I came across a great e-newsletter called Sacred Earth Newsletter.
Here is the link: http://www.sacredearth.com/
One of the most important aspects of TEK is how it is an accumulation of knowledge. In order for it to accumulate, it needs to be passed on. Prof. Pena was talking about this is class today about how the transfer of knowledge is the foundation for a resilient community. If homes or the community environment is destroyed the people can adapt and find ways to continue being dependent through the skills and knowledge they have practiced instead of relying on aid or temporary housing. Oftentimes, temporary housing ends up being permanent because programs are not available to help people get back on their feet to support themselves; they become dependent on the aid they receive.
Sacred Earth Newsletter is a great example of the passing of knowledge to everyone and anyone who will listen. There are tips for foraging wild plants, information on medicinal plants and natural remedies. It is quite an interesting and impressive catalog of tips, definitions, and information and I hope you have time to check it out.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Continuing TEK
I found a website http://shr.aaas.org/tek/ which speaks of a project by AAAS that is trying to maintain TEK and extrapolate TEK ideas with science and human rights in order to fix problems in regards to the loss of TEK. I feel this relates very well to our class.
I also wanted to share something I remembered during Professor Peña's lecture. He spoke of indigenous people giving birth outside of hospitals. As I have mentioned, I lived in Costa Rica and visited various indigenous communities. One of the communities I spent a lot of time with were the Ngobe people in southern Costa Rica. The women give birth outside of hospitals because the doctors will make them lie down for giving birth; the Ngobe women give birth standing up holding on to some sort of rope or pole. This is actually better than giving birth lying down because gravity helps, and also there is far less chance of hemorrhage from the baby pushing inside the mother. My professor in Costa Rica is a doctor, and he admitted that the only reason women lie down to give birth is because it is more convenient for the doctor. It is interesting that the TEK is at times better than our medical system (although, of course, in the case of a serious complication it is helpful to be able to go to a hospital).
I also did a lot of research on medicinal plants, and there are quite a number that the indigenous people know of that in fact have ended up being used in medicines. This ties back to bioprospecting that I mentioned a few blogs back.
I also wanted to share something I remembered during Professor Peña's lecture. He spoke of indigenous people giving birth outside of hospitals. As I have mentioned, I lived in Costa Rica and visited various indigenous communities. One of the communities I spent a lot of time with were the Ngobe people in southern Costa Rica. The women give birth outside of hospitals because the doctors will make them lie down for giving birth; the Ngobe women give birth standing up holding on to some sort of rope or pole. This is actually better than giving birth lying down because gravity helps, and also there is far less chance of hemorrhage from the baby pushing inside the mother. My professor in Costa Rica is a doctor, and he admitted that the only reason women lie down to give birth is because it is more convenient for the doctor. It is interesting that the TEK is at times better than our medical system (although, of course, in the case of a serious complication it is helpful to be able to go to a hospital).
I also did a lot of research on medicinal plants, and there are quite a number that the indigenous people know of that in fact have ended up being used in medicines. This ties back to bioprospecting that I mentioned a few blogs back.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Traditional Knowledge Revival Pathways
This video is a summary of how TEK is on the verge of being lost and why it is so important to secure this knowledge for the livelihood of community and country. What is most worrisome is how the passing of TEK is becoming more difficult for future generations. More and more people are detaching themselves from the environment when really we should be keeping the spirituality with nature. As emphasized in class, humans must learn to live with the animals and environment instead of learning what it can provide for us only.
Latino Community
I had found this article on:
http://www.jrank.org/cultures/pages/3849/Environmental-Knowledge-Traditional.html#ixzz0npobUPCI
Title:
Traditional Environmental Knowledge, Latino Sense of Place, Environmental Justice
A quote from this article states "Western culture for its worldview that builds on a symbiotic dialectic between nature and culture rather than a binary paradigm that privileges culture over nature." In other words saying that there is a correlation between treating the world as a sacred place or a place that we should be using to our advantage. We had also explained some more evidence in this from class and lecture.
"community's teachings about nature, sense of place, healing, flora, fauna, and other elements of the natural world. Such knowledge is categorized as ethnobiology, which encompasses the study of culture and fauna (ethnozoology) and culture and flora (ethnobotany) as well as ethnoecology, which studies a culture's interaction with ecosystems of animals and plants in their shared habitats."
Is a more direct knowledge of their surroundings and having to live the lifestyle that they can live. There are a bunch of evidence also coming from history for traditional environmental knowledge such as aztecs and other tribes that still had the knowledge we still pertain to today for living.
http://www.jrank.org/cultures/pages/3849/Environmental-Knowledge-Traditional.html#ixzz0npobUPCI
Title:
Traditional Environmental Knowledge, Latino Sense of Place, Environmental Justice
A quote from this article states "Western culture for its worldview that builds on a symbiotic dialectic between nature and culture rather than a binary paradigm that privileges culture over nature." In other words saying that there is a correlation between treating the world as a sacred place or a place that we should be using to our advantage. We had also explained some more evidence in this from class and lecture.
"community's teachings about nature, sense of place, healing, flora, fauna, and other elements of the natural world. Such knowledge is categorized as ethnobiology, which encompasses the study of culture and fauna (ethnozoology) and culture and flora (ethnobotany) as well as ethnoecology, which studies a culture's interaction with ecosystems of animals and plants in their shared habitats."
Is a more direct knowledge of their surroundings and having to live the lifestyle that they can live. There are a bunch of evidence also coming from history for traditional environmental knowledge such as aztecs and other tribes that still had the knowledge we still pertain to today for living.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Urbanization of Traditional Groups
It is very interesting to me how various indigenous groups have changed because of urban culture. As I mentioned, I visited various indigenous communities while in Costa Rica, and was therefore able to see a variety of types of indigenous communities. Some were very urbanized, using their culture for their economy (through tourism) while others remain more secluded from urban communities and continue much of their traditional tasks.
One of the indigenous communities I visited is the Bribri. I would say that they are in the middle in terms of urbanization. It is obviously difficult in the world we live in to maintain ancient cultures when sometimes life can be made easier through using new technologies. It is also difficult when one needs to interact with other people. I feel that the Bribri do a fairly good job of maintaining their culture. They do partake in tourism, and I worry that they merely continue some of their cultural doings because they are able to receive an income from it. However, even though it may not be for a completely selfless reason, I am glad that the community is able to maintain its culture. I was able to see the traditional conical huts that they use, in which they can only speak their native language, Bribri. I was even able to partake in ritual dances with them, which was amazing. They continue to get medical advice from their shaman, who knows about many plants, and the shaman picks young children to be his students. I think this is really important even though, as I said, I feel that part of the reason the community maintains their ancient culture is for tourism.
Even though people in the world may think that the community should assimilate with urban culture, I have seen ways in which this traditional culture is helpful. For example, the women of the community have been able to take care of themselves through the traditional tasks. They have an association they have created that gives them power and a name for themselves. The association is called Acomuita (Asociación Comisión de Mujeres Indígenas de Talamanca, roughly translated as the Committee of Indigenous Women of Talamanca). They use the tradition of making cacao in order to earn an income as well as earn their independence. They are able to both benefit the community through income, as well as spread the traditional culture of the Bribri (many indigenous communities make their own cacao; I partook in the cacao ceremony at another community, where we roasted the cacao and drank it as they normally do; however, they make chocolates because that is what people will normally buy). This organic chocolate is now being sold internationally.
I think this shows the importance of traditional knowledge. The women need to know the land in order to obtain the cacao and sugar, and they use their knowledge of making cacao in order to help themselves. I thought this was really cool, especially because in many cultures, women are not able to empower themselves and create their own living. It shows that TEK can be used in various ways in order to both teach the world and help the traditional community.
The photos I have attached are of the building in which the women make the cacao and the poster
that advertises the women's work. (Sorry the photos aren't very good, the humidity got to my camera)
One of the indigenous communities I visited is the Bribri. I would say that they are in the middle in terms of urbanization. It is obviously difficult in the world we live in to maintain ancient cultures when sometimes life can be made easier through using new technologies. It is also difficult when one needs to interact with other people. I feel that the Bribri do a fairly good job of maintaining their culture. They do partake in tourism, and I worry that they merely continue some of their cultural doings because they are able to receive an income from it. However, even though it may not be for a completely selfless reason, I am glad that the community is able to maintain its culture. I was able to see the traditional conical huts that they use, in which they can only speak their native language, Bribri. I was even able to partake in ritual dances with them, which was amazing. They continue to get medical advice from their shaman, who knows about many plants, and the shaman picks young children to be his students. I think this is really important even though, as I said, I feel that part of the reason the community maintains their ancient culture is for tourism.
Even though people in the world may think that the community should assimilate with urban culture, I have seen ways in which this traditional culture is helpful. For example, the women of the community have been able to take care of themselves through the traditional tasks. They have an association they have created that gives them power and a name for themselves. The association is called Acomuita (Asociación Comisión de Mujeres Indígenas de Talamanca, roughly translated as the Committee of Indigenous Women of Talamanca). They use the tradition of making cacao in order to earn an income as well as earn their independence. They are able to both benefit the community through income, as well as spread the traditional culture of the Bribri (many indigenous communities make their own cacao; I partook in the cacao ceremony at another community, where we roasted the cacao and drank it as they normally do; however, they make chocolates because that is what people will normally buy). This organic chocolate is now being sold internationally.
I think this shows the importance of traditional knowledge. The women need to know the land in order to obtain the cacao and sugar, and they use their knowledge of making cacao in order to help themselves. I thought this was really cool, especially because in many cultures, women are not able to empower themselves and create their own living. It shows that TEK can be used in various ways in order to both teach the world and help the traditional community.
The photos I have attached are of the building in which the women make the cacao and the poster
that advertises the women's work. (Sorry the photos aren't very good, the humidity got to my camera)
Nez Perce Place and TEK
Yesterday I remember Professor Pena talking about place and the environment. That picture he posted on the PowerPoint slide was so beautiful and reminded me of an essay I read by Benedict J. Colombi titled "Salmon Nation: Climate Change and Tribal Sovereignty" from Susan Crate and Mark Nuttal's book Anthropology & Climate Change: From Encounters to Actions.
As Nazila mentioned in her previous post, TEK is endangered of being lost. Notions of place are constantly shifting and with impacts from globalization lead to regional impacts. Colombi explains that these impacts have the "overwhelming potential to change Nez Perce homelands and sense of place, as well as transform contemporary political, legal, and economic contexts. A changing river, changing salmon returns, and how people respond to them, all contribute to changing ideas and understandings of place."
The degradation of ecosystems, dramatic human environmental change to native habitat, hydroelectric dams, irrigation projects, and less snow pack every year is devastating for the Nez Perce. The Columbia River salmon fishery is slowly being destroyed because of loss of habitat due to the impacts just mentioned. "The Nez Perce (niimiipuu) story is about water, land, salmon, game, and roots. Theses are the ideological and material foundations from which Nez Perce built their indigenous culture. Without these ideological and material foundation, Nez Perce creation is nonexistent. Thus, Nex Perce respond to these traditional forms of natural resources with prayer and contemporary reverence... Nez Perce stories and the history of kin relations and community are also tied to salmon and water, with individual and collective identities vested in symbolic and material sources of salmon, places to fish for salmon, and water in the Columbia Basin. Nez Perce develop relations and identity in regard to family, band, tribe, and their relation to land, water, and salmon. Social cohesion and basic values are therefore enhanced and governed by these aforementioned relations."
The physical world, water, and salmon are all interdependent and helps shape the human experience, relationships and how humans shape the natural history of an area. Social and environmental justice in response to these local effects requires effective participation and organization in the areas that have power. TEK is important to recognize patterns for every season, but with a rapidly changing climate and environment, TEK may become less and less reliable.
Source:
Crate, Susan, and Mark Nuttall. Anthropology and Climate Change: From Encounters to Actions. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Pr, 2008. 186-95. Print.
As Nazila mentioned in her previous post, TEK is endangered of being lost. Notions of place are constantly shifting and with impacts from globalization lead to regional impacts. Colombi explains that these impacts have the "overwhelming potential to change Nez Perce homelands and sense of place, as well as transform contemporary political, legal, and economic contexts. A changing river, changing salmon returns, and how people respond to them, all contribute to changing ideas and understandings of place."
The degradation of ecosystems, dramatic human environmental change to native habitat, hydroelectric dams, irrigation projects, and less snow pack every year is devastating for the Nez Perce. The Columbia River salmon fishery is slowly being destroyed because of loss of habitat due to the impacts just mentioned. "The Nez Perce (niimiipuu) story is about water, land, salmon, game, and roots. Theses are the ideological and material foundations from which Nez Perce built their indigenous culture. Without these ideological and material foundation, Nez Perce creation is nonexistent. Thus, Nex Perce respond to these traditional forms of natural resources with prayer and contemporary reverence... Nez Perce stories and the history of kin relations and community are also tied to salmon and water, with individual and collective identities vested in symbolic and material sources of salmon, places to fish for salmon, and water in the Columbia Basin. Nez Perce develop relations and identity in regard to family, band, tribe, and their relation to land, water, and salmon. Social cohesion and basic values are therefore enhanced and governed by these aforementioned relations."
The physical world, water, and salmon are all interdependent and helps shape the human experience, relationships and how humans shape the natural history of an area. Social and environmental justice in response to these local effects requires effective participation and organization in the areas that have power. TEK is important to recognize patterns for every season, but with a rapidly changing climate and environment, TEK may become less and less reliable.
Source:
Crate, Susan, and Mark Nuttall. Anthropology and Climate Change: From Encounters to Actions. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Pr, 2008. 186-95. Print.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Hazard to a community
These communities have accumulated significant bodies of knowledge called TEK. This ethnoecology presents understandings of the ecosystems that allows local place-based cultures to inhabit the environment without diminishing biodiversity.
From class, the Toxic Waste and race at 20 really showed a lot of alarming ideas. From 1987-2007 more than 9 million people live within 3km of the nation's 413 hazardous waste facilities. What this means, is that there are a bunch of people in danger.
This website has a bunch of more in-depth information about what hazardous waste sites can bring to a community:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1637771/
Hazardous waste becomes a health issue and at the ultimate penalty from these sites, is involving early death. So, what this means is that the placement of these areas need to change or else, problems will continue to get more severe
TEK Endangered
The most important aspect of TEK to me is that it is in danger of being lost. Traditional Ecological Knowledge has been used for years in various communities, but much of these communities are at risk of losing this knowledge because of external forces. For me this is especially important in indigenous communities, where there is already a chance of loss of culture because of urbanization. Some loss of TEK could also be because of relocation. A lot of times this can be because scientists or other people want to use the land for something else. The relocation can cause the communities to have to resort to new ways of living in which they cannot use their TEK. TEK can even be a disadvantage to communities because it may cause scientists, for example, to want the land for bioprospecting, such as looking for medicinal plants. Also, a lot of times, communities are forced to assimilate with urban populations. It is difficult for communities to keep TEK when there is no use for it.
When I lived in Costa Rica, I visited various indigenous communities, all in various states of maintaining their traditional cultures. One of these groups, the Ngobe, live fairly far from urbanized communities, and therefore are able to maintain much of their culture. However, even though they live far from most other communities, they have begun to change their culture and assimilate to the urban cultures. This is causing the children to learn less and less of the TEK that their ancestors used; information such as plants, their traditional language, etc. In order to try and combat this, a few of us spoke with the Healer of the community in order to make a book with traditionally used plants - both used for medicine and food. We included the ways that the plants could be used, ways to prepare, locations they could be found, etc. Because the traditional language of the people, Ngobere, is being lost and Spanish is taking its place, we created the book in Spanish, but also had it translated to Ngobere. This will hopefully aid in keeping the traditional culture and TEK alive in the community, even if more urban ideas are coming in.
I believe TEK has a lot of value. Although most of us don't know it, a lot of the information we know is probably based on some form of TEK. A lot of medicines are made by plants that were found because of TEK; scientists speak with indigenous peoples and other communities and may hear about a plant that they can use. We are all therefore, in a way, products of TEK, and it is very important that we do not abuse the information and that we try to maintain the TEK that is still remaining in the world.
When I lived in Costa Rica, I visited various indigenous communities, all in various states of maintaining their traditional cultures. One of these groups, the Ngobe, live fairly far from urbanized communities, and therefore are able to maintain much of their culture. However, even though they live far from most other communities, they have begun to change their culture and assimilate to the urban cultures. This is causing the children to learn less and less of the TEK that their ancestors used; information such as plants, their traditional language, etc. In order to try and combat this, a few of us spoke with the Healer of the community in order to make a book with traditionally used plants - both used for medicine and food. We included the ways that the plants could be used, ways to prepare, locations they could be found, etc. Because the traditional language of the people, Ngobere, is being lost and Spanish is taking its place, we created the book in Spanish, but also had it translated to Ngobere. This will hopefully aid in keeping the traditional culture and TEK alive in the community, even if more urban ideas are coming in.
I believe TEK has a lot of value. Although most of us don't know it, a lot of the information we know is probably based on some form of TEK. A lot of medicines are made by plants that were found because of TEK; scientists speak with indigenous peoples and other communities and may hear about a plant that they can use. We are all therefore, in a way, products of TEK, and it is very important that we do not abuse the information and that we try to maintain the TEK that is still remaining in the world.
TEK and Climate Change Survey
Through many generations of occupancy of particular places, humans have accumulated a vast amount of knowledge encompassing and explaining more than western science. It embraces the whole of human experience. TEK allows people to live in the environment without destroying its biodiversity. It allows people to work with nature in a positive way. One core principle is not to take more than you need because what you do not use will not be lost.
More projects need to be funded focusing on TEK because when people have information and actually see change occurring around them, they act. I remember last quarter for my Anthropology of Climate Change class we were asked to take a survey around campus. It was a particularly nice day so we were to ask random people if they were thinking about climate change on such a beautiful day, if climate change concerned them, and if they thought climate change was affecting them right now. Almost all the people I spoke with were not thinking of climate change or global warming. They liked the idea of warm Seattle days. And while climate change concerned them to a degree, they felt like presently it was not a threat to them. It was a problem to be dealt with in the future. I think this is a good example of how something is out of sight and out of mind. The people on campus were not directly affected by changes in climate at this moment so they had no reason to change their lifestyles. This home is not being swallowed up by the rising ocean and they have no noticed foreign species migrating to their land, species for which they have no name for. TEK and climate change are so intimately connected. That will be the focus of my next blog.
More projects need to be funded focusing on TEK because when people have information and actually see change occurring around them, they act. I remember last quarter for my Anthropology of Climate Change class we were asked to take a survey around campus. It was a particularly nice day so we were to ask random people if they were thinking about climate change on such a beautiful day, if climate change concerned them, and if they thought climate change was affecting them right now. Almost all the people I spoke with were not thinking of climate change or global warming. They liked the idea of warm Seattle days. And while climate change concerned them to a degree, they felt like presently it was not a threat to them. It was a problem to be dealt with in the future. I think this is a good example of how something is out of sight and out of mind. The people on campus were not directly affected by changes in climate at this moment so they had no reason to change their lifestyles. This home is not being swallowed up by the rising ocean and they have no noticed foreign species migrating to their land, species for which they have no name for. TEK and climate change are so intimately connected. That will be the focus of my next blog.
Friday, April 9, 2010
First Nations @ UW 39th Annual Spring Powwow
First Nations @ UW is having their Annual Spring Powwow this year at HecEd this weekend!
They raise awareness of Native American Issues, and promote community with Native students, staff, faculty, alumni, and the community outside the University. Check it out on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=324352541159&ref=nf
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