This site provides documentation related to
the ways in which Native people acquire and utilize knowledge related
to the ecological system in which they are situated. Anyone wishing
to contribute to this site is encouraged to contact the coordinator
of the Alaska Native Knowledge Network at (907) 474-1902, or send
an email message to uaf-cxcs@alaska.edu.
Herman Kitka
Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Excerpt: "Tlingit traditional
ecological knowledge (TEK) is the product of generations of
learning and experience with the lands, waters, fish, plants,
wildlife,
and other natural resources of Southeast Alaska. As Sitka elder
Herman Kitka Sr. shows, Tlingits were trained from an early
age to be aware of and respect the community of living beings
that
surrounds them."
Traditional
Knowledge in Social-Ecological System
Edited by Carl Floke
Excerpt: " The special feature of Ecology
and Society on Traditional Knowledge in Social–Ecological Systems consists
of 11 contributions, covering issues of conservation, ecosystem management,
and governance in arctic, temperate, and tropical environments. These articles
reflect on the difficulties, but also the potential to be found, in combining
knowledge, institutional arrangements, and cultural foundations of traditional
and local societies with contemporary society."
Best
Practices on Indigenous Knowledge
UNESCO (United Natons Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations)
collected examples which show how Indigenous knowledge utilized.
Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS)
Sponsored by UNESCO (United Natons Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organizations)
Excerpt: "The LINKS project builds dialogue amongst traditional
knowledge holders, natural and social scientists, resource
managers and decision-makers to enhance biodiversity conservation
and secure an active and equitable role for local communities
in resource governance. The survival of indigenous knowledge
as a dynamic and vibrant resource within rural and indigenous
communities depends upon its continuing transmission from generation
to generation. "
The Alaska Native Science Commission's Alaska Traditional
Knowledge and Native Foods Database is available
online at: http://www.nativeknowledge.org
Giving
Traditional Ecological Knowledge Its Rightful Place in
Environmental Impact Assessment
Over the past two decades, governments and southern developers have turned
increasingly to the North in their search for economic opportunities....This
growing interest, and the coincident planning and investment in northern
development projects, raises environmental concerns within aboriginal communities,
environmental organizations, and public-interest groups...
AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Handbook
on Intellectual Property and Traditional Knowledge
Excerpt: "Realizing
that defensive disclosure is not the only option for traditional
knowledge holders, AAAS has created a handbook that attempts to make
intellectual property protection options more understandable and
readily available for traditional knowledge holders."
Native Americans and the Environment
Excerpt: "This web site was largely researched, written, marked-up, programmed and maintained by one individual, Dr. Alx Dark, an anthropologist who studies the politics of land and treaty rights. His work has particularly focused on the negotiation of treaties in British Columbia and the environmental politics of First Nations land rights. In the spring of 2001 Alx kindly donated the NAE site to the National Library for Science and the Environment, where it is now managed by the Minority Communities Program of the National Council for Science and the Environment."
Gwich'in Environmental
Knowledge Project
Excerpt: The Gwich'in Environmental Knowledge
Project (GEKP) collects information on traditional environmental knowledge
(TEK), spiritual beliefs, and ethical principles of the Gwich'in Nation.
The Gwich'in live along the Mackenzie River Valley in the Arctic region
of Canada's Northwest Territories and are one of the world's few indigenous
groups that continue to sustain themselves on the resources of the land,
much as their ancestors have done for centuries. They are working to
preserve their environmental knowledge and traditional spirituality,
and pass it to future generations at a time when the traditional oral
and on-the-land teaching and learning are disappearing.
Traditional
Ecological Knowledge of Beluga Whales
Henry P.Huntington & Nikolai I. Mymrin
Excerpt: Traditional Ecological
Knowledge (or TEK) is a system of understanding
one's environment. It is built over
generations, as people depend on the land and sea for their food, materials,
and culture. TEK is based on observations and experience, evaluated in
light of what one has learned from one's elders. People have relied on
this detailed knowledge for their survival--they have literally staked
their lives on its accuracy and repeatability. TEK is an important source
of information and understanding for anyone who is interested in the
natural world and the place of people in the environment. Many scientists
recognize the value of working with people who live in an area and who
have great insight into the natural processes at work in that area. While
the scientific perspective is often different from the traditional perspective,
both have a great deal to offer one another. Working together is the
best way of helping us achieve a better common understanding of nature.
Indigenous Peoples Restoration Network
Excerpt: "Indigenous peoples bear a cultural and spiritual tradition
that integrates culture and nature. While this tradition has
been badly fragmented under the impacts of modern industrial
civilization, it persists to some degree in most traditional
communities and has been maintained largely intact in remote
places scattered throughout the world. - 1995 IPRN Founding
Mission Statement"
