Kate Downing Khaled | Founder & CEO
I was excited to see the Minnesota Public Radio report on how “Traditional Ecological Knowledge” from Indigenous communities is shaping the culture of Minnesota forestry and natural resource preservation.
…but it also raised some complicated feelings to see a media outlet describe Indigenous knowledge as a “trendy buzzword.”
It’s not a huge surprise, because American media and work culture seem to value “innovation” and novelty above all else.
But I believe there truly is very little in this world that is actually new.
When our systems are seeking out ways of knowing that aren’t based on research and books, or when we’re seeking to learn from elders who hold generational knowledge, we need to have real humility about this practice — give credit where credit is due.
As you’ll read in the MPR article I linked, the scientific community has started referring to Traditional Ecological Knowledge by the acronym “TEK.” But don’t forget that no matter what we call it, indigenous knowledge has always shaped science.
To share another example, the holographic designs we’re planning to wrap on our outreach team’s new Tuk Tuk are meant to attract passersby with its novelty. But we haven’t forgotten that Tuk Tuks are used to bring resources to communities all over the world.
Creating a new acronym for traditional knowledge can also have the unintended effect of “othering” that source of wisdom. I’m a firm believer that people of all cultural backgrounds can tap into trusting our spirituality, getting in touch with our bodies, listening to elders, and being in tune with the Earth.
These “traditional” forms of knowledge have contributed more to our collective understanding of the world than we may think. An engineer could benefit from these activities just as much as an illustrator, just as much as a biologist, and just as much as a chef could.
The problem is, the indigenous roots of this knowledge have been discounted, ignored, and even stolen for generations. Accessing that knowledge while erasing that history is not only disingenuous – it can continue to cause harm.
Here’s what we do to avoid erasing indigenous wisdom:
Cite our sources.
Be as specific as possible.
Ask for permission.
As more and more sectors (hopefully) tap into “Traditional Ecological Knowledge” of their own, I hope these practices of humility become widespread as well.
