Indian forest management and TEK at the Central Coast Bioneers Conference

As the first stewards of the land, Indian people historically and currently maintain a profound, intimate relationship to the natural world. The survival of Native people is directly tied to the condition of the land and Native people depend on the environment for substance, traditional ceremonies and to sustain their livelihood. Furthermore, Indian communities possess thousands of years of experience and knowledge about ecological process and patterns, otherwise known as Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). Cal Poly graduate and Laguna Pueblo (Paguate Village) Serra Hoagland, currently a PhD student in the School of Forestry at Northern Arizona University, will cover national-scale issues related to natural resource management. She will present the primary findings from the Indian Forest Management Assessment Team III report showing that Indian forests are healthier than their neighbors due to tribal management practices. Serra will share how TEK can complement western science and how it is being incorporated by federal and state agencies. Her presentation will be Sunday afternoon at the conference.

Serra will also be on hand September 27 at the Baker Center for Science and Math at Cal Poly for the unveiling of the new interdisciplinary joint minor in Indigenous Studies in Natural Resources and the Environment now available at Cal Poly. The event is free to the public and begins at 4:00 p.m. Serra will be speaking at 5:00. For more information on this event contact Dr. Kate Martin in the Ethnic Studies Department at kamartin@calpoly.edu or (805) 756-2827.