Local Indigenous Landscapes Team (LILT)

Who Are We?

The Local Indigenous Landscapes Team (LILT) is a research team within the Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability at the University of Richmond. Led by Co-Director Dr. Stephanie Spera and Co-Director Dr. David Salisbury, the team also includes a group of talented undergraduate researchers. The team is based in the Spatial Analysis Laboratory (SAL) at the University of Richmond.

Why We Do What We Do!

LILT came into being in 2023 when Dr. David Salisbury realized his students knew less about the Native Tribes of what is now Virginia than they knew about his Indigenous collaborators from the Amazon Rainforest. In preparation for the Center for Global Engagement’s 2023 International Education Week, Braided Knowledges for a Sustainable Future, the Department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability’s Global Sustainability class began to learn about local tribes. We subsequently formed LILT to raise awareness within the University while working with our Native Tribal neighbors to provide maps, spatial analysis, and outreach. LILT follows our Amazon Borderlands Spatial Analysis Team (ABSAT) model, and in 2024 received NASA funding to collaboratively co-design a climate impacts geo-dashboard to inform decisions, actions, and policies that build Native American capacity for resiliency, awareness, and environmental justice across the changing Indigenous landscapes of Virginia. The NASA grant was rescinded in April of 2025 under the new federal administration. Despite the lack of funding, LILT continues to collaborate and raise awareness as we are able.