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Consider bagaan: The importance of hazel to Indigenous Peoples of eastern North America and implications for sovereignty

Hailey N. Shanovich,Benesikwe Shirley A. Nordrum,M. Windmuller-Campione

Published 2025 in Earth Stewardship

ABSTRACT

Bagaan in Ojibwemowin, or the American and beaked hazelnut (Corylus americana and Corylus cornuta var. cornuta: Betulaceae), constitutes important food, medicine and cultural resources for Indigenous Peoples across eastern North America and is also a vital source of food and habitat for wildlife in ecosystems where it occurs. Hazels have been actively stewarded within numerous ecosystems, and within the Great Lakes Region of the United States and Canada, this stewardship historically was done with fire by Indigenous Peoples. Through colonization practices and the criminalization of fire, the role of hazels in forests and foodways has greatly shifted. There has been increased interest in the commodification of hazel through farming and genetic modification of hazel through gene mapping which impacts the inherent sovereignty of this species. Central to this discussion are the memories and perspectives of Elder Benesikwe (Shirley A. Nordrum) of the Martin Clan from the Red Lake Nation of Minnesota. This study offers an example of Earth stewardship in practice by centering Indigenous relationships with Bagaan—hazelnut—as living threads that weave together ecology, culture, and governance. By illuminating how Ojibwe stewardship practices such as fire management of hazel sustained both its role in ecosystems and foodways, and by tracing how colonization and commodification disrupted those relationships, this work extends the concept of stewardship beyond management to encompass both People and species. Through the voice and memories of Elder Benesikwe, and by integrating ethnohistorical, botanical, and biodiversity data, we draw connections between People and place by emphasizing Indigenous ways of knowing hazel as an important ecosystem member and coproduce knowledge across Indigenous and Western scientific traditions. This contribution demonstrates how revitalizing place‐based stewardship can inform equitable conservation and adaptation efforts worldwide.

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