Rivercane Recovery for Tribal Practices

Introduction

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Tribal Nations Technical Center of Expertise (TNTCX) is a multi-functional center of expertise established to improve USACE’s quality and effectiveness in delivering USACE missions and Federal Trust responsibilities to Federally recognized tribes. The USACE has jurisdiction over navigable waters of the United States. Furthermore, the management and operation of their project lands presents a unique opportunity to support the recovery of cultural keystone species, which are plants or animals that have helped shape the cultural identity of a group.

Rivercane (Arundinaria gigantea) is a cultural keystone species to at least several Tribal Nations across the Southeastern United States. Tribal Nations use rivercane as a fuel source, material for weaponry, and various ceremonial products. Ecologically, rivercane provides habitat for endangered wildlife, controls riverbank erosion, and improves water quality (Mississippi State University n.d.)(Griffith 2023). Rivercane stands require consistent thinning and harvesting in semi-marsh areas to encourage the growth of resilient, sustainable canebrakes that can be harvested for cultural use. However, the forcible removal of the Tribal Nations from their ancestral lands damaged their place-based relationship to rivercane and the health of the rivercane stands they stewarded. Subsequent habitat destruction through land conversion to agricultural uses and the construction of navigable waterway infrastructure further contributed to rivercane decline.

The TNTCX, in collaboration with the University of Alabama Water Institute, the Rivercane Gathering, and Tribal Nations across the Southeastern U.S., started the Rivercane Restoration Alliance (RRA). The RRA created a forum to connect Tribal Nations with federal and state agencies and other institutions engaged in rivercane recovery to recommend rivercane recovery management decisions that would be informed by Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). TEK is an ever-evolving set of knowledge acquired by Tribal Nations who have existed on the land for thousands of years. 

Key Issues Addressed

The ecological and cultural impacts associated with the substantial decrease in rivercane on the landscape are largely undocumented. Rivercane once covered 33% of the southeastern U.S. but now only covers two percent of its historic range (Mississippi State University n.d.). Competition from invasive Asian bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis), climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change , and agricultural practices have all contributed to rivercane’s decline (Mississippi State University n.d.). As rivercane abundance declined, there were fewer available areas for Tribal Nations to harvest rivercane.

As the first stewards of rivercane, Tribal Nations possess a deep understanding of management strategies that support rivercane ecosystems. However, the forcible removal of the Tribal Nations from their ancestral lands disrupted their access to areas of rivercane and prevented them from maintaining the health and abundance of rivercane ecosystems, such as through their thinning. Tribal Nations and other stewards have worked to carry out rivercane recovery, but there was no central location for individuals engaged in rivercane recovery to collaborate with one another and share resources. 

With the spread of Asian bamboo, and native rivercane decline, the negative ecological qualities of Asian bamboo have become conflated with the positive ecological benefits of native rivercane. Asian bamboo is not native to the Southeastern U.S. and is an aggressive, invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.

Learn more about invasive species that outcompetes native species such as rivercane for resources (Xu 2019). 

Project Goals

• Collaborate with Tribal Nations to document the cultural and ecological significance of rivercane and the need for rivercane recovery across its historic range in the southeastern U.S. 
• Create a forum to increase knowledge sharing around rivercane recovery efforts to enhance collaborative conservation.
• Increase the amount of land available for rivercane harvesting to support the cultural practices of the Tribal Nations. 
• Engage federal agencies and other land managers in education that will highlight the ecological benefits of rivercane and help differentiate it from the negative ecological qualities of Asian bamboo.

Project Highlights

Tule Recovery: RRA’s success inspired a similar restoration alliance between USACE and Tribal nations in California’s San Joaquin Valley focused on recovery of tule, a type of bulrush used for weaving.

• Successful Virtual Workshop: In October 2021, RRA held a three-day virtual workshop to facilitate the sharing and documentation of the cultural and ecological roles of rivercane in the southeastern U.S. Over 200 participants attended from a variety of backgrounds, with approximately 27% representing Tribal Nations. The stories shared with agency partners during the workshop demonstrated the importance of rivercane recovery to help support the cultural practices of Tribal Nations.
• Incorporating TEK: The TNTCX identified TEK-informed rivercane management strategies that could be incorporated into existing and additional USACE waterway projects by listening to the Tribal Nations’ rivercane stories. For example, cane thinning is an important strategy that was continually emphasized throughout the various stories told by the Tribal Nations.
• Expanding Access to Rivercane: The Tribal Nations expressed their need for expanded access to rivercane, and the USACE listened. The USACE is now providing access to USACE properties for the Tribal Nations to harvest rivercane. Originally, only a few Tribal Nations had access to USACE managed land, which used to be ancestral lands for rivercane harvesting. Now, Tribal Nations throughout the southeastern U.S. are gaining access to areas with canebrakes outside their immediate Tribal lands for rivercane harvesting. Access to rivercane brakes preserves cultural heritage and ensures stewardship of rivercane brakes. 
• Agency Education: The RRA created conceptual models and educational materials that highlight the cultural and ecological significance of rivercane. The educational and outreach campaign will help USACE land managers leverage partnerships between state and federal agencies to incorporate TEK and support broader rivercane recovery efforts across the historic range.

Lessons Learned

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USACE commitment to understanding Tribal needs facilitated the building of trust and willingness to advance future rivercane recovery efforts. RRA leadership sought to work on a priority issue that was important to the Tribal Nations. Discussions that started with the Choctaw Nation, and expanding to Tribal Nations across the southeastern U.S., continually identified rivercane as a priority issue. The RRA ensured Tribal representation, adequate space, and time for Tribal voices during the workshop. 

The use of conceptual ecological models effectively demonstrated the cultural and ecological relationship between Tribal Nations and rivercane to federal and state agency workshop participants. The models synthesized the different perspectives of Tribal community members, which created a shared understanding of rivercane. The ability to document different relationships between workshop participants and rivercane by using the conceptual ecological models demonstrated the importance of rivercane recovery in supporting the cultural and ecological practices of the Tribal Nations. 

Successful rivercane recovery depends on active stewardship. Tribal Nations across the Southeastern United States possess TEK that can support rivercane recovery. When direct access to agency managed rivercane sites cannot be granted to Tribal Nations, agency managers should consider incorporating TEK from Tribal Nations to support future rivercane recovery projects by actively listening to and learning from Tribal Nations. TEK inspired management strategies, such as cane thinning, have proven effective at maintaining the health and abundance of rivercane stands and helps support Tribal cultural practices. 

Next Steps

• Host additional workshops where Tribal Nations can share the cultural and ecological significance of rivercane and other cultural keystone species.
• Share the RRA model with other state and federal agency partners to inspire additional cultural keystone species recovery projects.
• Conduct field studies to identify new areas that can support rivercane recovery and incorporate this knowledge into ongoing development of educational materials.

Funding Partners

Sustainable Rivers Program (SRP)

Resources

• USACE TNTCX (2021). “Indigenous Approaches to Rivercane Restoration Workshop.”
• Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (n.d.). “Choctaw Nation Reservation.”
• Xu et al. (2019) “Rapid bamboo invasion (expansion) and its effects on biodiversity and soil processes.”
• Mississippi State University (n.d.). “About | Rivercane.”
• Mississippi State University (n.d.). “Home | Rivercane.”
• Adam Griffith (2023). “What is Rivercane and Why is it Important?”
• University of Alabama Water Institute
• United States Army Corps of Engineers Tribal Nations Technical Center of Expertise

Contacts

• Brian Zettle, USACE: brian.a.zettle@usace.army.mil  
• Michael Fedoroff: mpfedoroff@ua.edu
• Rivercane Restoration Alliance: rra@ua.edu
• Adam Griffith, NCSU: adgriff5@ncsu.edu
• Roger Cain, UKB-NSN: rcain@ukb-nsn.gov
• Ryan Spring, Choctaw Nation: spring@choctawnation.com

CART Lead Author

Liam Thompson, CART Student Writer, University of Oklahoma

Suggested Citation

Thompson, L., C. (2024). “Rivercane Recovery to Support Tribal Cultural Practices.” CART. Retrieved from https://www.fws.gov/project/rivercane-recovery-tribal-practices.