Andrea Knutson is an Associate Professor of English and a member of the Native American Advisory Committee at Oakland University in SE Michigan. She is of settler descent and currently lives on Anishinaabe lands. Her work focuses on plantation ecologies within the British empire, sovereign spaces within the plantation complex, and archival traces that reveal the racial geographies of plantation. She’s been the recipient of two fellowships from the American Antiquarian Society and has published in Early American Literature, Resilience: A Journal of Environmental Humanities, Edge Effects, and American Literary History. She’s working on a second book about the materialism and sovereignty of clay in plantation histories and is a member of a team of advocates in Michigan working to develop a beaver management program for the state.

TSN Conference 2026

January 22nd, 2026 (Thursday) // 2:20 pm – 2:45 pm // Room 105 // Communicating Beaver Coexistence // As beavers reclaim spaces after their near extinction in the 19th century, they’re showing up in places that challenge our ability to coexist with them. After centuries of erasure not only from our landscapes, but also from our memories and ecological imaginaries, they’re forcing us to confront the paradigms and worldviews that drive everything from our conservation models to our modes of extraction that cohered around their long absence. This session will provide updates on coexistence efforts in Michigan and discuss the central role that communicating beaver coexistence plays in changing a culture that, because of their erasure, tends to perpetuate that erasure. The presentation will outline where these efforts stand, educate our audience about what coexistence can look like, and discuss the necessary reform needed in our regulatory agencies. The focus will be on strategies have been employed to advance the conversation and open a discussion to strengthen the process moving forward.