Congratulations Karley Rojas

Please join us in congratulating 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗥𝗼𝗷𝗮𝘀, Blue Lake Rancheria’s Native Plant Specialist, on the successful defense of their Master’s Thesis!

Karley is a Master’s candidate in the Environment and Community Graduate Program at Cal Poly Humboldt and serves as a Research Associate at the Rou Dalagurr Food Sovereignty Lab and Traditional Ecological Knowledges Institute, as well as the EPA Specialist for Blue Lake Rancheria.

Their thesis, “Place-Based Learning Practices: A Diptych Case Study of Human and More-Than-Human Relationality at the Tribal and Western Academic Institutional Interface,” explores how Indigenous and Western sciences can respectfully work together through place-based learning and research.

Karley’s work focuses on two key projects:

𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 (𝗛𝗶)𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗶𝘆𝗼𝘁 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘇𝗮 – An Indigenized approach to mapping and understanding landscape histories at Cal Poly Humboldt, calling for institutional accountability through action. This project also recommends institutional protocols around research, including training for researchers, data sovereignty agreements, and new research approval steps under the purview of Tribal representatives.

𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗼𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 – a collaboration with the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe to support Indigenous knowledge, Tribal research protocols, and food systems.

Karley’s thesis is a model for how institutions can respectfully work with Tribal Nations, with care, reciprocity, and Indigenous leadership at the center.

𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘆! 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀!