DEVELOPING A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND RESPONSES BY INCORPORATING INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVES

The scale and complexity of examining human interactions with the Earth requires systems thinking. Students new to systems thinking concepts can be overwhelmed by data that may be presented in a manner that lacks a familiar context. Incorporating the rich experiences and worldview traditions of people whose cultures are tied closely to the landscape provides a qualitative narrative that illustrates concepts typically presented in a quantitative form. Because the worldview traditions of indigenous peoples are based in complex, holistic systems thinking, those experiences include information that goes beyond the quantitative data typically privileged by scientists. The inclusion of indigenous perspectives promotes a more comprehensive understanding of the processes active in a landscape, the impact of human activities, and approaches to mitigating the human impacts. This aligns with the approach of geoscientists who also incorporate qualitative data (including historic interpretations based on the lithologic record) when developing comprehensive representations of complex systems.

As an example, Dr. Daniel Wildcat (a faculty member and administrator at Haskell Indian Nations University and a Yuchi member of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma) has promoted concepts based on the deep-spatial systems thinking of American Indians and Alaska Natives such as indigenous ingenuity (or indigenuity), indigenous realism, and learning from observation of cultural practices formed at the nature-culture nexus. Dr. Wildcat, whose writings and lectures are readily available on line (and summarized in his 2009 book, Red Alert! Saving the Planet with Indigenous Knowledge), describes this approach and applies it to recognizing the environmental problems created by human activity and using a place-based approach to addressing those problems in a clear and concise manner. Dr. Wildcat’s concepts align with the geoscientific approach in a way that enriches students’ understanding and encourages them to use holistic approaches when investigating and addressing environmental concerns.