Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
important to recognize that TEK is rich with examples in which indigenous peoples
modified the successional trajectory to produce distinctive ecological communities
that meet cultural goals.
Restoration of Kincentric Relationships
Why restore relationship? Relationship is key to the sustainability, authenticity, and
longevity of restored ecosystems. It likewise provides important cultural feedback
about dynamic restoration outcomes. Relationship between humans and place can be
the most enduring connection of all (Martinez, Salmon, and Nelson 2008), surviving
and deepening even as ecosystems evolve and change. This is particularly true in the
face of climate change. The structure and function of “Nature” becomes a moving
target, while long-term relationships to nature represent a long-term resource for re-
siliency and adaptation. Second, we all know that socioeconomic and political pres-
sures along with complementary resource shortfalls undermine the success of restora-
tion projects. An engaged public, committed to the success and stewardship of a
restored ecosystem, can generate the political will and economic pressure to support
restoration policy and implementation. Regeneration of healthy relationships with
land is a key component of landscape authenticity. Perhaps most important, restora-
tion of relationship offers the opportunity for cultivation of a “moral center” called for
by Higgs (1997)—an idea that is beyond the scope of purely science-driven restora-
tion. Traditional indigenous viewpoints recognize that we live in a moral landscape
governed by relationships of mutual responsibility, which are simultaneously material
and spiritual. A focus on restoration of relationship guided by TEK moves us away
from an anthropocentric relationship to land, into the realm of a “kincentric” rela-
tionship (Salmon 2000) in which our moral responsibility extends to all of our non-
human relatives.
A focus on kincentric relationships underpins a wide range of tribal restoration proj-
ects. For example, the Seminole Nation has undertaken a restoration of Everglade
habitats of the Florida panther (
kowechobe
,
Puma concolor
), through removal of inva-
sive species and return of water flows. Nonhuman species are the prime beneficiaries of
the restoration; what conservationists call “biodiversity,” traditional peoples call “kin.”
Another key element of reciprocal restoration and building kincentric relationship
with the land is the importance of intergenerational knowledge sharing and educa-
tion (part 6, this volume). Youth camps that involve environmental education on the
land and in school are focal components of the restoration process. The Kaibab Envi-
ronmental Education Network in northern Arizona is an excellent example of a resto-
ration model for indigenous communities because it links tribal students and educa-
tors in projects that incorporate traditional and contemporary restoration strategies
(Thom Alcoze, pers. comm.).
The Role of TEK in Defining the Reference Ecosystem
Traditional ecological knowledge is useful when defining reference ecosystems be-
cause Native languages and material culture are a living library of species composi-
