As we ask CDT supporters to take this year’s Pledge to Protect, we wanted to help teach some of the ways you can best be a steward of the CDT!

By Nevaeh Marshall

Seeing the CDT from an Indigenous perspective is incredible. As an Indigenous person, I have a deep appreciation for the land. Hiking on the CDT is a chance for me and other Indigenous people to connect with nature. I believe everything has a spirit or energy. 

At the core of Indigenous culture is land. Indigenous traditions have a symbiotic relationship with the land. Every aspect of the culture pays respect, attention, and gratitude for everything we take. This includes leaving no waste, respecting the landscape, and respecting the wildlife.The CDT provides access to free natural spaces and culturally-important areas to the public. 

There is Indigenous history all around the CDT. The lands that the CDT traverses are the lands of the Chiricahua Apache, Western Apache, Zuni, Pueblo, Ute, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Eastern Shoshone, Shoshone-Bannock, Lemhi Shoshone, Apsaalooke, Niitsitapi, Salish Kootenai , Ktunaxa, and Tsuu T’ina peoples, along with the many other people and tribes that traveled and lived on these lands before colonization. Those tribes used and still use the land for everything they need. Indigenous people work in harmony with the existing landscape to create enough for people and the landscape to sustain. A lot of the plants and animals that Indigenous people used are still in those areas. 

I honor the Indigenous people that shaped and protected this land while I hike on the CDT. The CDTC honors the natural, cultural, and spiritual histories of the CDT by sharing the stories of people who inhabited the Divide before the CDT was created. One of the ways the CDTC is doing this is by welcoming Indigenous perspectives.   

During my internship, I studied and identified useful flora for Indigenous peoples, and during my hikes, I found several species that I know Indigenous people have used and still use today for various reasons. On the Interlaken trail located near Twin Lakes, I was able to find Bearberries, Soapberries, and Juniper. 

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, also known as bearberry, is a short, basal plant that grows across North America. Bearberry has been used by Indigenous groups for ceremonial, medicinal, and spiritual purposes across tribes. 

Another plant that Indigenous people have used is a Soapberry bush. Shepherdia canadensis, also known as Soapberry or Buffaloberry, is a fruit-bearing shrub that grows in open woodlands. The berries are edible and have a bitter taste. They are used to make Indian Ice Cream, a sweet and sour foamy mixture of the whipped berries with added sweeteners. 

Juniperus communis or Common Juniper is a woody symbol of protection for many Southwestern tribes. Juniper is known to be used to treat illness, as a charm of good fortune, and rubbed on the body to avoid bears. It is also often included in medicine bundles.

The CDT holds sacred sites and provides accessible natural spaces for the public. Respecting and honoring the cultures that built the landscape of the CDT is an important aspect of being on the trails. You can pledge to protect the CDT by acknowledging and learning about these cultures and peoples before you visit the trail. One resource you can use to do this is Native-Land.ca, which maps Indigenous territories across the North American continent and the world. As current users of the Continental Divide Trail, it’s important that we continue to conserve the natural environment that’s been stewarded by Indigenous groups since time immemorial and the sacred sites the CDT crosses. Take the Pledge to Protect today to do your part to honor the original stewards of this landscape.

Nevaeh Marshall is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Band of Chippewa Native Americans in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and spent time with the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi growing up in South Bend, Indiana. She is a third year undergraduate student at Michigan State University studying Horticulture Science with a minor in Indigenous Studies, and is currently working with the American Indian College Fund and the Continental Divide Trail Coalition as a Trail Experience Intern, focusing on Indigenous flora along the CDT. After finishing her bachelor’s degree, she plans on working in Indigenous Horticulture, conservation, and food sovereignty. In this blog, Nevaeh talks about her time on the CDT and how trail users can honor the varied natural, cultural, and spiritual histories that have shaped the landscapes of the CDT.