{"id":29561,"date":"2022-05-16T02:23:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-16T02:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=29561"},"modified":"2022-05-17T02:28:37","modified_gmt":"2022-05-17T02:28:37","slug":"why-the-world-has-a-lot-to-learn-about-conservation-and-trust-from-indigenous-societies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/why-the-world-has-a-lot-to-learn-about-conservation-and-trust-from-indigenous-societies\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the world has a lot to learn about conservation \u2013 and trust \u2013 from Indigenous societies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

John Ziker<\/a>, Boise State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twenty-five years ago, when I was a young anthropologist working in northern Siberia<\/a>, the Indigenous hunters, fishers and trappers<\/a> I lived with would often stop and solemnly offer something to the tundra. It was usually small, such as coins, buttons or unlit matches. But it was considered essential. Before departing on a hunting or fishing trip, I\u2019d be asked if I had some change in my outer coat. If I didn\u2019t, someone would get me some so it was handy. We left other gifts, too, such as fat from wild reindeer to be fed to the fire<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was intrigued. Why do these things? Their answers were usually along the lines of, \u201cWe are the children of the tundra,\u201d or \u201cwe make these sacrifices so that tundra will give us more animals to hunt next year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These practices are part of what I and other anthropologists call \u201ctraditional ecological knowledge<\/a>.\u201d Beliefs and traditions about the natural world are central in many Indigenous cultures around the world, bringing together what industrialized cultures think of as science, medicine, philosophy and religion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many academic studies have debated<\/a> whether Indigenous economies and societies are more oriented than others toward conservation or ecology. Certainly the idealized stereotypes many people hold about Indigenous groups\u2019 being \u201cone with nature\u201d are simplistic and potentially damaging to the groups themselves<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, recent studies have underscored that conservationists can learn a lot from TEK about successful resource management<\/a>. Some experts argue<\/a> that traditional knowledge needs a role in global climate planning, because it fosters strategies that are \u201ccost-effective, participatory and sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of TEK\u2019s success stems from how it fosters trust. This comes in many different forms: trust between community members, between people and nature, and between generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defining TEK<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Looking more closely at the components of TEK, the first, \u201ctradition,\u201d is something learned from ancestors. It\u2019s handed down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEcological\u201d refers to relationships between living organisms and their environment. It comes from the ancient Greek word<\/a> for \u201chouse,\u201d or \u201cdwelling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, the earliest uses of the term \u201cknowledge\u201d<\/a> in English refer to acknowledging or owning something, confessing something and sometimes recognizing a person\u2019s position or title. These now-obsolete meanings emphasize relationships \u2013 an important aspect of knowledge that modern usage often overlooks but that is especially important in the context of tradition and ecology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Combining these three definitions helps to generate a framework to understand Indigenous TEK: a strategy that encourages deference for ancestral ways of dwelling. It is not necessarily strict \u201claws\u201d or \u201cdoctrine,\u201d or simply observation of the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TEK is a way of looking at the world that can help people connect the land they live on, their behavior and the behavior of the people they are connected to. Indigenous land practices are based on generations of careful and insightful observations about the environment<\/a> and help define and promote \u201cvirtuous\u201d behavior in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an American suburbanite living in a remote community in Siberia, I was always learning<\/a> about what was \u201cproper\u201d or \u201cimproper.\u201d Numerous times people would tell me that what I or someone else had just done was a \u201csin\u201d in respect to TEK. When someone\u2019s aunt died one year, for example, community members said it happened because their nephew had killed too many wolves the previous winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
The author learning to cut up dwarf willow in the proper way for use in a summer chum, or tent, to smoke caribou meat. John Ziker, CC BY-NC-ND<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, after stopping to assess the freshness of some reindeer tracks on the tundra, one hunter told me, \u201cWe let these local wild reindeer roam in midwinter so they will return next year and for future generations.\u201d Here, TEK spells out the potential environmental impacts of greed \u2013 which, in this case, would mean overhunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concepts like these are not isolated to Siberia. Much work has been done examining the parallels among ancestral systems of deference<\/a> in Siberia, Amazonia, North America and other regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trust and tradition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These examples illustrate how TEK is a set of systems that promote trust through encouraging deference for ancestral ways of dwelling in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moderation of self-interested behaviors requires such trust. And confidence that the environment will provide \u2013 caribou to hunt, say, or ptarmigan birds to trap \u2013 depends on the idea that people will treat the environment in a respectful manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously, I\u2019ve studied prosociality<\/a> \u2013 behavior that benefits others \u2013 in northern Siberian practices of food-sharing, child care and use of hunting lands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These aspects of life depend on the idea that the \u201creal\u201d owners of the natural resources are ancestors<\/a> and that they punish and reward the behaviors of the living. Such ideas are encouraged by elders and leaders, who commend virtuous and prosocial behavior while connecting negative outcomes with selfishness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trust is an essential component of reciprocity<\/a> \u2013 exchange for mutual benefit \u2013 and prosociality. Without trust<\/a>, it does not make sense to take risks in our dealings with other people. Without trust we cannot cooperate or behave in nonexploitative ways, such as protecting the environment. This is why it is advantageous for societies to monitor and punish noncooperators<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
An abandoned reindeer sleigh, likely a grave, with several personal items. One is not allowed to disturb it, which would disrespect the dead, who are considered the true owners of the land. John Ziker, CC BY-NC-ND<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Put another way, minimizing one\u2019s resource use today to make tomorrow better requires trust and mechanisms to enforce it. This is also true in larger social formations<\/a>, even between nations. Groups must trust that others will not use the resources they themselves have protected<\/a> or overuse their own resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lessons from TEK<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Today, many environmental experts are interested in incorporating learnings from Indigenous societies into climate policies<\/a>. In part, this is because recent studies<\/a> have shown that environmental outcomes, such as forest cover, for example, are better in Indigenous protected areas<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also stems from growing awareness of the need to protect Indigenous peoples\u2019 rights and sovereignty<\/a>. TEK cannot be \u201cextracted.\u201d Outsiders need to show deference to knowledge-holders and respectfully request their perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One idea societies can adopt as they combat climate change is the importance of trust \u2013 which can feel hard to come by these days. Young activist Greta Thunberg\u2019s \u201cFridays for Future<\/a>\u201d initiative, for example, highlights the ethical issues of trust and responsibility between generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many outdoor enthusiasts and sustainability organizations emphasize \u201cleaving no trace.\u201d In fact, people always leave traces, no matter how small \u2013 a fact recognized in Siberian TEK. Even footsteps compact the soil and affect plant and animal life, no matter how careful we are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A more TEK-like \u2013 and accurate \u2013 maxim might say, \u201cBe accountable to your descendants for the traces you leave behind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Ziker<\/a>, Professor of Anthropology, Boise State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John Ziker, Boise State University Twenty-five years ago, when I was a young anthropologist working in northern Siberia, the Indigenous hunters, fishers and trappers I lived with would often stop and solemnly offer something to the tundra. It was usually small, such as coins, buttons or unlit matches. But it was considered essential. Before departing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":29562,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1862,118],"tags":[2346,11826,6572,11827,11825,6791,6610,11824,1748],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29561"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29561"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29563,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29561\/revisions\/29563"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}