Kaehkēnawapahtāēq
We Learn by Observing
In Community, by Community
We approach research as a living relationship. Our work begins from the understanding that the wellbeing of our people is inseparable from the wellbeing of the land, waters, and other-than-human relatives who sustain us.
Through long-term ecological and cultural restoration, we study how caring for the land restores belonging, identity, and health among Menominee youth and families. Our research grows directly from community priorities as a continuation of Menominee observation, care, and stewardship.
Research Practices
Our research practices are guided by values of Respect, Relationship, Reciprocity, and Responsibility. We use storywork, dialogue, reflection, and land-based observation to understand how ecological restoration strengthens community health. Youth, elders, and community partners participate as co-researchers, helping define the questions, gather insight, and interpret meaning. In this way, research becomes ceremony and a process of deep listening to the land and one another.
Research Approach
Our research approach recognizes that transformation is a process. We document how cultural learning, seasons and moon cycles, and time spent in restoration work shape resilience and relational identity. Our methods weave Indigenous and Menominee ways of knowing with Western science, allowing ecological indicators and lived experience to inform one another.
Ancient Menominee Knowledge
Menominee people have always been scientists, guided by rigorous observation and relational intelligence; their empirical basis of sustainability and kincentricsm holds depths of intellect, wisdom, and scientific foundation. For generations, our ancestors followed the 13 moons which connected to how they studied the forest’s growth, the movement of Sturgeon, the timing of maple and rice seasons, and how species respond to human care. These methods are precise, consistent, and grounded in the principle that to observe something is to be responsible for it.
Medicine Fish continues that lineage of observation. Whether tracking Buffalo on the prairie, monitoring native plant recovery, or recording youth reflections during seasonal work, our methods follow the same ethic of attention and care that defines Menominee science. Knowledge is not owned; instead, it is carried forward through relationships and use.
Collaborative Partnerships
This work is carried out in close partnership with The Nature Conservancy’s Nachusa Grasslands science team, the Environmental Studies team at Lawrence University, the Menominee Tribal Forestry Department, and the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) housed within the College of Menominee Nation (CMN).
We integrate ecological monitoring with cultural learning, bridging traditional knowledge and contemporary science.
All research aligns with local priorities and is Menominee-led: restoring Buffalo and prairie ecosystems, protecting the Wolf River watershed, strengthening youth leadership, and supporting the health of our people and land.
Methods and Practice
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Story-based and participatory inquiry with youth and elders
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Reflective journaling and art-based documentation to capture lived experience and belonging
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Ecological observation and monitoring connected to cultural practice
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Wellness measures that reflect balance and relationship
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Relational analysis that privileges story, metaphor, and place as sources of meaning
Findings are shared first within the community through gatherings, visual storytelling, and teaching events, ensuring that knowledge returns home before it travels outward.
Significance
Medicine Fish’s research affirms that restoration is social, emotional, and spiritual work that restores the systems of care that define Menominee life. Our findings show that when youth, elders, and families engage in caretaking practices, the land heals alongside the people.
Our Research Ethics
Across all projects, Medicine Fish upholds a simple ethic: research must matter to home.
Every project is developed ‘in community by community’ and our findings are first shared within the community, through seasonal gatherings, youth presentations, and storytelling events, before being published or shared externally. In this way, our work continues the Menominee research tradition of observation, reflection, and relational responsibility.
Current Research
The Buffalo and Prairie Restoration Study explores the Buffalo’s roles in reviving ecological and cultural balance, including restoring native grasslands (e.g., tallgrass prairie) and renewing kinship between people and the Natural World.
Read More
Youth work side by side to monitor soil health, native plant growth, and Buffalo behavior, while reflecting on what it means to be in relationship with the land. Through hands-on caretaking, participants learn how Buffalo serve as keystone relatives, regenerating prairie systems, supporting pollinators, and inspiring renewed cultural identity.
Our research connects ecological data with peoples’ lived experience and documents how restoring Buffalo to the land also restores belonging, discipline, and purpose among youth. Our findings inform land management plans, youth leadership programs, and community health initiatives across the Menominee Reservation.