THE EARTHEN LODGE PROJECT
Just Transition & Climate Resilience through Indigenous Knowledge and Food Sovereignty
The Pa'tha'ta Women's Society of the Ponca community steward the Earthen Lodge as part of the WECAN Earthen Lodge project. Photo credit: WECAN / Katherine Quaid
The recent IPCC reports have made it clear the harrowing impacts of the climate crisis to expect in the coming years, and Oklahoma is no exception. Droughts, heatwaves, and climate disasters, such as tornadoes, are expected to worsen throughout Oklahoma. As the climate crisis escalates, the need for safe sanctuary that can house and support frontline communities continues to grow.
Within this context, the Ponca Earthen Lodge Project has emerged, stewarded by the Pa'tha'ta Women's Society in the Ponca community, and is part of the WECAN Just Transition and Climate Resilience Program. Casey Camp-Horinek envisioned the Lodge with project management led by her daughter Julie Horinek. This Earthen Lodge is the first time a traditional Ponca Lodge has been built in over 150 years, since the forced removal of the Ponca Nation from their ancestral lands. Please see below an inspiring video message from Casey about the inspiration and vision for this project.
The project responds to the extraction and climate disasters in Ponca, providing a haven during climate disasters, withstanding extreme weather conditions, and providing space to grow and store Ponca traditional first foods.
Already, the Earthen Lodge has stood up against torrential rain and windstorms. One summer brought climate disaster to the land and tested the Earthen Lodge, but the traditional structure stood firm for the Ponca people, providing safety through dangerous storms and tornadoes. Despite facing setbacks due to climate disasters, this project has continued to thrive in its mission of promoting climate resiliency, food sovereignty, and offering space for the reclaiming of ancestral knowledge.
This project works specifically with women in the Ponca community, as they seek seventh-generation survival for their Nation in the midst of climate chaos. The food grown utilizes Traditional Ecological Knowledge methods that rely on generational Indigenous knowledge, addressing the degradation of soil and land in the region. Oklahoma ranks fourth in the country for crude oil production and the extraction of natural gas. The Ponca tribe lives in a fossil fuel epicenter of fracking, pipelines, petrochemical plants, and refineries, which has led to severe pollution of the air, soil, and waters.
Food and medicinal plants growing on the outside of the Earthen Lodge as part of the WECAN Earthen Lodge project. Photo credit: WECAN
Another impact of fossil fuel extraction in the Ponca Nation is the proliferation of man camps, which are proven to lead to increased rates of sexual and physical violence. This violence contributes to the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW), which significantly impacts Indigenous communities across North America. Considering this repercussion, the project also provides refuge for women who are or have experienced sexual or physical violence, including acting as a temporary safe home, ensuring the participation and leadership of women in program efforts, and providing opportunities for economic independence.
The project is housed within WECAN's Just Transition and Climate Resilience program, offering a clear example of how Indigenous knowledge and technology can offer a renewed and alternative pathway to moving beyond extractive economies and fossil fuels.
Corn growing in raised garden beds as part of the WECAN Earthen Lodge project. Photo credit: WECAN
Solar panels being added to the bathhouse as part of the WECAN Earthen Lodge project. Photo credit: WECAN
To complement the lodge and move beyond the reliance on fossil fuels, the women have built a bathhouse outfitted with solar energy, a compostable toilet, and a water-saving shower. They are also building a traditional walipini structure, a semi-underground greenhouse that works in tandem with Mother Earth’s thermal regulation, providing an efficient way to grow food in the varying and unpredictable seasons of Oklahoma. As part of the efforts to support climate resiliency, the project is also cultivating food and medicinal herbs for the community to establish a sustainable path toward community resiliency during cascading crises of climate and colonization.
As part of the WECAN Earthen Lodge project, sacred foods, such as heirloom red Ponca corn, have been sown into the land, a significant act in cultural revitalization. Other traditional foods, such as pumpkins, kale, berries, melons, and edible and medicinal herbs, are being grown to support food sovereignty in the Ponca community.
Advocacy
As part of the broader Just Transition and Climate Resilience Program, WECAN supports Casey Camp-Horinek and Julie Horinek to engage in International forums throughout the year to demonstrate the success of the project in advancing a Just Transition, including advocating for Indigenous Rights, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Rights of Nature, Just Transition to address systemic causes of the climate crisis and promote climate resiliency and a vision of the future.
Casey Camp-Horinek of the Ponca Nation is a community leader, long-time Native rights activist, Environmental Ambassador, actress, and WECAN Board Member and Ponca Program Coordinator. She is Chair of the Indigenous Council of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature. As traditional Drumkeeper for the Ponca Pa-tha-ta, Woman’s Scalp Dance Society, Camp-Horinek helps maintain the cultural identity of the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma for herself, her family and her community. She has been at the forefront of grassroots community efforts to educate and empower both Native and non-Native community members on environmental and civil rights issues, and she has raised her voice and taken action in numerous forums worldwide.