Listening to the Land with Visiting Scholar Melissa Nelson

September 2026

How can a rematriated science address the roots of the polycrisis? Can society move beyond an anthropocentric, male-dominated science to a relational one rooted in justice and care? As an Anishinaabe ecologist and transdisciplinary scholar-activist, Commonweal New School Visiting Scholar Melissa Nelson is working to find ways to return to and revitalize the Indigenous and feminist roots of science by highlighting ways of knowing that are based on epistemologies of care, belonging, kinship, and respectful intimacy with the natural world and each other. | Art credit: Catalina Cortes

Meet and hear more from Melissa at the event below, part of Commonweal’s 50th anniversary year—reflecting on five decades of healing ourselves and the Earth and asking how we navigate these times through community, learning, and resilience.

Tuesday, September 29 | 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm PDT
The Rematriation of Science: Restoring Balance through Indigenous Knowledges
Join us at Commonweal or on Zoom

Before arriving at Commonweal, Melissa reflected on what it means to listen to the land and why it’s important. Read her introductory remarks here.

Melissa K. Nelson (Anishinaabe/Metis)

Melissa is a Global Futures Professor of Indigenous Conservation and Sustainability at Arizona State University and Professor Emerita of American Indian Studies at San Francisco State University. From 1993 to 2021, she served as the founding executive director and CEO of the Cultural Conservancy and continues to serve as president of their board. She is a contributor and co-editor of What Kind of Ancestor Do You Want To Be? (2021), Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Learning from Indigenous Practices for Environmental Sustainability published (2018), and Original Instructions: Indigenous Teachings for a Sustainable Future (2008). She is Anishinaabe/Métis/Norwegian and a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.