Traditional Ecological Knowledge

PROJECT AREAS:

Socioeconomic Monitoring and Assessment

Environmental Justice

Ecosystem Workforce—
Mobile and Local

Traditional Ecological Knowledge

RECENT PROJECTS:

Community-based Projects

Staff Research

How We Select Projects

"This is who we are, this is where we live, and the two of us (Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Western science) will have to put this back together." - Maidu elder

The Pacific West Center partners with Native American tribal communities, such as the Bishop & Big Pine Paiute and the Maidu, who are recovering and applying their traditional and ecological knowledge to land stewardship.

We promote the importance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) by supporting and assisting the work of the Maidu Cultural and Development Group. Though federally unrecognized, the Maidu are the largest Native American tribe in northern California, with traditional lands extending from Susanville to Sacramento. Through revitalizing Maidu language, culture, and the ecological knowledge contained in the language, the Maidu are practicing TEK on their 2100 acre Stewardship Project. The Maidu Stewardship Project aims to integrate Traditional Ecological Knowledge and the knowledge of Western scientists to develop culturally and ecologically sustainable ecosystem management.

Activities supported by the Pacific West Center include:

• Forming a Maidu Language Council to revitalize and protect cultural and ecological knowledge through language
• Convening a Western science team to develop a participatory monitoring plan for fuels reduction on the Maidu Stewardship project. The plan integrates Western scientific and Maidu monitoring priorities
• Applying a model protocol for how the Maidu will engage with scientists and outside groups
  • Agreement Models (9.3KB - PDF)
  • Example Agreement (11.7KB - PDF)