MENU
Community Outreach Coordinator
A group photo from the pre-gathering workshops at Wapato Island Farm.
The Indigenous Agroforestry Network Gathering: Partnership Workshops was held from August 12-14, 2025 in Portland, Ore. The three-day event welcomed nearly 200 in-person and virtual participants to foster connections, share traditional knowledge, and uplift Indigenous agroforestry practices.
All photos were taken by Kari Rowe (Lakota, Ojibwe, Irish).
Last month, we gathered in Portland, Ore. and online for another successful year bringing together community members, knowledge-keepers, and land stewards. Across three days of hands-on learning, presentations, and connections, we uplifted agroforestry practices, traditional knowledge, and cultural exchange.
The gathering kicked off at Wapato Island Farm, where we toured the land, shared a meal, and had the opportunity to ground ourselves for the days ahead. Afterwards, we made our way to the Natural Capital Center for workshops, where participants had the opportunity to learn about invasive plant medicine from Jessica Rojas (mixed race, Chicana) and Marie Knight (Warm Springs) and agua florida with Jenny Rose Marie Serna (Navajo, Yaqui).
Jenny Rose Marie Serna (Navajo, Yaqui) and Monique Roberson-Lopez (Chiricahua Apache, Aztec, Basque, Latina) kick off lunch at Wapato Island Farm.
At the Natural Capital Center, participants learn to weave baskets using invasive English ivy.
On day two, participants engaged in table teachings, panels, and activities that wove together ancestral knowledge and contemporary practices, building a shared vision for land, culture, and care. The day opened by grounding participants in the seasonal gathering cycles and Indigenous lifeways with a panel discussion featuring Ron Reed (Karuk), Jillisa Suppah (Warm Springs), and Emma Johnson (Cowlitz). From there participants were given an overview of agroforestry systems and practices, and learned how Southwest tribes and organizations are implementing Indigenous agroforestry systems and practices.
Lukas Angus demonstrates how to filet salmon.
Rachel Black Elk leads a workshop for making a native plant cleaning spray.
After a delicious lunch catered by Javelina Indigenous Dining, during the afternoon table teachings, participants learned about making a native plant cleaning spray with Rachel Black Elk (Lakota/Lumbee); salmon fileting with Lukas Angus (Umatilla); case studies in Northwest agroforestry with Abel Kloster; forest farming with Patrick Shults; NRCS programs for tribal agroforestry with Kathy Ferge; food sovereignty with Dr. Daniel Lipe (Western Band Cherokee) and Karley Rojas; and cultural fire burning with Dr. Frank Lake (Karuk descendant).
Dr. Frank Lake speaks to gathering participants at Tryon Creek State Natural Area.
On the last day, we closed the gathering with a visit to Tryon Creek State Natural Area with Friends of Tryon Creek, where participants joined nature hikes, land-tending sessions, and a presentation grounded in place-based knowledge. A cultural lunch, prepared together the day before, offered a full-circle moment of nourishment and reflection. Participants also had the opportunity to screen print a poster to take home.
To everyone who joined us, both in person and virtually, thank you. What we created was more than a gathering; it was a return to relationship, to generations of wisdom, and to a shared path forward.
Participants, presenters, and facilitators: Thank you for making the second Indigenous Agroforestry Network Gathering a success!
Blog
Project page
Website
A space to learn, connect, & collaborate at the intersections of Indigenous land management & agroforestry
