JOSEPH — “Heads to Hearts,” a project by the Josephy Center for Arts and Culture intended to explore the confluence of Indigenous and scientific understanding of place, has been honored with a statewide award.

The Eugene-based Museum of Natural and Cultural History on Tuesday, May 30, announced in a press release that “Heads and Hearts” was the winner of the sixth annual Oregon Stewardship Award. The award, administered by the museum’s advisory council, recognizes a project that has significantly involved its community in an environmental or cultural heritage effort.

The continuing project was suggested by interpretive specialist and Indigenous artist Roger Amerman, whose specific focus is on Nez Perce stories of landscapes and linking them with scientific geological and botanical knowledge of those landscapes. The idea is to provide a more complete understanding of the landscape in Nez Perce lands in Northeastern Oregon, North-central Idaho and Southeastern Washington.

After a beading workshop at the Josephy Center, Amerman approached Rich Wandschneider, head of the Josephy Library of Western History and Culture.

“At the end of it he said, ‘You know, we have ethnobotany and ethnobiology, why don’t we have ethnogeography? Why don’t we start looking at the land not only the lens of scientific understanding but also through the eyes of Native elders?’” Wandschneider said.

The project has been hosting expeditions to various sites around the region with Nez Perce elders. One two-day boating trip on the Snake River brought along several Nez Perce high school student photographers. On these trips, the elders share stories and knowledge of the landscape.

The project highlights the center’s mission of homecoming. Traditional homelands of the Nez Perce include portions of Northeastern Oregon, but after their forcible removal at the hands of the U.S. government, few Nez Perce have returned.

“Part of our goal has been to make the Nez Perce feel that they can return with a welcome,” said Cheryl North Coughlan, executive director of the center. “Here we are, an institution, telling people to come together to talk about native stories, science and land, and it’s all coming together.”

The center will continue hosting excursions through 2023, and the project will culminate with an exhibit in 2024 that will include video of all the sites.

“The museum’s stewardship mission brings us into contact with Oregon heroes every day, people doing amazing work to protect and preserve our ecosystems, landscapes and cultures,” said Ann Craig, associate director at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History. “The Heads to Hearts project exemplifies innovative work that brings together Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding.”

The Heads to Hearts program was chosen out of a group of five finalists. Other finalists included entries from Eugene, Philomath and Vanport/Portland.