Tuesday Talk: The Wallowa Gathering – A Model for Land Back in Action

The Wallowa Gathering: A Model for Land Back in Action

Tuesday, July 21st

12pm – 1pm

How does a land trust transform its conservation mission into a powerful act of restorative justice? Join Kathleen Ackley, Executive Director of Wallowa Land Trust, and Althea Walker, its Indigenous Community Liaison, for an inspiring talk that answers this question.

Over the past decade, the Wallowa Land Trust has evolved from listening to Tribal voices into a deep partnership that actively puts “Land Back” into practice. They will share their journey of supporting the annual Wallowa Gathering, a program that now facilitates access to over 85,000 acres of private land for over 170 Tribal members to gather First Foods and medicines. This is more than conservation; it is the tangible work of healing historical trauma by reconnecting the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Cayuse, and Walla Walla peoples to their ancestral homelands. Over the past decade, the Wallowa Land Trust has evolved from listening to Tribal voices into a deep partnership that actively puts “Land Back” into practice. They will share their journey of supporting the annual Wallowa Gathering, a program that now facilitates access to over 85,000 acres of private land for over 170 Tribal members to gather First Foods and medicines. This is more than conservation; it is the tangible work of healing historical trauma by reconnecting the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Cayuse, and Walla Walla peoples to their ancestral homelands.

The presentation will illustrate how the Wallowa Land Trust’s commitment extends beyond access, exemplifying the Land Back movement through the return of over 47 acres of land in Wallowa County to the Nez Perce Tribe. These acts of return and the ongoing support of the Gathering demonstrate a fundamental shift in conservation—from a mindset of land protection to one of shared stewardship and Indigenous leadership. This is Land Back in Action: a powerful model for how land trusts can partner with Tribes to restore cultural lifeways, right historical wrongs, and build a more just and sustainable future for all.

Althea Walker (Nez Perce, Hopi, and Gila River) serves as the Indigenous Community Liaison for the Wallowa Land Trust. In this role, she builds and nurtures respectful, reciprocal relationships between the Land Trust and the Indigenous communities who have stewarded the lands of Wallowa County since time immemorial. Her work centers on weaving together traditional ecological knowledge and conservation science to ensure that land stewardship efforts are culturally grounded, community-led, and enduring.

Althea brings over a decade of experience in meaningful Tribal engagement, climate adaptation, and community resilience. Most recently, she served as the Director of Community Resilience for the Climate Science Alliance, where she uplifted and advanced Indigenous management practices for co-stewardship across the Southwest and beyond. She also provides strategic counsel to multiple organizations and agencies on building trust-based, cross-jurisdictional partnerships that honor Tribal sovereignty and prioritize community-defined needs.

Kathleen is Wallowa Land Trust’s first Executive Director. She joined the Trust in the fall of 2013 after almost a decade at Capitol Land Trust in Olympia, Washington. Raised in Eugene, Oregon, Kathleen graduated from the University of Hawaii with a degree in Asian Studies, before receiving a master’s degree in Environmental Studies from The Evergreen State College.

She has worked with many charitable organizations over the years and brings her extensive knowledge of nonprofit administration and successful land conservation to northeast Oregon. She is the past president of the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts and is a member of the Rotary Club of Wallowa County.