Relearning Ecological Knowledge
The Amah Mutsun people are turning to ancestral knowledge about how to care for the environment.
The Amah Mutsun people were taken from their lands. Now they're trying to relearn what their ancestors understood about how to care for the environment.
Read more about how UC Berkeley researchers are teaming up with Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to uncover ancient tribal practices.
This effort is highlighted in the Academy's newest exhibit, Giants of Land and Sea.
Activities: New to TEK
Developed in 2020 between the National Park Service, Yurok Tribe, and Humboldt State University, these Traditional ecological knowledge lessons include a New to TEK: Teacher’s Guide and a series of activities, informational readings, and interviews that introduce students to different ways that people acquire knowledge, with a focus on Yurok culture and the tribe’s connection to local wildlife.
Recommended Reading or Watching
Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults
Adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith, this new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth's oldest teachers: the plants around us.
Tending Nature
This PBS television series examines how traditional practices can inspire a new generation of Californians to find a balance between humans and nature. Traveling across the state, the series allows viewers to hear first-hand from Native communities engaged in contemporary projects that revive their culture and inform western sciences. Produced in partnership with the Autry Museum of the American West.
When Scientists “Discover” What Indigenous People Have Known for Centuries, Smithsonian Magazine, 2018
Weaving Traditional Ecological Knowledge into Biological Education: A Call To Action, BioScience, 2002