcomes? How do the experiences of these Indigenous communities broaden our understanding of the social dimensions of river restoration? Our research reveals how socio-cultural protocols and spiritual practices are intertwined with restoration methodologies, showing why cultural approaches to restoration matter. We found that in many cases, a changing political or legal context helps create space for assertion of Indigenous spiritual and cultural values, while the restoration efforts themselves have the potential to both repair community relationships with water and empower communities vis-à-vis the wider society. We show that restoration has the potential to not only restore ecosystem processes and services, but to repair and transform human relationships with rivers and create space politically for decolonizing river governance.

Re-thinking colonialism to prepare for the impacts of rapid environmental change

This essay demonstrates how key concepts from ecology can be applied within historical analyses i... more This essay demonstrates how key concepts from ecology can be applied within historical analyses in order to gain insights regarding contemporary environmental change. We employ a coupled human and natural systems conceptual framework in a nascent historical analysis of rapid societal and environmental change in colonial New England, where European colonization led to stark and rapid transformations. Introduced diseases reduced indigenous communities to a fraction of their pre-contact levels. European agriculture and associated pest species, deforestation and overharvest of ecologically influential species were among key aspects of the rapid changes in colonial New England. Cross-continental biotic introductions initiated reinforcing feedback loops that accelerated the transition of human and natural systems into novel states. Integrating colonial history and ecology can help identify important interactions between human and natural systems useful for contemporary societies adjusting to environmental change.