News

Indigenous climate knowledge shared

Speaker discussed importance of passing on scientific information

By Jeffrey Hake

Posted on March 23, 2009, at 12:00 a.m.

Advocating use of native knowledge and research, an Oklahoma Native American and professor visited the University of Maine on March 17 to spread his message of tribal communities taking the initiative in saving the planet.

Dan Wildcat is the director of the American Indian Studies Program at Haskell University and a Yuchi member of the Muskogee Nations of Oklahoma. He spoke March 17 on a topic he has covered at guest lectures across the country. His lecture was titled “Red Alert: Saving the Planet with Indigenous Knowledges – A Call to Consciousness on Climate Change.”

His talk on Tuesday identified the importance of documenting and using the cultural knowledge of indigenous people around the world.

“For a number of years, he has been . an international leader on getting tribal communities to direct their own research with their own students, to document climate change,” said Darren Ranco, associate professor of anthropology and coordinator of Native American research at UMaine.

Tribal communities’ research is central to Wildcat’s belief that “sustainability ought to be framed not in terms of the economy, . not in terms of energy, but in terms of peoples and communities.”

Wildcat said modern science fails to regard the cultural wisdom and memory of indigenous cultures seriously, particularly in relation to the danger of climate change. This disregard has caused his research to shift lately from “very broad environmental policy impacts in Indian country to looking at impacts of climate change,” Wildcat said.

Wildcat alluded to the advocacy work of Al Gore.

“For the circumpolar people . the truth is not inconvenient. It is deadly.”

He noted that research on climate change often takes place “in [native people's] own back yards.” These people are rarely consulted beyond gaining permission to use their land, Wildcat said.

“I want to make sure, as we keep talking about research agendas [and] strategies for dealing with climate change, that we get native people at the table when these discussions are going on,” Wildcat said.

“This is a really exciting initiative,” Ranco said, “because it allows native people to use science and cultural knowledge . so we can understand better the impacts of climate change.”

Second-year student and attendee Aya Mares agreed.

“Dan Wildcat eloquently addressed [many] concerns of mine and furthered my thoughts by offering clear approaches to the environmental crisis using indigenous philosophies,” Mares said.

Mares said she heard of the lecture through her Native American literature class.

In the discussion, Wildcat cited the need for increased cooperation between the tribes of Oklahoma and others in its region, research schools like UMaine and the tribes of the East Coast, noting particularly the work of the Penobscot Nation on Indian Island attempting to accurately identify and reduce its environmental footprint.

A professor for 23 years, Wildcat said he is frustrated with the lack of interdisciplinary studies in higher education and the shortcomings of traditional education. He urged the attendees to act beyond the traditional education system and recognize the need for serious cooperative discussion on climate change.

“In order to have the right to knowledge, you have to show you have the responsibility to know how to use it.”

This entry was posted on Monday, March 23rd, 2009, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.