A 2-day event for representatives (see below) with a deep connection to the southern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The Gathering will include regional agency updates and discuss topics such as equitable co-stewardship & co-management, best practices for robust collaboration, and how NGOs can appropriately support Tribal interests. With multiple regional land and resource planning processes currently underway or soon to initiate, the Gathering will provide Tribes and Indigenous-led interest groups an opportunity to share their vision for the landscape’s future directly with agency decision-makers.

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The Gathering will also include opportunities to foster connections with the broader Jackson Hole community at a Lighted Teepees ceremony and REMATRIATE dance performance by Patti Baldes in the evenings.

• Tribal Nations and interest groups with ancestral and migratory connections

• USFS (Bridger-Teton & Caribou-Targhee National Forests)

• NPS (Grand Teton National Park)

• US Fish and Wildlife (National Elk Refuge)

• BLM (Wyoming Field Offices and representatives)

• Community leaders & representatives

• NGOs

This a pivotal opportunity to shape the future management of the heart of the Rockies by elevating the traditional stewards of its lands and waterways – Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities – in upcoming or current land and resource plan revisions. Doing so, will result in more sustainable and equitable management that extends beyond agency boundaries, greater empathy between cultural communities and our environments, and ultimately, a resilient and intact ecosystem functioning for future generations.

The Gathering will create informed baselines through information exchange and establish communication channels to support Tribal engagement within the upcoming regional planning processes. Participants will also understand how federal agencies and nonprofits can appropriately support Tribal Nations and help build capacity that is critical to long-term, comprehensive and equitable co-management of the southern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.