CORE VALUES + ETHICS
Kinship – Wótakuye
All are welcome in freshwater science and the Great Outdoors Is For Everyone. The organization will include, uplift, educate, and create spaces for folks from all walks of life to engage with freshwater ecosystems and their conservation, and to participate in freshwater science and natural history as a way of knowing. We will welcome individuals of all walks of life, all abilities, all income and educational attainment levels, all ages, genders, cultures, creeds, family compositions, parental status, ethnicities, or other demographic backgrounds, etc. We will strive to be 2S+TBQIALG-affirming, culturally- and trauma-informed. We will root our conservation work in the communities in which we do our science by engaging our partners and stakeholders early and often in a reciprocal, kinship relationship rather than unidirectional, extractive Western paradigms of science and conservation. We seek to listen, amplify, connect, empower, and champion others more than we speak or do ourselves. We seek to foster a freshwater ethic for a brighter future for all persons by engaging with everyone regardless of background. We commit to upholding a culture of tolerance and inclusion.
Wisdom – Wóksape
The current dominant paradigm of settler, Western, colonial science is extractive and rooted in capitalism. We acknowledge the harm inflicted by its practice and that Western science/academia is only one way of seeing and relating to the land. We aim to develop, foster, and deepen lasting, place-based relationships with our stakeholders. We will ground our decision-making in Two-Eyed Seeing (Reid et al. 2020), incorporating the latest peer-reviewed information/scientifically-sound data while also drawing from our ethical perspectives and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to inform our structured decision making process. We will respect the sovereignty of our Tribal nation partners, and work to support and amplify Tribal data sovereignty efforts and existing Tribal natural resource monitoring, stewardship, and restoration programs. In all our work, we will strive to do ethical, responsible, community-rooted science across the Great Plains, and to be good neighbors and good kin while carrying it out.
Prayer – Wóčekiya
Clean water and healthy, biodiverse aquatic ecosystems are a basic human right. We maintain that water on the Great Plains—our prairie rivers, streams, lakes, river-reservoir complexes, and other freshwater habitats and ecosystems—cannot be owned, only stewarded as it flows from one place to another throughout the hydrologic cycle. As such, we maintain that prairie waters are their own indivisible, living entities–our living ancestors and would-be parties to legal proceedings, and should be studied and managed with reverence and care.
Compassion – Wówauŋšila
There is no such thing as a trash fish or an animal that lacks value in an ecosystem. We hold that respecting the sanctity of life on earth includes respecting the sanctity of small-bodied prairie stream minnows, often overlooked by anglers as “dinky” or lacking “charisma.” We reject the wanton waste or devaluation of species traditionally viewed as “trash,” “coarse,” “rough,” or “nongame” species.
Respect – Waóhola
We will be accountable to one another and to the land and waters. We will strive for transparency. If harm is done, we will take responsibility for that harm and work together to rectify it. Any individual affiliated or associated with GPFCRI will be expected to adhere to our organization’s Code of Conduct and uphold core values.
Fortitude – Wowačíŋtaŋka
We will confront an uncertain future with courage and resilience. We will work together to overcome obstacles as a community. We will play the long game on behalf of our freshwater ecosystems.
Generosity – Wačáŋtognaka
We will share our time, talents, and resources with partner organizations and individuals who share in our mission in the spirit of kinship and reciprocity, knowing that all flourishing is mutual.