Acornomics: A (K)New Ecosystem for Life

At the center of our work is Acornomics—an Indigenous value-based development framework and a holistic strategy to build, foster and support a healthy, resilient and empowered community and reciprocal relationship with Land.

From our elders, from our cultures, from our experiences and from our core values emerged our development framework: “Acornomics”. It is a framework that centers restoring our symbiotic, reciprocal relationship with the earth and each other. It is a literal and metaphorical model. For example, we are in the process of developing TEK land restoration crews who will take care of our oak woodlands, which in turn will help them be healthier oaks. Healthier oaks produce healthier acorns.  When we gather and reintegrate acorn into our diets, we become healthier too. And then we are in better shape to help the trees.

We seek to develop other opportunities like this to help us restore the abundance of our landscapes, and build the capacity and resilience of our community.

places for acornomics

In 2024, we secured and steward two key land parcels: 

Əl Kulus means "The Granary" in Wintu. This place on 299E in Bella Vista is where we are preparing and planning a Community Resilience Center. This will be a community center year-round and will act as a Community Resilience Center in times of emergency. This location on the 299E corridor between Burney and Redding is a perfect spot for a possible coffee shop/artisan space and is already a site for our community practice garden.

Wenem To•s means "Middle Place" in Wintu. This is the headquarters for our TEK (Traditional Ecological Knowledge) Land Management Team, a place to plant healthy food and native plant gardens, with infrastructure to house our digital fabrication lab and food and fiber shed  - a regenerative, culturally-centered, community-based economic development center - for youth and community arts and culture programs, and more. 

With oaks and woodlands, space for cultural practices such as gathering and processing acorns, this is the perfect property for our land lab. We are already hard at work to stop soil erosion, build new, healthy soil, clean up waterways, and support native plant and animal communities.  

We are building regenerative programs and cooperative enterprises rooted in Indigenous knowledge, care, and community. We have begun our workforce development, support and engage in cultural practice programs and are building financial sustainability projects on our land that will allow us to steward this land and our initiatives for generations to come, moving toward true self-sufficiency, including:

• A Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) land management team

• A localized fabrication and production lab

• Native and healthy food gardens and processing using traditional preservation practices

the roots of Acornomics

Native Roots Network (NRN) began as an Indigenous-led organization with a focus on the vitality of Indigenous Peoples. From the early days of organizing Native Youth Cultural Exchanges and ceremonial runs with Indigenous Peoples in Hawai’i and Japan to organizing Native Art exhibitions and intersectional participatory conversations and workshops, we’ve evolved into an organization that contributes and collaborates to create a more connected local community where everyone can thrive. We also connect with aligned regional, national and international partners and allies. We can imagine and want to work with others to build solid socioeconomic models that work for the benefit of all life.

Native Roots Network (NRN) is an Indigenous-led nonprofit based in Wintu, Yana, and Pit River territories. We empower Indigenous communities by advancing a shift from extractive systems to regenerative ones, guided by our mission to create just, vibrant, and culturally grounded futures.

Through cultural revitalization, organizing, advocacy, community care, and the arts, NRN strives to deliver sustainable solutions to today’s crises while strengthening individual and collective well-being.