Middleton Manning, Beth Rose
Beth Rose Middleton Manning
Dr. Beth Rose Middleton Manning is Afro-Caribbean and Eastern European and is a Professor of Native American Studies at the University of California-Davis. She researches environmental and climate justice, fire policy, intergenerational trauma and healing, Native land stewardship, rural environmental justice, Indigenous analysis of climate change, Afro-indigeneity, and qualitative GIS. Dr. Middleton Manning serves on two nonprofit boards, the Sierra Institute for Community and Environment and the Sogorea Te Land Trust. Dr. Middleton Manning is a member of California Rural Indian Health Board’s Institutional Review Board. In addition, she volunteers for the Native Land Trust Council.
“By not highlighting Indigenous homelands and Indigenous stewardship in the study of environmental science, policy, and management, we are disregarding millennia of Indigenous scientific knowledge and practice and perpetuating a colonial process that disregards Indigenous knowledge, Indigenous struggle, Indigenous survivance, and Indigenous leadership in land and water planning and stewardship.” Beth Rose Manning, from The University of Arizona Press, 2023
Middleton Manning, B., C. Gould, J. LaRose, M. K. Nelson, J. Barker, D. L. Houck, and M. Grace Steinberg. 2023. A Place to Belong: Creating an Urban, Indian, Women-Led Land Trust in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ecology and Society, 28(1):8. [online] URL: https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol28/iss1/art8
Middleton Manning, Beth Rose, and Steven Gayle. 2022. Slavery After Emancipation: Legalized exploitation of Native Americans and African Americans in California and the Post-Emancipation South. Journal of Law and Political Economy 3(2).
Adlam, Chris, Diana Almendariz, Ron W. Goode, Deniss J. Martinez, Beth Rose Middleton. 2021. Keepers of the Flame: Supporting the Revitalization of Indigenous Cultural Burning, Society & Natural Resources, published online 11/24/2021.
Middleton, Beth Rose, and Kaitlin Reed. 2019. Returning the Yurok Forest to the Yurok Tribe: California’s First Tribal Carbon Credit Project, 39 Stan. Envtl. L. Rev. December 2019.
Middleton, Beth Rose. 2011. Trust in the Land: New Directions in Tribal Conservation. University of Arizona Press.
Dr. Middleton Manning was born in 1979 in the picturesque town of Jackson, CA, nestled within the ancestral lands of the Miwok people in the California central Sierra foothills. Dr. Middleton Manning grew up amidst the serene beauty of the forested region near the Mekolumne River, which nurtured her profound appreciation for nature.
Her parents were perhaps the first multiracial (African-American/ European) couple in the small town of Pioneer. On her paternal side, her family roots extend to Central America, the Caribbean, and Africa, fostering her involvement in conservation efforts related to cultural heritage sites alongside Garifuna organizations in St. Vincent. Her maternal heritage traces back to Eastern European Jewish origins, with ancestors who emigrated from Ukraine, Russia, and Lithuania.
Completing her formative education at Amador High School in Sutter Creek, CA, Dr. Middleton Manning’s experiences as a woman of color within the environment of her upbringing served as a powerful catalyst for her work in rural environmental justice.
She embarked on her academic journey, earning her Bachelor of Arts in Nature and Culture from UC Davis in 2001. Subsequently, she pursued her Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley, completing her doctoral studies in 2008. Throughout her life, Dr. Middleton Manning has drawn inspiration from her diverse heritage and unique background to make meaningful contributions to environmental justice.
While working on her doctorate, Dr. Middleton Manning joined the Sierra Institute for Community and Environment in 2001. She first interned before becoming a Research Assistant for the nonprofit that invests in rural communities to foster healthy and sustainable forests and watersheds in the Sierra, California region. Starting in 2005, Dr. Middleton Manning was also a grant writer and camp director for Roundhouse Council Indian Education Center. She also interned with the Maidu Culture and Development Group and the Maidu Summit.
Upon completing her Ph.D., Dr. Middleton Manning became a postdoctoral researcher in Environmental Science and Policy and then a professor of Native American Studies at UC Davis, where she continues to teach and conduct research. Dr. Middleton Manning researches environmental and climate justice, fire policy, intergenerational trauma and healing, Native land stewardship, rural environmental justice, Indigenous analysis of climate change, Afro-indigeneity, and qualitative GIS.
Her project, “Healing Rivers, Communities, and Homelands: Indigenous Leadership in 21st-Century Dam Removal and River Restoration in North America,” looks at multiple dam removal projects and highlights the sociopolitical and institutional mechanisms that support successful dam removal and restoration initiatives led by Indigenous groups.
She has written two books. The first, Trust in the Land: New Directions in Tribal Conservation, was published in 2011. This book examines new and innovative ideas concerning Native applications of conservation easements. It details Indigenous resistance to both hydropower and disruptive conservation efforts. The other is Upstream: Trust Lands and Power on the Feather River, published in 2018. It documents the history of Indian allotment lands on land at the headwaters of the California State Water Project, the public utility providing water to Californian residents.
What inspires her work is “A lifetime of love of the land coupled with a deep commitment to justice. More specifically—my work with the Maidu Culture and Development Group (MCDG) beginning in 2001, and later the Maidu Summit Consortium and Conservancy beginning in 2004.” (The University of Arizona Press, 2023). The stories of the Maidu and other Indigenous resistance against corporate developers deeply moved Dr. Middleton Manning.
She has written numerous articles published in many journals, including Stanford Environmental Law Journal, Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, Human Geography, and Natural Resources Journal.
Dr. Middleton Manning is committed to collaborative research that decolonizes land and water relationships. She is passionate about working with plants and caring for places as a community, identifying and addressing harmful impacts of colonialism and institutional racism, supporting sustainable and just economic development, and building respectful collaborations with Native Nations.
The Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, the Open Rivers Fund of the Resources Legacy Fund, and the UC Davis Environmental Health Sciences Center fund her recent projects. She also received a small Diversity Innovation grant to develop an area of teaching on the Indigenous Caribbean focusing on contemporary and land stewardship.
Dr. Middleton Manning is currently working on a series of articles on tribal leadership in land removal. She is also developing a course focused on homeland history methodology, and putting together a large collaborative climate adaptation project to support climate resilience on California Indian allotment lands.
Dr. Middleton Manning deeply appreciates the invaluable guidance and support she has received from a network of dedicated mentors who have played pivotal roles in shaping her career journey. Among these mentors, Kat Anderson, the esteemed author of “Tending the Wild,” stands out as a particularly supportive figure. Kat not only provided guidance but also introduced her to vital community connections. Additionally, during her postdoctoral studies, Dr. Middleton Manning had the privilege of benefiting from the mentorship of Ben Orlove, an accomplished environmental anthropologist at Columbia University.
Reflecting on her undergraduate years at UC Davis, Dr. Middleton Manning expresses her gratitude to John Ortiz Hudson, whose unwavering support and encouragement prompted her to apply for the McNair program, setting her on her academic path.
Beyond the academic sphere, Dr. Middleton Manning deeply appreciates her mentors and friends within the Maidu and other Native communities. Their generosity in welcoming her into their homelands, ceremonies, gatherings, and discussions about the challenges they face has changed her perspectives on history and the environment. Their willingness to share their time and experiences has enabled her to begin to understand the daily injustices they confront.
In turn, Dr. Middleton Manning has embraced the role as a mentor. She currently guides graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in various disciplines, including Native American Studies, Ecology, Public Health Sciences, Geography, and Community Development. She enthusiastically welcomes students from various backgrounds, relishing the opportunity to collaborate with individuals from a broad spectrum of academic disciplines.
Dr. Middleton Manning advises planning for more time than you anticipate because tasks often take longer than expected. Approach your work and collaborations step by step, breaking down large challenges into manageable parts. She also encourages everyone to maintain an open mind, a positive outlook, and persist toward their goals despite adversity. Lastly, she stresses the importance of prioritizing work-life balance to create a nurturing environment for your family.
Beth Rose Middleton. n.d. Home [LinkedIn Page]. LinkedIn. Retrieved August 22, 2023 from https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-rose-middleton-a2872713/.
Carnegie.org. 2023. 2022 Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program: Beth Rose Middleton Manning. https://www.carnegie.org/awards/honoree/beth-rose-middleton-manning/.
Day, Jeffrey, April 26, 2022. Native American Studies Professor Wins Carnegie Fellowship | UC Davis Institute of the Environment. https://environment.ucdavis.edu/news/native-american-studies-professor-w…
Noted professor to speak at Town Hall Theatre on April 24 - Plumas News. https://www.plumasnews.com/noted-professor-to-speak-at-town-hall-theatre…
Survey and interviews conducted by Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability Initiative staff. 2022-2023. Yale University-School of the Environment. New Haven, Connecticut.
The University of Arizona Press. 2023. Five Questions with Indian Land Rights Scholar Beth Rose Middleton Manning. https://uapress.arizona.edu/2018/09/five-questions-with-indian-land-righ….
UC Davis. 2023. Beth Rose Middleton Manning. https://nas.ucdavis.edu/people/beth-middleton. .