Knox College's Prairie Restoration and Appropriation of Indigeneity

Close-up image of the white text in the bottom left-hand corner of the mural.

The text includes a quote by Paul Shepard which asks "How are we to become native to this land?"

Below the quote is information about Knox's history, Green Oaks, and Paul Shepard (professor, environmentalist, author, and founder of Green Oaks).

This photo mural of the Green Oaks prairie displays a quote by Paul Shepard which asks “How are we to become native to this land?” followed by information about Prairie restoration efforts at Knox. The placement of the quote and information with this photo implies that engaging with prairie restoration allows us to become more "native" to this land. However, the argument that descendants of colonizers can become “native” to this land through a connection to nature is a myth that equates white environmentalism with indigeneity. This falsely represents indigenous identity and minimizes the impact of colonization. The harmful implications of this idea are evident in other Knox-published media related to the prairie burn. Professor Stuart Allison repeatedly frames the prairie burn as a continuation of indigenous practices, and photos show non-indigenous students mimicking indigenous war paint. 

Knox students stand together in the Green Oaks prairie wearing bright yellow fire-protective shirts. They smile as they paint each other's faces with the ash of the prairie fire in stripes across their cheeks, nose, and forehead as an imitation of indigenous warpaint.

Prairie Burn Promotes Ecological Diversity and Cultural Preservation

This article frames Knox's prairie restoration practices as "cultural preservation" and as "maintaining the (indigenous) tradition of burning prairies."

These are examples of appropriation of indigenous knowledge used to uphold Knox's mythic identity as a progressive school living in harmony with indigenous values of sustainability through prairie restoration. However, this is not a harmonious relationship, it’s colonial and extractive. In these publications, we are using stolen knowledge on stolen lands while failing to acknowledge that we are only stewards of this land because of the genocide and oppression of indigenous people. We cannot claim to be continuing the practice of indigenous people while tending to stolen land without any of the cultural contexts that surround the ritual of wearing warpaint or managing prairie fires. Non-indigenous people are not native to this land, and it is harmful to suggest that we ever could be.