Traditional ecological knowledge and biocultural restoration : restoring relationships between land and community Robin Wall Kimmerer Center for Native Peoples and the Environment SUNY ESF

The people of the seventh fire

“ The Onondaga Nation calls for a healing…….

there can be no purpose more inspiring than to begin the age of restoration, reweaving the wondrous diversity of life that still surrounds us” E.O. Wilson

Two neighboring centers of ecological knowledge Scientific Ecological Knowledge (SEK) Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) Privileged knowledge

What is Traditional Ecological Knowledge? The cumulative body of knowledge, practice and belief concerning the relationship of living beings to one another and to the physical environment an attribute of societies with historical continuity in resource use practice

“Traditional knowledge is a way of life -wisdom is using traditional knowledge in good ways. It is using the heart and the head together.“ It sets out the rules governing the use of resources - respect, an obligation to share. It is dynamic, cumulative and stable. “ It is practical common sense based on teachings and experiences passed on from generation to generation”. “It is knowing the country. It covers knowledge of the environment - snow, ice, weather, resources - and the relationships between things.” “It is holistic. It cannot be compartmentalized and cannot be separated from the people who hold it. It is rooted in the spiritual health, culture and language of the people”. How do native people define TEK? From Alaska Native Science Commission

Kenomagwen mno bmaadiziwin The knowledge for sustaining good life

Indigenous environmental philosophy

Agricultural knowledge

Traditional Ecosystem Management Knowledge

Medicine Knowledge

Population dynamics and regulation

Knowledge of climate change

TEK is an important, overlooked resource in ecological restoration K nowledge for reference ecosystems Land management practices Alternative ecological models Restoration of cultural relationships

What is the restoration goal? Identification of the reference ecosystem What species should be there? What habitats?

Information on reference ecosystems may be embedded in: Scientific ecological knowledge Traditional ecological knowledge: oral history ethnographies harvesting practices management practices material culture

Indigenous Languages: a library of ecological knowledge Species names Place names A valuable asset for restoration

Material culture as sources of ecological knowledge

The approach to restoration depends on the meaning of land…

Land as capital Land as source of ecosystem services Land as property Land as natural resources What does land mean?

The ecosystem as machine: a collection of interacting parts Western paradigm: Nature as “object”

The evolution of restoration philosophy: raising the bar Reclamation Ecological Restoration Scientific approaches

The National Research Council defines restoration as: The return of an ecosystem to a close approximation of its condition prior to disturbance. In restoration, ecological damage to the resource is repaired. Both the structure and the function of the ecosystem are recreated. Merely recreating the form without the function, or the function in an artificial configuration bearing little resemble to a natural resource, does not constitute restoration….the goal is to emulate. NRC 1992 An SEK approach

Through a different lens… What does land “mean”?

Ecosystem as community of sovereign ”persons” Indigenous paradigm: nature as “subject”

Land as Sustainer Land As Enspirited Land As Identity Land as Moral Responsibility Land as Healer Land as Source of Knowledge Land as Home Land as Ancestral Connection Land as Residence of non-human relatives Land as sacred

It is not the land which is broken, but our relationship to it

Land as: A source of belongings? or A source of belonging?

If Land is understood as a set of relationships then to restore land we must also restore relationships

Indigenous ways of knowing may prioritize restoration goals differently Restored landscape should provide: Practice of spiritual responsibility to land Ability to support subsistence use activities Focus on cultural keystone species

Subsistence Goals: a healthy ecosystem is one rich enough to sustain All Our relatives, human and non

Restoration may focus on return of “cultural keystone” species

The restored landscape should Support revitalization of language and culture Support for sustainable place based economies Support kincentric relationship to place and history Enables people to engage in traditional land management/caregiving activities

“ Cultural survival depends on healthy land and a healthy, responsible relationship between humans and the land. The traditional caregiving responsibilities which maintained healthy land need to be expanded to include ecological restoration. Ecological restoration is inseparable from cultural and spiritual restoration, and is inseparable from the spiritual responsibilities of care-giving and world-renewal. Collectively and individually, these indigenous spiritual values must be central to the vision of community ecological restoration. Western science and technology, is a limited conceptual and methodological tool-the “head and hands” of restoration implementation. Native spirituality is the “heart, that guides the head and hands. Indigenous Environmental Network 1994

Two paradigms of ecological restoration Restoration of ecosystem structure and function for delivery of ecosystem services Imposed solution for equilibrial outcome Time frame: decades eg Cairns, National Research Council Restoration of relationship to land Respect, reciprocity Partnership with natural processes Time frame: generations Indigenous Peoples Restoration Network

The evolution of restoration philosophy and approach- a progressive raising of the bar on what is a healthy ecosystem Reclamation Ecological Restoration Biocultural restoration Scientific approaches TEK approaches

A new holistic approach to restoration: Restoration of ecosystem structure and function, species composition Restoration of relationships between land and community Bio-cultural Restoration

To date, the Onondaga Lake Restoration Plan has employed only limited SEK approaches-restoring selected features of ecosystem structure and function Holistic TEK perspectives have not yet been included

Can biocultural thinking help us imagine and implement a different future for Onondaga Lake? for ourselves?

Biocultural restoration includes re-story-ation An opportunity to tell a different story

Economic Values: Material economy Ecosystem Services: Nutrient cycling Hydrologic cycling Air quality Habitat Soil formation Cultural Services : Subsistence Spiritual responsibility identity Knowledge source Reciprocal relationships

What should the reference ecosystem be ? What do we envision as the “reference relationship?”

We can do better for Onondaga Lake Incorporation of TEK and biocultural approaches will: -Increase sustainability and longevity of restoration -Build resilience in a changing climate Enhance biodiversity through cultural knowledge Honors history and cultures Complement purely SEK approaches

Biocultural restoration raises the standards for ecosystem integrity Water clean enough to swim in Fish that can be eaten Habitat to support keystone species Not looking backward…..a vision for the future HONORS RELATIONSHIP AND RESPONSIBILITY

The Altai The Amazon The Arctic Why not here?

A Model for Biocultural Restoration

The evolution of restoration philosophy Reclamation Ecological Restoration Biocultural restoration Reciprocal restoration Scientific approaches TEK approaches

Reciprocal restoration: in healing the land we are healing ourselves a bigger vision……..

Reciprocal restoration supports Renewal of material and spiritual relationships revitalization of language and culture maintenance and protection of TEK Strengthened communities Resilience, adaptability Biological and cultural diversity Environmental justice Peacemaking between land and people

Restoration is an act of reciprocity in return for the gifts of Mother Earth

to achieve this goal……… we need a symbiosis between ways of knowing

Squash shades ground and suppress weeds Beans fertilize soil, use light efficiently by positioning leaves opposite to corn Corn supports beans, increases light availability ….and so all are fed

Envisioning a symbiosis… scientific knowledge guided by traditional knowledge and wisdom ….and so all are fed

RESTORING RELATIONSHIP Education, culture and science center on the Lake to re-story the watershed Environmental education to train next generation of OL scientists, cross-cultural Public field trips and education Writers and artists gathering…don’t “write it off” Ceremonial space