The Cultural Significance of Relict Oak Savanna Landscapes and Trees

Keywords: Oak savanna, cultural value, Native American
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Oak savannas are receiving increasing attention in ecology, forestry and environmental sciences, and restoration of these threatened plant communities is an emerging land management and public concern. Little attention, however, has been paid to the cultural significance of these complex social-ecological systems and their unique landscapes and trees. This paper outlines the cultural value of relict oak savanna landscapes and their characteristic open-grown oak trees. Based on a developing research project, this paper reviews the experiential qualities of former oak savanna lands located in the Genesee Valley of Western New York, the ancestral territories of the Onöndowa'ga:' (Seneca). This includes aesthetic, educational, symbolic, and heritage values ascribed to the landscape by the Onöndowa'ga:' and local stakeholder communities. This study provides preliminary insight into the diverse cultural values that relict oak savannas hold for groups occupying these distinctive and scarce landscapes.