PARENT SESSION
Symposium #23: Relationship, Community, and Intergenerational Innovation: Traditional Ecological Knowledge for Ecosystem Restoration .
Sponsored by ESA Sustainable Biosphere Initiative
Organized by: K Klubnikin, K Rodriguez, J Parrotta, and W Covington
Wednesday, August 7. 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM. Leo Rich Theatre.
Bringing modern ecology and TEK together: Ethics and approaches for mutual understanding.
ST. ARNOLD, JAMES*,1, 1 Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, Odahnah, Wisconsin
ABSTRACT- Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), transported across generations by our elders, can be very important in environmental protection and understanding. From an indigenous perspective, knowledge is revealed in a spiritual, cultural, and social context that provides specific meaning and defines personal responsibility. Its gathering and use is subject to great care in an atmosphere of respect and protocol. The purveyors of knowledge, our elders, are highly esteemed and experts in their respective realms. Knowledge is a gift from those who have come before, as well as within a current lifetime, through oral tradition and experience in interpretation and understanding. It is not to be misused nor given to just anyone. The sacred and precious nature of knowledge and learning is to be guarded against mindless appropriation, misuse and the destruction of context. Those who are not part of an indigenous group who would seek to share in knowledge must adopt a special diplomacy and sincere personal sense of responsibility for what they may learn. This paper explores a recently completed TEK project conducted by the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. To understand plant knowledge and uses we interviewed more than 200 Ojibwe elders from 11 communities in three states. Gathering the information required delineation of and adherence to guidelines and protocols, as well as the development of mutual respect and goodwill. Elders also shared their perceptions of threats to harvest areas and traditional methods of resource sustainability and protection. Ethics, attitudes, and protocols are essential for gathering and use of TEK.
KEY WORDS: Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Ecology, Great Lakes, Ethics and diplomacy