Traditional Environmental Knowledge

Aboriginal Star Knowledge Menu
A collection of (mostly plains) information on Indian astronomy and earthworks which involved astronomical observation.

American Indian Ethnobotany Database
This is an impressive database. You can search for plants, people, specific uses for plants, etc. and receive a list complete with bibliographic citations. Very useful! (Dan Moerman, 1996).

Ancient Cosmology and World Astronomy, North America
Part of a larger site on ethnoastronomy, this section includes articles on astronomy in Alaska (Inuit), the plains (Sioux, Pawnee) and the southwest (Navajo and Pueblo). Actually the articles discuss more than astronomy.

Buffalo Nation
Water BigBee (a Comanche member of the Intertribal Bison Cooperative) provides an on-line lecture about the cultural importance of the buffalo and their reintroduction on tribal lands. Excellent K-12 resource. (Walter BigBee, New York: National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institute, 1997).

Canoe Plants of Ancient Hawai'i
The 24 life-sustaining plants of Native Hawaiians (sp?). (Lynton Dove, 1994).

Cattails and Grasses Used by Native Americans for Textiles
Short, with pictures and descriptions. (Tara Prindle, Archive: WWW Virtual Library, Archaeology, 1993).

Convention on Biological Diversity—Traditional and Indigenous Knowledge
Another page thrown up and forgotten, this includes some information about article 8(j) of the Convention, which specifies that the signatories will "respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities…relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity…" (1997).

Ecological change in the Hudson Bay Bioregion: A Traditional Ecological Knowledge Perspective
(Terry Fenge, Northern Perspectives 25(1). Canadian Arctic Resources Committee, 1997).

Ethnobotany and Economic Botany of the North American Flora
(C. B. Jr. Heiser, In Flora of North America, vol 1. Introduction. Pp. 199-206. New York, 1993).

Ethnobotany and Paleoethnobotany: A Bibliography
A very weighty bibliography on all matters botanical in Native North America, both archaeologically and recently. (Michael A. Pfeiffer, Archive: Southwestern Archaeology, 1993).

Giving Traditional Ecological Knowledge Its Rightful Place in Environmental Impact Assessment
"Two fundamental limitations of northern EIAs are inadequate ecological baseline data and inadequate methodology to linking ecological and social components of the environment. The EIA process should include aboriginal peoples to mitigate these limitations." (John Sallenave, Northern Perspectives 22(1). Canadian Artic Resources Committee, 1994).

Gwich'in Environmental Knowledge Project
GEKP collects information on traditional environmental knowledge, spiritual beliefs, and ethical principles of the Gwich'in Nation. GEKP makes local knowledge accessible to resource managers and aids community-based environmental monitoring systems. (Gleb Raygorodetsky, Cultural Survival Quarterly 20(1):15. Archive: NAE, 1996).

Indian Moons, Days & Other Calendar Stuff
Did you ever wonder what a specific Indian nation called the different moons of the year? This page was created to answer just that question. (Phil Konstantin, 1997).

Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor
The Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor serves all people with an interest in the role that indigenous knowledge (local knowledge, traditional knowledge) plays in participatory approaches to sustainable development. (Many of the articles here involve environmental knowledge).

Indigenous Knowledge Systems
This site just keeps looking better and better. A directory of Internet resources on traditional environmental knowledge, subsistence, sustainable resource development, etc. (Alaska Native Knowledge Network).

Indigenous Plants and Native American Uses in the Northeast
(Tara Prindle, Archive: NativeTech, 1996).

Meteors and Native Americans
Reports of meteors in Native American oral history. (Gary W. Kronk, 1995).

NativeTech: Native American Technology and Art
For learning about the many ways that native peoples put their environment to use, this site provides an excellent start. NativeTech covers a wide range of materials, art forms and technologies.

Nature and Utility of Traditional Ecological Knowledge
(Milton M. R. Freeman, Northern Perspectives 20(1). Canadian Arctic Resources Committee, 1992).

Recommendations on the Integration of Two Ways of Knowing: Traditional Indigenous Knowledge and Scientific Knowledge
(Inuit Circumpolar Conference, Seminar on the Documentation and Application of Indigenous Knowledge, Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada, November 15-17, 1996, 1996).

References on the American Indian Use of Fire in Ecosystems
Research on the management of terrestrial ecosystems by American Indians through controlled burning. This one has gone bust because it is in some strange file format. (Gerald W. Williams, Archive: Department of Anthropology, SUNY Buffalo, 1994).

Reflections on Rock Art and Astronomy
Mostly about the burgeoning interdisciplinary field of archeoethnoastronomy (say that ten times fast). Findings are from North America. (Von Del Chaimberlain and Hansen Planetarium, Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy Newsletter 14(December). University of Maryland: The Center for Archaeoastronomy, 1994).

Stó:lo Food Preservation and Preparation: Contemporary and Traditional Practices
(Brian Thom, Stó:lo Curriculum Consortium, 1996).

Starlore of the American Indian
Constellations, stories about constellations. (Brad Snowder, Archive: Western Washington University Planetarium).

Supernova Petroglyph
Anasazi rock art documents a supernova explosion. (Dan Greening, 1996).

The Use of Participatory Rural Appraisal Methodologies to Link Indigenous Knowledge and Land Use Decisions among the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
"Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) techniques can facilitate the use of indigenous knowledge as an integral part of a land-use decision process. In this way, cultural and spiritual values are linked directly with environmental values and economic needs, as part of a community-driven decision-making process." (Marcella Szymanski, Lisa Whitewing and Joe Colletti, Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor 6(2). The Hague, The Netherlands: Centre for International Research and Advisory Networks, 1998).

To The Limits
All about Native American Moon watching, and too technical for me. (David Dearborn, Archaeoastronomy & Ethnoastronomy News 3. University of Maryland: The Center for Archaeoastronomy, 1992).

Traditional Food, Health and Nutrition
Native American food and recipe resources. A fun page. Sadly, I should mention that this colorful and interesting web site was created by Paula Giese, who has passed away. (Paula Giese, 1997).

Traditional Herbal and Plant Knowledge, Identifications
Botany and ethnobotany resources for exploring Native American herbal knowledge. Another asset of this site is that it provides resources for K-12 educators as well as people who are involved in professional research. (Paula Giese, 1997).

Voices from the Bay
(Miriam McDonald, Lucassie Arragutainaq and Zack Novalinga, compilers, Northern Perspectives 25(1). Canadian Arctic Resources Committee. Reprinted from Voices from the Bay: Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Inuit and Cree in the Hudson Bay Bioregion. Ottawa: Canadian Arctic Resources Committee, 1997).