SS 17 - Elevating & Implementing Indigenous TEK in Community, Higher Education, and Government

Session Description: Over the past twenty years, Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (I-TEK or TEK) has become an important area of research, education, and advocacy for Indigenous ecologists and any ecologists working with Native American Tribes and other Indigenous communities on land management, conservation, and restoration. Indigenous communities have been maintaining and revitalizing their TEK for centuries in efforts to continue their lifeways and land-based traditions. For higher education and governments, TEK is a critical perspective for acknowledging justice, equity, diversity and inclusion by recognizing the ecological knowledge of the First Peoples of the land.

Today, due to climate change, water and food scarcity, endangered species, and a host of other ecological issues, more scientists, educators, and governments (from local cities and counties to states and federal governments) are creating new guidelines and policies to ethically incorporate TEK in land use decision-making and resource stewardship. Recently, in the fall of 2022, the US White house has made its commitment to Indigenous-TEK in a series of historic briefs and memoranda.

This special session will feature three Indigenous scholars who work on elevating TEK in multiple sectors, including local tribal communities, universities and science associations, and tribal and federal governments. Our session will not only talk about why acknowledging TEK important, but how it is being integrated and implemented in multiple sectors, and how those sectors can collaborate and partner for the benefit of people and land. Through a variety of case studies, the speakers will share important lessons learned, principles of engagement, and the positive results that occur when Indigenous people’s TEK is implemented across multiple sectors and on the ground.