A Reflection by Jenna J. Dittman-Râmu, M.A., NCPE Tribal Liaison Intern (and ACE Crew Alumni)
The idea that nature, culture, and land are intertwined is embedded in my way of life. I grew up around beautiful scenery including Alaska, Washington, Idaho, and then later on parts of the Midwest. My father was an active duty military member (Air Force; now retired), so my family moved around quite a bit and when he was home, we would explore public lands such as national parks or monuments. As a result, I studied anthropology in graduate school to learn more about the intersection of history, humanity, and our relationship with the natural world. Because of my background and love for plants, I was encouraged to work as a native plant manager for the horticulture club and help tend the Medicine Wheel Garden on campus, which is a southeastern native plant forest garden.
After graduate school in southern Mississippi, I wanted to expand my anthropological training to conservation efforts in the Southwest. I joined ACE Crew Mountain West, based in Hurricane, UT, for three months as an assistant lead for Capitol Reef National Park’s native seed collection crew. These opportunities opened my eyes to the beauty of stewarding natural and cultural landscapes, as a volunteer or teacher.
Furthermore and as a testimony to the doors opened post-ACE, I have gained support for continuing to use my ethnobotany and outdoor leadership skills as a museum educator at El Pueblo History Museum in southern Colorado in the months following the seed collection crew. This was my last AmeriCorps term before starting my current position and it also sharpened my anthropological knowledge while applying the desert plant identifying skills I used in ACE Crew to teach the kids that attended museum daycare.
Now, I am a Tribal Liaison/Cultural Resources intern for Aztec Ruins National Monument and Chaco Culture National Historical Park, stationed at Aztec, NM. At this internship, I have been fortunate to present native plant medicines and traditional usages to NPS staff. I learned these traditions from elders of Southwestern tribes at workshops with Project Archaeology, an archaeological education network. I have also learned from the parks’ supervisory archeologist about US government to tribal government consultation and the vital need for tribal input in public lands management – these sovereign nations serve as the ancestral stewards of these lands, especially in the Four Corners region.
My time as an assistant team leader in ACE Crew was short but it expanded my idea of what anthropological inquiry looked like in addition to how to apply it to conservation and education.
My favorite ACE memories are from when my crew and I were first learning about desert native plant identification – to learn quickly in and out of the field I kept a pocket journal of harvested plant samples and herbariums, with the permission of NPS staff. We would pass this journal around the field truck or campsite and quiz each other on what the plants looked like, what their scientific names were, as well as what time of year you could find them thriving.
I still have that pocket journal as a reminder that not only were we once students of these deserts, but also stewards of restoration and to educate others about the importance of these native plants. I hope to continue to apply my anthropological training to all of my adventures and I thank ACE for giving me this unique opportunity that taught me that there is always more life in the desert than we think.
