Native Americans and indigenous cultures around the world have nurtured a deep, reciprocal relationship with the natural world for countless generations, and thus provide great inspiration for my forest bathing / nature therapy practice. It’s important to acknowledge that so much of the practice is not anything new, but instead is a returning to what so many indigenous peoples practice(d) in their daily lives, especially before colonization stripped them of their culture, humanity, land, and homes.

It’s important for me to acknowledge that I live and practice forest therapy on the traditional homeland of the Council of the Three Fires: The Ottawa, Ojibwe and Potawatomi Nations, known today as the Chicago area. Being at the intersection of several great waterways, this area was a place of gathering, trading, rituals, and healing for many Native American Tribes, including the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac and Fox.

This land was seized by white settlers as part of the wave of settler colonialism and genocide that constituted the eventual United States. As a white person, I participate in this ongoing atrocious legacy (albeit not purposefully or proudly). This is a hard truth to swallow, but I believe acknowledgement is a crucial step toward healing. 

This is not just a thing of the past. Many Native Americans continue to call this area home, as the Chicago area is home to the sixth-largest urban Native American community, and many still practice their heritage, traditions and deep care for the earth.

I strive for deeper understanding and reconciliation moving forward. For now, I donate to Native American advocacy organizations and look for ways to educate myself on the real history of the land and indigenous practices. I consider it a lifelong journey of learning, unlearning, and reconciliation.

Some of my Influences and Recommended Resources:

• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

• Yoli Maya Yeh Decolonization Education and Consulting

• Chi Nations Youth Council

• Sacred Instructions, Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change, by Sherrie Mitchell, Weh’na Ha’mu’ Kwasset (She Who Brings the Light)

• “What would Chicago look like if settlers hadn’t changed it?” WBEZ article by Lewis Wallace

• NDN Collective