Senior Global Futures Scientist Arizona State University, Arizona, United States
Abstract: We are witnessing a resurgence and enthusiasm for Indigenous Knowledges, yet they have not been fully accepted as a viable and valid way of knowing within settler-colonial ecological institutions. Rising to this critical moment, the Traditional Ecological Knowledge Section of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) hosted an NSF-funded workshop titled “Elevating Indigenous Knowledges in Ecology” at the 2022 annual meeting on Kanienʼkeháka (Mohawk) and Ho-de-no-sau-nee-ga (Haudenosaunee) territories in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This gathering of 21 Indigenous scholars and practitioners included well-established scholars and professionals, as well as graduate students and early career individuals. Over the two-day workshop, we identified four emerging themes and high priority questions to be addressed by Western academic institutions and ecologists. We highlight them here to further discussions and actions for systemic change and inspire future directions for the next generation of Indigenous scientists and the ESA community. Our hope is that the outcomes of our workshop will seed sustained conversation and actions leading to stronger and mutually beneficial relationships between Indigenous communities and ecologists, Indigenous Knowledges and Western sciences.
