Wiyot Plaza- The FSL Experiential Learning Space: 

In July 2022, Rou Dalagurr Food Sovereignty Lab and Traditional Ecological Knowledges Institute received an exterior space allocation at Cal Poly Humboldt, which has since been officially named ‘Wiyot Plaza’. The Wiyot Plaza arose thanks to the actions and resilience of the Lab’s faculty, staff, students, community, and partners. Since the envisioning and realization of the interior space of the Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSS)168 as the student-led, Indigenous community-facing Food Sovereignty Lab, a Native Plant Landscape and exterior space has been conceived as a critical element to our Institute. The exterior space surrounds the Behavioral and Social Sciences Building (BSS), and extends down to General Parking Lot 15 on Cal Poly Humboldt’s campus- this includes open areas and a redwood woodland. We are so grateful for the continuing and vocal support of the Wiyot Tribe to the Food Sovereignty Lab, including their representation on the Steering Committee and actions such as the Wiyot Tribe Natural Resources Department’s letter of support submitted to USFAC regarding the request for an external space allocation. It is the driving goal of the Lab to be a space of collaboration and mutual support between Cal Poly Humboldt and the tribal community- the exterior space allocation enables us to further realize this goal.

To define the relationships between campus stakeholding entities and the FSL, our staff, and members of the Steering Committee have worked with the Landscape and Tree Subcommittee to USFAC to develop a ‘Shared Maintenance and Co-Management Agreement’ (Read it here!). This agreement inscribes our shared commitments to caring for the space, entering into a relationship with the landscape, it’s more-than-human inhabitants, and between partners, to return tribal community access and sovereignty to landscape. Of emphasis in this agreement is collaboration and insight of tribal knowledges and cultural stewardship practices, facilitated primarily through the Steering Committee of the FSL. We also hope that this agreement serves as a forward-looking model for other higher institutions looking to collaborate with Indigenous scholars and communities on similar endeavors, increasing access of Indigenous community to their aboriginal territories and landscapes, and supporting Indigenous self-determination and sovereignty over those territories and landscapes through such co-management agreements.

Originally, the BSS building was designed to include campus and community-facing spaces for basket weaving, regalia making, cooking using traditional methods, and traditional arts. The FSL chose the location of the BSS 168 in consideration that the BSS building was originally designed to honor Native peoples and create space for Indigenous programs on campus. We envision a continuity of Indigenous space near the Native Forum, Goudi'ni Gallery and NAS Department, creating the 'Wiyot Plaza'. This space will integrate educational opportunities outside of the BSS building as part of a Native Plant Landscape that is connected to and cared for by the Food Sovereignty Lab- an extension of the classroom space focused on learning Indigenous sciences through land-based pedagogies. This includes the revitalization of the area originally designated to be a salmon cooking pit to become an acorn processing area, the establishment of a salmon cooking pit behind the Native American Forum, and the design of a Native Plant Landscape that incorporates Native artwork patterns and local Native Languages, and the Indigenous Garden, which will include an ADA compliant 'Elder Garden', greenhouse, and shed constructed to mirror a traditional Wiyot Plankhouse. The Food Sovereignty Lab’s exterior space has the core objectives of supporting food sovereignty and community engagement with traditional foods and management practices. As the FSL enters into relationship with this landscape, we are building stewardship and Rou Dalagurr in a generational lens. Read more about our vision for the Outdoor Classroom in the 'Exterior Space Report'! This vision will continue to be shaped by community feedback and collaboration as we build and implement our Phased Plan.

In the photo above: Bubba Riggins prepares salmon at the salmon cooking pit.

To enter into relationship with this landscape, the Rou Dalagurr Food Sovereignty Lab and Traditional Knowledges Institute held a land reconnection ceremony as part of PHASE 1: Reconnection in October 2022.

The Food Sovereignty Lab is moving through the Phase 1: Reconnection of our long-term relationship building and restoration planning within Wiyot Plaza. To build this space, and to approach Phase 2: Restoration while ensuring well being of both human and more-than-human relatives in the landscape, we are seeking comprehensive environmental site assessment and suite of testing. The submission of soil, water, and plant samples for testing will inform on the concentration and composition of any pollutants, pathogens, and toxins, and their gradation and patterns in the landscape; this will enable planning for strategic mitigation and landscape restoration. This includes testing of the water and soil in and around the experimental greenhouse space on campus, which is also a facility used by the Food Sovereignty Lab. See our site testing report for our progress regarding site testing, including estimates for comprehensive baseline soil, water, and plant testing, a site history, and environmental site assessment. We are seeking funding for site testing, if you would like to donate, click here.

We are also compiling an Indigenized phase 1 environmental site assessment, establishing a history of the landscape through archival methods, GIS mapping, and oral stories. Please see the Place-Based Learning Practices project for more information.

As we work to establish site testing pathways for Wiyot Plaza, we aim to concurrently establish pathways and coalitions to make site testing more accessible to our community.

Current Site Testing Estimate: $45,965

With successful site testing, FSL orientation to Wiyot Plaza can move to planning for Phase 2: Restoration, which includes bringing fire back to the landscape through cultural burning, and engaging in Indigenous science-based restoration planning and landscape remediation. We also look to begin installations throughout Wiyot Plaza, including signage, Indigenous artwork, and larger infrastructure.

We are working to finalize Indigenous maps of Wiyot Plaza, Wiyot aboriginal territory, and the larger North Coast Indigenous Territories with artist Tori McConnell(Yurok, Karuk). Such maps will be featured in our outdoor signage.

Phase 1 Details:

Students and staff engage in the Wiyot Plaza Experiential Learning Space in landscape connection and care, supporting the future educational programs in the space and the generational health of the landscape- including the resurgence of the landscape to be able to support regional food sovereignty and access to traditional foods. This includes hosting classes and visitors. One example is Dr. Daniel Lipe's NAS 332: Environmental Justice Class in 2023, which engaged in discussions in this space, grounded in land-based learning pedagogies, around the return of cultural fire to the land, as well as the preparative steps to reach this objective. Students in NAS 332, under the guidance of the FSL Research Associate, engaged in fuel load aggregation on the landscape, actively increasing the accessibility and engagement capacity of the Experiential Learning Space. This culminated in the rental of a trailer, and the removal of over 1.5 tons of accumulated fuels from the landscape in May of 2023 by FSL Staff and volunteers.
Check out our Tik Tok of FSL staff and volunteers removing fuels from the site space at the link below:

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Indigenous Garden 

CCAT donated the uphill part of their exterior space to the Food Sovereignty Lab, which has become the FSL Indigenous Garden. The soil pH of the beds is averaged at 6.3, is dominantly clay, and is rich in organic matter. The garden is partially shaded during most of the day. Planting in the beds (has been and will continue to be) decided by tribal community stakeholders and the FSL Steering Committee. In 2022, following a community survey, the information was analyzed and collated with previous input from community members, which generated an initial plan for implementation of the Indigenous Garden. The feedback from the surveys suggested that the Garden will have a primary focus on Native plants, with additional plantings of non-native (to the North California Coast bioregion) plants. Some of these non-natives can be food producers/crops, while others can be massed with native plants that share traditional uses and niche. 

Planting plans continue to be formed based on community feedback, including our Spring '23 and ‘24 planting plans. In consideration of the unknown site history and the possible presence of pollutants, toxins, and pathogens in the space that could impact the safety of our plant relatives for human consumption and interaction, in the Spring '23 growing season we focused our planting in three raised beds. These beds were built using reclaimed redwood from the deconstructed CCAT yurt, raised off of the soil surface, and filled with soil donated by Royal Gold. The planting plan implemented in 2023 included the dedication of one raised bed to vine tea, one to massed Indian potatoes, and a dedication to medicinal, herb, and grain plants in the third bed. In 2024, we achieved the installation of a shed at the top of the garden.

At this point, the garden includes an in-ground Indian potato bed and herb spirals; we look forward to the day we can safely work with those relatives as food and medicine. These in-ground beds also serve in augmentation of our growing seed bank. Looking forward, we will be constructing an ADA compliant path which will allow the top two beds of the Indigenous garden to be accessible, which will be constructed into raised beds, creating an 'Elder Garden' corner of the indigenous Garden. We will also look to construct a plant propagation area.