Wildlife Stewardship on Tribal Lands: Our Place Is in Our Soul offers an in-depth account of the history, policy and practices of tribal wildlife management across North America (principally the USA), illustrated with a multitude of practical examples. In an innovative approach to co-authorship between academics and Indigenous knowledge holders, it interweaves papers written in a conventional academic style with poetry, prose and interviews with tribal elders and others. The result is a rich, authoritative account that will be of lasting value to Indigenous communities, researchers and collaborators alike. Indigenous peoples in North America have developed some of the most advanced systems for collaborative wildlife management and stewardship in the world, and I believe this account has much to offer not only to those living and working in North America, but also internationally.

The book is divided into four parts. Part I describes the establishment and diversity of tribal fish and wildlife management organizations across the USA, and Part II focuses on legal issues. Chapter 5 discusses the concept of ‘meaningful consultation’, its relationship to the doctrine of trust responsibility, and the implications of Indigenous sovereignty for land and natural resource co-management. Each of the following chapters examines more specific legal issues. These include inland water rights; wildlife management collaboration across tribal boundaries; hunting, fishing and gathering rights in areas outside legally recognized tribal lands; tribal perspectives on threatened species; and transboundary rights across the USA–Canada border. Part III describes several tribal fish and wildlife programmes, including the Indigenous Sentinels Network, the Indigenous Guardians Network, and the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council, among others. Lastly, Part IV focuses on different approaches to bridging Indigenous knowledge and western scientific knowledge. Examples include the management, use and cultural significance of river cane, Indigenous management of desert oases and their significance for avifauna, and elk management and conservation.

As I read the different chapters I was struck by the relevance of the insights expressed and the practical tools described for international debates about how to implement rights-based conservation. It is difficult to pick out a few examples from such a diverse and wide-ranging collection, but here are some that I found particularly useful in my own thinking. First is the discussion in Chapter 5 of the aforementioned concept of ‘meaningful consultation’. It proposes three essential elements: early and ongoing engagement, face-to-face negotiation and deliberation, and allowance of time. This means time not only for Indigenous peoples to come to a considered decision, which is the focus of international legal stipulations on the right to free, prior and informed consent, but also time for federal officials to develop a deep understanding of tribal cultural and land management practices. Only with mutual in-depth understanding, it is asserted, can consultation and decision-making be genuinely equitable and effective. Secondly, Chapter 17 presents a framework for knowledge co-production that is rich in technical detail, and offers a range of methodologies, tools and recommendations that are equally relevant in other parts of the world. Thirdly, Chapter 29 introduces an Indigenous stewardship model developed by the Lhakota. It gives details of four elements—active Indigenous stewardship, community outreach, co-management and conflict management—that, again, are of much broader significance. Lastly, Chapter 31 examines how traditional ecological knowledge informs the field of conservation biology, summarizing the theoretical literature concisely and providing practical examples ranging from species ecology, distribution and populations to interspecific interactions to changes over time and the drivers of these changes. It concludes that “rather than trying to ‘integrate’ TEK [traditional ecological knowledge] into Western Science, TEK could be thought of as a parallel science” (p. 360). Other readers will no doubt pick up on different points, reflecting their own interests and experiences. I encourage anyone who is involved in practising or supporting Indigenous conservation and stewardship to read Wildlife Stewardship on Tribal Lands: Our Place Is in Our Soul and reflect on how the principles and examples it provides can inform their work.