Unmai Arokiasamy

My name is Unmai (OON-may) Arokiasamy (they/them), I am Two-spirit queer and I belong to the Lumbee tribe located in Robeson County, North Carolina. I am a MA student in the Indigenous Studies Program at the University of Kansas. My research will focus the revitalization of cultural burning practices in my homelands and community in an effort to restore the ancestral Longleaf Pine Ecosystem. This research aims at highlighting the deep connection between the health of our homelands to the health of our communities by tracking changes that occur to both the natural and social environments in Robeson County as a response to community-engaged cultural burning efforts. Overall, I hope to bring my community closer to our shared homelands while enhancing our autonomy over land stewardship.