First Annual Native Fellowship: An interview with Siletz Tribal member Brandon Larabee
Confederated Tribes of Siletz members Brandon Larabee (left) and Robert Kenta (right) on a visit to Vesper Meadow pose among a patch of Lomatium plants.
Brandon Larabee, has spent a lot of time at Vesper Meadow - supporting volunteer restoration efforts, working with Siletz Tribal youth, and growing his connection with ancestral lands. Here, he provides an interview after his 2020 Summer Fellowship at Vesper Meadow:
Vesper Meadow: What were your impressions of visiting Vesper Meadow the first time last year. Any differences you have noticed this year
Brandon Larabee: It feels like the meadow has come a long way in the last year. There has been some new developments like the guest tent site, and restoration projects like plant terraces and pollinator plantings.
Personally, it was really different for me to spend the night here this time. I was able to meet more of the animal community of the meadow; like hearing coyotes – a really special experience, see a flying squirrel, and observe more wildlife. This was all a good sign of the restoration here, since the wildlife lives in symbiosis with the native plants.
VM: When did start developing relationships to southern Oregon
BL: I first came to Ashland in middle school for a Shakespeare play, but I really first got to explore southwest Oregon when I worked for the Siskiyou Mountain Club in 2017. My time in the Kalmiopsis, in the Chetco River valley was one of the strongest times I have felt connected to a place. It was almost like a reintroduction – meeting a place that you feel like you have known your whole life. The most special thing about it was being able to drink from springs that was a resources to my ancestors generations back. I have ancestry of Yuki, Tutuni, Sixes among other.
Last year, when I came down to Vesper Meadow, I felt even more of a connection because I was sharing it with the youth. It was the shared connection with the whole group. It was a reintroduction for the students to their First Foods and ancestral homelands.
VM: What did you do at Vesper Meadow this year for your fellowship?
BL: We collected soil samples throughout the meadow to analyze compositional differences between places where native and non-native plants are growing. This provides background understanding for informing restoration activities in the future.
Brandon spends some time near the water of Latgawa Creek 2021
VM: What did you notice this time?
BL: I got to see more parts of the meadow. And looking at the geology, although there isn’t a ton of diversity just at Vesper Meadow but there are some variations that are interesting to note.
It was great to have Jeanine tour us through the meadow, after three years of experiencing the meadow, she can provide a lot of details and history of the place. I learned a lot more this way. A place is just a place, but the human relationship being created at Vesper Meadow really enriches the time here.
VM: What would you tell other Tribal youth about your visit here?
BL: think that the connection to ancestral homelands is really important for tribal members, and connecting with organizations down here. This is a good way because getting down here
Building a relationship with the land takes a long time, and it is not easy to do on public lands – and there are both financial barriers and the issue of time. So working with groups like Vesper Meadow, where principles of whole community (human, plant, animal) are valued and important – that that is one of the best way to connect with home lands.
It is important to connect with homelands – because that it identity. I have struggled with identify growing up as an Indigenous person, and I think that reconnecting with culture and homeland has been one of the biggest positive impacts on mental health and overall quality of health.
VM: Where do you see your self in 5 years?
BL: I don’t know where I’ll be, but I know I want to break down barriers for Indigenous kids in higher elevation. And not just Siletz, but Indigenous communities everywhere. I would like to serve Indigenous communitys at my Tribal level, regional, or national level. I feel so blessed for all the opportunities I’ve had in my life, and where my path has led me, and I want to share that with other youth – and to find a way to balance modern life and culture.
I’m very appreciative of Jeanine and Cory for the opportunity, and for creating a place that prioritizes native species, and first species. That you care