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Accepted Paper:
ReTurn, ReNewal and ReVitalization; case studies of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) among peoples in four indigenous communities
Christine Zinni
(State University of New York at Brockport)
Through the lens of ethnological research and media, this presentation focuses on the ReNewal and ReVitalizaton of TEK and ReStoration of Natural-Cultural Landscapes among indigenous peoples from four distinct communities in the United States and Scandinavia.
Paper long abstract:
In a time of rapid climate change, the increasing loss of animal and plant habitats and persistent food and economic insecurities, the preservation and practice of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is being carried on in the Food, Culture and ReVitalization practices of indigenous peoples. To this end, my presentation focuses in on the video testimonies of women artists from a Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) community of western New York State and the story of a young Navajo man from the Southwestern part of the United States who underscore the links between natural and cultural landscapes and relate how heritage corn and TEK are reflected in their cultural beliefs, practices and rituals. The presentation also underscores how cultures are tied to landscapes by examining the struggles and activism of Anishinaabe (Ojibway) “Water Protectors” in the Great Lakes area of the United States fighting for the preservation of manoomin ( wild rice) against the intrusion of pipelines. Their efforts of the Sami of Sweden to preserve their way of life and knowledge of reindeer herds.
My connection to the issues is based on my own real-life experience, research and mentorship by Haudenosaunee peoples and subsequent teaching of indigenous studies in western New York. My ReTurn and ReNewal to the region where I was born occurred after studies at Uppsala university in Sweden and teaching Scandinavian folklore in the State of Minnesota where I first worked with indigenous peoples on burial rights issues.