Dr. Donna Miranda-Begay: Mapping the Past to Protect the Future

In a remote corner of California, nestled in the southern Sierra Mountains, Dr. Donna Miranda-Begay is doing something quietly revolutionary. Living on 160 acres of tribal allotment land known as Yidion Up—“where the flat water lives”—Donna stands at the intersection of ancient knowledge and cutting-edge technology. Her mission?

To protect Native cultural landscapes using Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

When a wildfire known as the Burrell Fire tore through more than 60,000 acres near her home, Donna didn’t just watch the horizon glow orange. She acted. Using tribal ecological knowledge and GIS mapping tools, she identified nearby tribal allotment lands that weren’t marked on public fire maps.

“I made sure the Forest Service had that information,” she explained. “Later, one of the landowners told me they got a good fire retardant drop right near their property.”

That instinct—to protect, to speak up, to connect—is why Donna calls herself a “cultural and conservation bearer.” Like a bear guarding its cubs, she uses every tool at her disposal, including decades of experience in federal and state government, to make sure tribal voices and land are not erased.

GIS, she explains, is about far more than maps. “What is your motivation to do mapping?” she asks the tribes she works with. “Is it to protect cultural landscapes? To manage natural resources?” For Donna, the answer is both—and she’s built California Tribal GIS around this vision. From advising federally recognized tribes with access to government-supported software to guiding non-recognized tribes through open-source options, she helps communities claim agency over their data and stories.

Her journey started in 1977, when she first worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a GS1 employee handling paper records and microfilm. Over the years, as technology evolved, so did her roles—from managing reservoirs at the Department of Water Resources to leading IT for the California Conservation Corps. But the common thread has always been service. “I tend to bat for the underdog,” she said. “My motivation is to build knowledge where it’s most needed.”

Today, Donna is organizing the first-ever California Native American Tribal GIS Summit, set for summer 2025. It's a monumental effort to bring together tribal and public sector leaders to share knowledge, improve data sovereignty, and advocate for policy change.

“I’m hoping for good recommendations—maybe even effective policy suggestions,” she said. Her dream is to one day build a permanent GIS learning center on tribal land.

Along the way, Donna has faced enormous challenges—from the bureaucratic weight of federal recognition to the ongoing digital divide in underserved tribal communities. And yet, she stays rooted. “I’m at a point in my life where I’m listening,” she said. “Whether it's in a roundhouse or a tribal cemetery, I’m listening to the stories people are ready to share.”

She’s been honored for her work in environmental justice and cultural preservation, but she insists the work is never hers alone. “It takes a good network of people to accomplish things like this.”