Did you attend the February Third Thursday Web Forum last week? If so, you heard Roger Cain, Tribal Ethnobotanist with the Office of Environmental Services and Historic Preservation of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee in Oklahoma, talk about the importance of rivercane and some of the ongoing efforts to restore it. If you missed that amazing presentation and subsequent discussion and Q&A session, here’s a video of the recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6ORbCeodAA&feature=youtu.be

In his webinar, Roger mentioned the upcoming Rivercane Gathering scheduled for April 4-7 in Tahlequah, OK, which is being held in-person for the first time. The event is co-hosted by the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma and the U.S. Forest Service. The goal of the Rivercane Gathering is to bring together tribes, native artisans, traditional knowledge holders, scientists, land managers, and other stakeholders to share in two-way learning about the current state of knowledge for rivercane in the southern United States.

Potential topics include:

• Rivercane Restoration
• Propagation /Management
• Increasing Access to Rivercane
• Cultural Importance
• Hands on Demonstrations
• Artisan Exchange
• Rivercane Traditional Knowledge
• Field Trips to Managed Canebrakes
• Storytelling
• Rivercane and Fire
• Rivercane Ecology

If you’re interested in learning more about the ecology and cultural significance of rivercane, and how you can contribute to restoration efforts, register on the Rivercane Gathering website: https://usfs.tribalgis.com/index.php/2023-gathering!