The Natural History Book Group was founded on the recognition that Indigenous peoples have maintained a deep and reciprocal relationship with the land now known as Lake Oswego for millennia, the group acknowledges this history as an essential grounding for its work. Through participant-selected readings that focus on Traditional Ecological Knowledge, members explore how literature and nonfiction can deepen our understanding of the watershed and its indigenous history, while inspiring practical steps toward a more just relationship with both the land we call home and its original caretakers.
Led by the Lake Oswego Watershed Council, this group meets bi-monthly on the second Tuesday of every other month (January, March, May, July, September, and November) at 5:00pm. We meet at the Lake Oswego Public Library in the second-floor conference room. New members are welcome.
Our Next Book
Discover the deep history of land stewardship and Indigenous plant knowledge in Keeping It Living: Traditions of Plant Use and Cultivation on the Northwest Coast of North America, edited by Douglas E. Deur and Nancy J. Turner.
When: Tuesday, May 12, 2026 | 5:00–6:30 pm
Where: Lake Oswego Public Library 706 4th St, Lake Oswego
This groundbreaking collection explores how Indigenous communities across the Pacific Northwest actively cultivated and cared for the landscapes that sustained them for thousands of years. Drawing on research from ethnobotanists, ecologists, archaeologists, and Indigenous knowledge holders, the book reveals sophisticated land management practices—from tending camas prairies and wapato wetlands to cultivating berry patches and forest gardens.
Keeping It Living challenges the long-held myth that the region’s ecosystems were untouched wilderness, showing instead how cultural traditions and ecological knowledge shaped resilient and productive landscapes. Through stories of plant stewardship and traditional ecological knowledge, the book invites readers to reconsider how people and ecosystems can thrive together.
