Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Restoration and Reciprocity: The Contributions of Traditional Ecological Knowledge

  • Chapter
Human Dimensions of Ecological Restoration

Part of the book series: Society for Ecological Restoration ((SPER))

Abstract

Carol Crowe, an Algonquin ecologist, tells the story of explaining to one of her elders that she was traveling to a conference about sustainable development. The term was not familiar to him, so she explained the notion of managing resources in such a way that future generations would be able to obtain the same ecosystem services that are provided today, without impairment to the land. He was quiet for a time. The idea was hardly new to him. He then asked her to carry a message to the conference. He said, “This idea of sustainability sounds to me like the same old formula by which people simply continue to take from the earth. They just want to keep taking. You can’t just take. Tell them, that among our people our concern is not what we can take from the land, but what we can give.”

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abrams, D. 1996. The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-than-Human World. New York: Pantheon Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alcoze, T., and M. Hurteau. 2001. “Implementing the Archaeo-environmental Reconstruction Technique: Rediscovering the Historic Ground Layer of Three Plant Communities in the Greater Grand Canyon Region.” In The Historical Ecology Handbook: A Restorationist’s Guide to Reference Ecosystems, edited by D. Egan and E. A. Howell, 413–24.Washington DC: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen,W. H. 1988. “Biocultural Restoration of a Tropical Forest.” BioScience 38 (3): 156–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen, T., and T. Hoekstra. 1992. Toward a Unified Ecology. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, M. K. 1996. “Tending the Wilderness.” Restoration & Management Notes 14 (2): 154–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, M. K. 2001. “The Contribution of Ethnobiology to the Reconstruction and Restoration of Historic Ecosystems.” In Historical Ecology Handbook, edited by D. Egan and E. A. Howell, 55–72.Washington, DC: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, M. K.. 2006. Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California’s Natural Resources. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, M. K., and D. L. Rowney. 1999. “The Edible Plant Dichelostemma capitata: Its Vegetative Reproduction in Response to Different Indigenous Harvesting Regimes in California.” Restoration Ecology 7 (3): 231–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ausubel, K. 2008. “Remembering the Original Instructions.” In Original Instructions: Indigenous Teachings for a Sustainable Future, edited by M. K. Nelson, xxi–xxv. Rochester, VT: Bear and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Basso, K. 1996. Wisdom Sits in Places. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Battiste, M., ed. 2000. Reclaiming Indigenous Voice and Vision. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berkes, F. 1993. “Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Perspective.” In Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Concepts and Cases, edited by J. T. Inglis, 1–9. Ottawa: International Program on Traditional Ecological Knowledge and International Development Research Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berkes, F. 2008. Sacred Ecology: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Resource Management. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berkes, F., C. Folke, and M. Gadgil. 1995. “Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Biodiversity, Resilience and Sustainability.” In Biodiversity Conservation, edited by C. Perrings, K.-G. Maler, C. Folke, C. S. Holling, and B.-O. Jansson, 269–87. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bray, D., ed. 1999. Western Apache-English Dictionary. Tempe, AZ: Bilingual Review Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cairns Jr., J. 2000. “Setting Ecological Restoration Goals for Technical Feasibility and Scientific Validity.” Ecological Engineering 15: 171–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cairns Jr., J., and J. R. Heckman. 1996. “Restoration Ecology: The State of an Emerging Field.” Annual Review of Energy and Environment 21: 167–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cajete, G. C. 1994. Look to theMountain: An Ecology of Indigenous Education. Skyland, NC: Kivali Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clewell, A., and J. Aronson. 2006. “Motivations for the Restoration of Ecosystems.” Conservation Biology 20 (2): 420–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson-Hunt, I., and F. Berkes. 2001. “Changing Resource Management Paradigms, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and Non-timber Forest Products.” In Forest Communities in the Third Millennium, edited by I. Davidson-Hunt, L. C. Duchesne, and J. C. Zasada, 78–92. U.S. Forest Service North Central Research Station General Technical Report NC- 217. St. Paul, MN: USDA Forest Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson-Hunt, I. 2003. “Learning as You Journey: Anishinaabe Perception of Social-Ecological Environments and Adaptive Learning.” Conservation Ecology 8 (1): 5.http://www.consecol.org/vol8/iss1/art5/.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeLoria, V. 1992. “Spiritual Management: Prospects for Restoration on Tribal Lands.” Restoration & Management Notes 10 (1): 48–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeLoria, V. 1995. Red Earth, White Lies. New York: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denevan, W. M. 1992. “The Pristine Myth: The Landscape of the Americas in 1492.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 82 (3): 369–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dokken, B. 2010. A Tale of Two Lakes. St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/volunteer/marapr00/red_lake.html.

    Google Scholar 

  • Egan, D. 1988. “Our Heritage of Landscaping with Native Plants: A Hermeneutical Study of Texts from 1919–1929.” Master’s thesis, Landscape Architecture Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emery, M. 1994. “The Search Conference: State of the Art.” Unpublished paper, Center for Continuing Education. Australian National University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez-Gimenez, M. E. 2000. “The Role of Nomadic Mongolian Pastoralists’ Ecological Knowledge in Rangeland Management.” Ecological Applications 10: 1318–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gadgil, M., F. Berkes, and C. Folke. 1993. “Indigenous Knowledge for Biodiversity Conservation.” Ambio 22: 151–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gadgil, M., P. R. Seshagiri Rao, G. Utkarsh, P. Pramod, and A. Chhatre. 2000. “New Meanings for Old Knowledge: The Peoples Biodiversity Registers Program.” Ecological Applications 10: 1307–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garibaldi, A., and N. Turner. 2004. “Cultural Keystone Species: Implications for Ecological Conservation and Restoration.” Ecology and Society 9 (3): 1.http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol9/iss3/art1/.

    Google Scholar 

  • Higgs, E. S. 1997. “What Is Good Ecological Restoration?” Conservation Biology 11 (2): 338–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higgs, E. S. 2003. Nature by Design: People, Natural Process and Ecological Restoration. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Higgs, E. S. 2005. “The Two-Culture Problem: Ecological Restoration and the Integration of Knowledge.” Restoration Ecology 13 (1): 159–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs, R., and J. Norton. 1996. “Towards a Conceptual Framework for Restoration Ecology.” Restoration Ecology 4: 93–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hood, S. “Termination of the Klamath Tribe in Oregon.” Ethnohistory 19 (4): 379–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • House, F. 2000. Totem Salmon: Life Lessons from Another Species. Boston: Beacon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunn, E. 1999. “The Value of Subsistence for the Future of the World.” In Ethnoecology: Situated Knowledge/Located Lives, edited by V. D. Nazarea, 23–36. Tucson: Arizona University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Janzen, D. H. 1988. “Tropical Ecological and Biocultural Restoration.” Science 239: 243–44.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jordan III, W. R. 2003. The Sunflower Forest: Ecological Restoration and the New Communion with Nature. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimmerer, R. W. 1998. “Intellectual Diversity: Bringing the Native Perspective into Natural Resources Education.” Winds of Change Summer, 14–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimmerer, R. W. 2000. “Native Knowledge for Native Ecosystems.” Journal of Forestry 98 (8): 4–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimmerer, R. W. 2011. “Learning the Grammar of Animacy.” In The Colors of Nature: Culture, Identity, and Natural World, edited by A. H. Deming and L. E. Savoy, 167–77. Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed Editions.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimmerer, R. W., and F. K. Lake. 2001. “Maintaining the Mosaic: The Role of Indigenous Burning in Land Management.” Journal of Forestry 99: 36–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • LaDuke, W. 1993. “Voices from White Earth Gaia—Waabaabiganikaag.” Thirteenth Annual Schumacher Lecture, Yale University, New Haven, CT.

    Google Scholar 

  • LaDuke, W. 2005. Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming. New York: South End Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Long, J., A. Tecle, and B. Burnette. 2003. “Cultural Foundations for Ecological Restoration on the White Mountain Apache Reservation.” Ecology and Society 8 (1): 4;http://www.consecol.org/vol8/iss1/art4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mann, C. 2005. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus. New York: Knopf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinez, D. 1992a. Presentation at the Indigenous Environmental Network “Protecting Mother Earth” Conference, Celilo Falls, Oregon, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinez, D. 1992b. “Northwestern Coastal Forests: The Sinkyone Intertribal Park Project.” Restoration & Management Notes 10 (1): 64–69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinez, D. 1995. “Karuk Tribal Module of Mainstem Salmon Watershed Restoration: Karuk Ancestral Lands and People as Reference Ecosystem for Eco-cultural Restoration in Collaborative Ecosystem Management.” Unpublished report. On file with U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Klamath National Forest, 1312 Fairlane Rd, Yreka, CA 96097.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinez, D. 2003. “Protected Areas, Indigenous Peoples, and the Western Idea of Nature.” Ecological Restoration 21 (4): 247–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martinez, D., E. Salmon, andM. K. Nelson. 2008. “Restoring Indigenous History and Culture to Nature.” In Original Instructions: Indigenous Teachings for a Sustainable Future, edited by M. K. Nelson. 88–105. Rochester, VT: Bear and Company. 88–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Mauro, F., and P. D. Hardison. 2000. “Traditional Knowledge of Indigenous and Local Communities: International Debate and Policy Initiatives.” Ecological Applications 10: 1263–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meffee, G., and C. Carroll. 1994. Principles of Conservation Biology. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nabhan, G. P. 1997. Cultures of Habitat: On Nature, Culture, and Story. Washington, DC: Counterpoint Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nabhan, G. P. 2000. “Interspecific Relationships Affecting Endangered Species Recognized by O’Odham and Comcaac Cultures.” Ecological Applications 10: 1288–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council. 1992. Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems: Science, Technology and Public Policy. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oeschlager, M. 1996. Caring for Creation: An Ecumenical Approach to the Environmental Crisis. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Onondaga Nation. 2010. “The Onondaga Nation’s Vision for a Clean Onondaga Lake.”http://www.onondaganation.org/lake_vision.html.

  • Pierotti, R., and D. Wildcat. 2000. “Traditional Ecological Knowledge: The Third Alternative.” Ecological Applications 10 (5): 1333–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reid, L. 2005. “The Effects of Traditional Harvesting Practices on Restored Sweetgrass Populations.” MS thesis, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robbins, J. 1997. “The Return of theWolf.” Wildlife Conservation 100: 44–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, G., and S. Handel. 2000. “Directing Spatial Patterns of Recruitment During an Experimental UrbanWoodland Reclamation.” Ecological Applications 10 (1): 174–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salmon, E. 1996. “Decolonizing Our Voices.” Winds of Change Summer, 70–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salmon, E. 2000. “Kincentric Ecology: Indigenous Perception of the Human-Nature Relationship.” Ecological Applications 1 (5): 1327–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shebitz, D., and R. Kimmerer. 2005. “Re-establishing Roots of a Mohawk Community and a Culturally Significant Plant: Sweetgrass.” Restoration Ecology 13(2): 257–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, L. 2002. “Indigenous Environmental Education for Cultural Survival.” Canadian Journal of Environmental Education 7 (1): 13–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) Science and PolicyWorking Group. 2004. Society for Ecological Restoration International Primer on Ecological Restoration. Washington, DC: Society for Ecological Restoration.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stumpff, L. 2003. “Protecting Restorative Relationships and Traditional Values: American Indian Tribes, Wildlife and Wild Lands.” In Science and Stewardship to Protect and Sustain Wilderness Values: 7th World Wilderness Congress Symposium, compiled by A. Watson and J. Sproull, 63–71. USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P-27. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, N. J. 2005. The Earth’s Blanket: Traditional Teachings for Sustainable Living. Seattle: University of Washington Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 1998. Report of the Fourth Meeting of the Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity. Nairobi, Kenya: United Nations Environment Programme.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Forest Service. 2010. Forest Service Manual 2000 National Forest Resource Management, Chapter 2020 Ecological Restoration and Resilience. Washington, DC: U.S. Forest Service National Headquarters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Welch, J. R., and R. Riley. 2001. “Reclaiming Land and Spirit in the Western Apache Homeland.” American Indian Quarterly 25 (1): 5–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, N.M., and G. Baines, eds. 1993. Traditional Ecological Knowledge:Wisdom for Sustainable Development. Canberra: Australian National University, Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolf, E. 2004. Klamath Heartlands: A Guide to the Klamath Reservation Forest Plan. Portland, OR: Ecotrust.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental Studies and Forestry, State University of New York–Syracuse, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Robin Kimmerer

Authors
  1. Robin Kimmerer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robin Kimmerer .

Editor information

Dave Egan Evan E. Hjerpe Jesse Abrams

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Island Press

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Kimmerer, R. (2011). Restoration and Reciprocity: The Contributions of Traditional Ecological Knowledge. In: Egan, D., Hjerpe, E.E., Abrams, J. (eds) Human Dimensions of Ecological Restoration. Society for Ecological Restoration. Island Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-039-2_18

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Societies and partnerships

Search

Navigation