Kelly Kinder. Photo by Mathew Burciaga.
The Parks Stewardship Forum is an interdisciplinary journal dedicated to advancing conservation, stewardship, and the protection of parks, public lands, and cultural sites. Published by the Institute for Parks, People, and Biodiversity, and the George Wright Society, the journal represents diverse areas of inquiry, from the natural sciences and cultural resource disciplines to the social sciences and interdisciplinary perspectives, all aimed at fostering the understanding and management of these critical spaces. Their latest issue, “Indigenous Co-Stewardship of Public Lands: Lessons for the Future,” features papers exploring Indigenous co-stewardship from a Native California perspective.
"Radiant Lands" by Kelly Kinder
Kinder’s artwork, “Radiant Lands,” envisions a third solar tower positioned between the two existing solar towers in the deserts of Tonopah, Nevada, and Ivanpah, California. This imagined tower is inspired by traditional Indigenous knowledge and symbolizes the future of sustainable technology. The photograph in Death Valley National Park highlights the selective protection of landscapes while sparking discussions on clean energy, land use, and Indigenous sovereignty. Indigenous wisdom is represented in the image through a Yurok basketry pattern called hlkwerterkws-chewes, “frog’s hand,” which is both physically and conceptually woven into the landscape. This pattern is a shared cultural symbol among many California Tribes, reflecting a collective Indigenous responsibility to care for ancestral lands and the global ecosystem.
As an artist, Kinder’s artwork explores the intersection of physical and cultural landscapes, drawing from her experiences navigating these spaces. Her work reveals the unseen influences of governance on the land, challenging conventional ideas of stewardship, conservation, and preservation, as well as the authorities that shape those definitions.
View more of Kinder’s art in her online portfolio.