Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
Goals:
In Branching Out, we wish to integrate Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) with scientific ecological understanding by including and honoring Indigenous perspectives, including Native speakers, docents, or student volunteers, and including visits to the cultural center if possible.
Resources and Background on TEK
TEK vs Western Science - from NPS - many great articles/resources
Merging Western Science With Native Knowledge To Combat Climate Change (from KUNR, with local examples)
What Conservation Efforts Can Learn from Indigenous Communities (Scientific American)
Why Indigenous Studies Matter for Natural Sciences Students (Keystone Master Studies)
Many, many more resources!
TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE CONCEPTS AND CASES
Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Perspective (including definition) - Fikret Berkes
Finding Common Ground: Natural Law and Collective Wisdom - Nancy C. Doubleday
And many more!
Working Definition from Berks:
TEK is a cumulative body of knowledge and beliefs, handed down through generations by cultural transmission, about the relationship of living beings (including humans) with one another and with their environment. Further, TEK is an attribute of societies with historical continuity in resource use practices; by and large, these are non-industrial or less technologically advanced societies, many of them Indigenous or tribal.
Online forum series (from Canada) including:
Millennia of Experience: Drawing on Indigenous Knowledge in Responding to COVID-19
Why Mountains Matter: Bringing Indigenous Knowledge and Science Together for International Mountain Day
(sign up for notifications about more as they come out)
Local Resources
An Indigenous Water and Land History of the Eastern Sierra Nevada, California
A StoryMap from the Owens Valley Indian Water Commission
PAYA - the Water Story of the Paiute
Preview of this movie above - available for purchase from OVIWC for $29.95
More Teaching and Learning tools...
Connecting to/Creating a Sense of Place - with acknowledgment and appreciation for all that this means. Lessons should be directly connected to the local environment and will be more relevant to students in that way
Aligning instruction with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) with scientific ecological understanding by including and honoring Indigenous perspectives, inviting Native guest speakers, docents, or student volunteers, and a visit to the cultural center if possible
Teaching the way students learn, using the Learning Cycle
Asking the right QUESTIONS to encourage interest, exploration, concept formation, application, and reflection
Facilitating productive DISCUSSIONS where students can explore their observations and questions, hash out their ideas with peers, and learn to make arguments from evidence
JOURNALING with students for deeper observations, application, and reflection of learning
Using positive MANAGEMENT methods to keep groups engaged