Abstract

North American indigenous people once referred to the then ubiquitous American Chestnut tree as the “grandfather of the forest.” In this talk, Katie Barnhill-Dilling, Ph.D., explores the history of chestnut’s importance to native people and to European settlers and the impact on the population and ecosystem of its functional extinction. Barnhill-Dilling identifies biotechnology tools explored to genetically engineer a blight-resistant variety of the American Chestnut and the importance of considering Indigenous sovereignty in this fascinating restoration effort.

Barnhill-Dilling is a social scientist exploring just environmental decision-making. Most recently, Katie served as a postdoctoral research scholar at NC State in the Department of Forestry & Environmental Resources. Broadly, her research focuses on engaging diverse communities and stakeholders in complex environmental and natural resource governance questions. Her work is situated at an intersection of science, technology and society studies — in particular, public engagement with science and technology — and environmental justice.

TRANSCRIPT

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS

1. Barnhill-Dilling, K. S., Rivers, L., & Delborne, J. A. (2020). Rooted in recognition: Indigenous environmental justice and the genetically engineered american chestnut tree, Society & Natural Resources, 33(1), 83-100, DOI: 10.1080/08941920.2019.1685145

2. Barnhill-Dilling, K. S. & Delborne, J. A. (2019). The genetically engineered american chestnut tree as opportunity for reciprocal restoration in haudenosaunee communities, Biological Conservation, 232, 1-7.