Introduction: Global Indigenous Knowledge

Indigenous knowledge is what built our world. We could say modern technology built our great skyscrapers however, where do you think the knowledge came from to build them? Our answers taught us a lot. And still today, we can't replicate something like the Great Pyramids of Giza. As modern conservation and agricultural practices set in, it is also good practice to reflect on our roots, from the knowledge that has always been passed down to see if we're missing something, something like managing the Wolfe population or too much draught that could affect both wildlife and agriculture. We are wasteful as societies and neglecting our environmental conservation. In this article, we take a quick glimpse of indigenous practices and what we can use for today's environmental challenges.

Indigenous Environmental Conservation Practices

Indigenous cultures cherished our planet and took conscious care of their environment. By working on the land and passing down knowledge of microbiology, soil science, tree and plant systems, animals, and the workings of nature in their local regions, indigenous tribes had a better comprehension of local conservation than scientists do today for the mere fact they likely knew every aspect of their territory. When you look into areas that once were inhabited by indigenous people and still are preserved, the ecology is so much more clean and looks in tune with nature. This is because no matter what part of the world, indigenous people knew their territory and managed the land. 

You can see this today in some local tribes in the Congo or the Amazon who live sustainably from the land by preserving soil and streams and moving their home depending on seasonal constraints. 

Below are some indigenous environmental conservation practices:

1. Land Management 
2. Fire Management 
3. Seed saving and Crop Diversity   

Those are top of the list items that indigenous people knew as methods for forestry protocols for conservation practices. Indigenous people knew there were times when you let the forest do what it needed to do and when we needed to help nature clean itself by clearing bushes or logs out of streams or even making sure areas with dead trees and such are prepared for seasonal fires. These are all ways knowledge has been passed down to children to keep our earth healthy and alive.  

What can we learn about environmental conservation from indigenous cultures? 

Land Management 

Land management is essential to our survival. Plants grow better in the wild where they can roam free and either be crushed by bears stomping or the weather taking them out. Part of managing land is knowing how not to manage the land as well. 

What does that mean? Indigenous people knew the land could only be cultivated so much, and if they went beyond that point, it could harm the ecology and the microbiome. 

Knowing how to cultivate crops and manage the land has been passed down and communicated to instill values and understanding about preserving land to the youth. Part of the practice of cultivating and preserving the land is knowing which areas are ready to be cultivated, and when to move the cultivation area to help the land regenerate to its original state takes skills developed over thousands of years and taught with passion by elders.  

According to the International Union Conservation of Nature, indigenous people makeup 2/3rds of our globe's regional population, have more effective biodiversity than first-world land management, and have a remarkable relationship with all earth's resources around their territorial proximity. 

There are plenty of ways that ancient and indigenous people managed the land from fishing and river cleanups to knowing what plant or mushroom species and systems are regenerative to the land.  Indigenous people knew how an overpopulation of fish could lead to habitat degradation which harms different fish species, including the ecology of rivers. Indigenous tribes also knew that not having enough fish leads to a lack of biodiversity and has a negative consequence to animal species, and micro-organisms that feed plants. 

Something simple we could learn from indigenous people is, how to be both stewards and champions of earth's resources. Their goal is to live sustainably. Their values are to peacefully work in unison with the environment, one with all species and never step outside harmony with mother nature. 

Fire Management 

Fire management has been around as long as mankind and is a top priority today. Forest fires are difficult to maintain and are nasty when the wind picks up. You could imagine as humans encountered forest fires over time, they had to learn to understand the cause of fire breakouts. Indigenous people learned about fire management, made it a part of their seasonal duties to educate the youth with stories teaching about tree and plant lives and their circular patterns, and created territories to create effective fire management protocols. Cultures worldwide needed unique protocols to manage fires as sectors of the world have different summer hot climates to watch for fire breakouts. 

What could we learn about fire management from indigenous people? 

There are signs forest fires will occur. Outside of the basics, trees have life spans as well. Indigenous people taught this to their children and shared this knowledge through the continuous process of tree and plant maintenance. Even if a tree isn't dead, the bark will show signs that it is weak enough it could catch on fire. Understanding fire signs is essential to creating protocols to manage them.  

By circulating large proximities of land, indigenous people would mark and journal what nature was telling them. They knew forest fires would happen though it is their job to mitigate the devastation by locating areas that are dying, cleaning the brush, and helping plants that are alive to survive. 

Nature has cycles that can complement things we do, such as agriculture if we harness it better. Indigenous cultures trusted nature and thanked it by following its guide. Nature will tell us when it's time to prepare for things like forest fires and in which regions. 

Today, fire management is a major priority, however, the funding isn't there to properly manage large areas of land, those hired to run national forest reservations aren't qualified enough to spot areas of quick need, and also there are many groups involved in managing forests which makes it hard to pull these groups together multiple times a year to mitigate issues.  

We could learn from hindsight that having more effective protocols in place no matter what to manage fires, such as groups managing areas at specific times of the year, activating more universities and communities to be involved and manage areas of fires and help firefighters mitigate fires, educate and create more awareness about fire management. Indigenous people can teach us what to look for in the soil, tree bark, plant systems, and navigate water to see how they mitigated and managed fires.

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the governing body that manages large national parks and forests. Many state DNR have educational resources that teach forest fire fighting, but it isn't enough. It wasn't until I wrote this blog that I learned about it more in-depth, or searched for it, and I know about the DNR. Many people do not look for this material, they need to be given it and or notified in some way to learn and be a part of helping the DNR manage these issues.  

Seed Saving and Crop Diversity

Seed saving and crop diversity were a major priority for indigenous people. They knew there wasn't a way to maintain food production without healthy seeds. In a recent 5 year study done on indigenous people, the International Institute for Environment and Development reported that men were prominent in sourcing seeds and women were prominent in selecting seeds to save. This meant that women were more inclusive in conservation and stewards of biodiversity. Still today, indigenous people take seed saving seriously. They may be the last line of defense we might have against the global GMO seed manufacturers to protect our wildlife biodiversity. 

Selecting the right seeds to save is one part of sustainable biodiversity, another is selecting different seeds from crops that will either harvest food or create a better microbiome within the soil bed. Crop diversity is paramount in maintaining the earth's micro-organisms. It is part of a web that knits a close community of organisms communicating under our feet. 

Without diving into different regions of the globe, if you look at the natural environment in areas around the world where indigenous people still survive, you can see the vibrant plant systems that are alive and well. On the other hand, in many parts of the modern world, we can see the opposite. there is a decline in native plant species due to larger forest fires that we can't manage, more native species dying off every year, and more industries expanding into places that should be preserving forests. 

One thing that stands out to me about indigenous seed selection for crop diversity is, that indigenous people would never consider bringing non-native species of plants into communities that won't welcome them. This happens more than enough as anyone can bring nearly any kind of plant back from some part of the globe to their local region and plant it. Outside of pollution, this could be a clue to why our biodiversity is declining today, that is, bringing non-native plant species into new communities that don't welcome them or bug or fish species that end up killing surrounding ecology. 

Conclusion: Lessons Learned from Indigenous Tribes 

Above are just a few ways to look at how we can learn from indigenous people. There's a plethora of material we can digest from indigenous tribes that many scientists take for granted. It is like going to talk to your grandpa, learning from our elders, or hanging with indigenous tribes to find secret science tips from masters without master degrees. 

Indigenous tribes are still here for a reason and there are mechanisms they used for thousands of years that the modern world seems to neglect. Please be vigilant with local land development, forestation projects, river cleanups, and any natural wildlife renovation initiatives you can get involved with. Let's make the indigenous people of our globe proud.  

Citation Links: 

https://www.iucn.org/our-work/topic/indigenous-peoples