Surge of Interest in TEK

Question

During our literature search, we have noticed that there appears to be some use of the terms traditional knowledge, TEK, and indigenous knowledge in the 80's but a real surge in the use of these terms in the early 90's and especially recently. Obviously many different terms have been used to describe this way of knowing long before, but the surge of interest in this concept seems to be more recent, based on the volume of papers we are finding.

Why do you think this is the case?

Regards: Kathy and Jamie

Responses

From: Gene Anderson

A lot of people doing "ethnoscience," "ethnoecology," etc. converged on a term that was originally useful because it could bring ecologists, biologists and anthropologists together. The floodgates opened and the acronym TEK became common when the NGOs and government granting organizations started using it. That made it "in," and also tied it to grant-getting and other politics.

best-Gene Anderson

From: Darrell Posey

THE ETHNO-SYSTEMATICS BEGAN IN THE 60´S. IF YOU WANT A HISTORY OF IT, CONTACT JAN SLIKKERVEER. THE TERM T.E.K. BECAME POPULAR BECAUSE OF THE NATIONAL T.E.K. CENTERS THAT BEGAN TO SPRING UP AS A RESULT MOSTLY OF DUTCH FUNDING...AND EFFORTS OF THOSE LIKE SLIKKERVEER AND MICHAEL WARREN.....SEE INDIGENOUS DEVELOPMENT MONITORS. DAP

From: Alan White

October 30

Why has there been a recent surge in the use of these terms for traditional knowledge?

The way I see it there are probably several factors which are contributing to this surge in interest or at least use of the terms:

1. There is a growing realization that traditional knowledge is rapidly being lost because of the rate of development and change in traditional settings and cultures so that more people with some concern and respect for this type if knowledge and experience are highlighting the problem in the literature and in their research.

2. There is also a growing tendency, which may not be new, for graduate students to glean onto a topical subject which appeals to their interest but with which they have little first hand experience. This will of course cause the terms to be used even if in a rather loose and non-specific manner.

3. The use of the terms also reflects a need among a growing number of researchers to try to describe what is this so called traditional knowledge and how it can be used to improve the conservation of our natural resources. To the extent that there was better conservation in the past, which may have been more by default than by design, there is an increasing interest to build on lessons of the past and to not totally replace traditional ways with western and modern approaches.

Thus in a nutshell, our desire to come to a better understanding of traditional experience and knowledge is probably the strongest force driving the use of these terms.

Regards,

Alan White

From: Ilarion Merculieff

Hello again. Elders in the Interior (Athabascan) objected to the use of radio collars on bears. Elders on the coast objected to use of radio collars on walrus for the same reasons. They say scientists are not really trying to understand where the animals are going, they are trying to understand where they (the scientists) are going. There is great meaning to this. In many traditions it is understood that all paths lead to one center, including the work we choose to pursue. It is ultimately a spiritual journey, mirroring back lessons we can choose to integrate into our lives or not. I believe the clamoring for access to and use of traditional knowledge and wisdom stems from an intuitive search for personal truth, although the surface motives may be many. It is a search for balance. The Cartesian based science is linear, mechanistic, quantitative, and reductionistic. Its paradigm is to control/manage by seeking to unravel and perhaps exploit the feminine mysteries of creation. This Cartesian science is a male construct. By contrast, traditional ways of knowing are circular, organic, qualitative, and holistic. Its paradigm is to adapt rather than control or understand the mysteries.

Traditional ways of knowing are feminine constructs. Intuitively we humans seek that which can make us whole and balanced whether or not we are conscious of it or unwilling to admit it even if conscious of it. Many "Mystery Schools" throughout the world acknowledge that this is the era in which humans will more consciously seek that which they need for balance and healing of Mother Earth. Prophecies throughout the world have many names for this time-Shift of the Ages, Time of No Time, World of the Fifth Hoop, The Fifth World, the Aquarian Age. It is no wonder to the mystics, shamans, medicine people, and healers that the technological world seeks the feminine. Even if one is skeptical of such things, consider this: what is it about your chosen field that mirrors your own life issues and search for personal truth?

Shantam

From: Ray Pierotti

I believe that the recent interest in TEK stems from several factors. First, the Rio de Janeiro Conference on Global Environment drew considerable attention from indigenous peoples, who found their views shut out. This disturbed some of the other participants, who realized that there was a lot of knowledge held by indigenous people that was not being discussed or acknowledged.

In addition, the late 1980's and early 90's have been a time when people have come to realize that the earth is in trouble and that Western solutions do not appear to work. Oren Lyons, the Onondaga elder and Professor at SUNY Buffalo, has stated that "White people have lost their instructions for living, and they seek Indian people to try to relearn these instructions. "To me, what Oren is saying is that many people are feeling lost and uneasy with the state of the world, and are looking for solutions, or at least something to give meaning to their lives. This uneasiness underlies the increase in search for spirituality in many people, and Western religions, with their insistence on narrow dogma, are unsatisfying to many intelligent, thinking people. In contrast, Indian people appear grounded and to have spiritual meaning to their lives.

I believe that this appearance of groundedness and spirituality comes from a sense of connection, to nature, and to the world as a whole. Of course, many Indian people have lost this connection, and they may be even more troubled than non-Indians, as can be seen in the frequency of alcoholism, drug use, and suicide in Indian communities. Still, there appears to be real spiritual meaning and a purpose to life in those who understand and live by the ideas that "all things are connected" and "all my relations."

As a scientist and a Comanche, I have found it easy to integrate my work and my beliefs in a way that gives meaning to my life. I also have found that many of my non-Native colleagues lack such meaning, and are searching for themselves (which I believe is what Larry is referring to in his answer). As a result, there is considerable interest in Traditional Ecological Knowledge among non-indigenous people because they feel that it may represent both a new way of thinking about the world, and a way to find meaning. I think that this has arisen from the general state of unease about the fate of both the earth and the future of humankind. Many good people, of all ethnic backgrounds, want to find solutions, and the solutions offered by technology, and Western culture and religion seem not to be solutions at all, but new problems.

It is my impression that this search for solutions is what underlies such important work as Anderson's "Ecologies of the Heart" as well as many other books on TEK by non-indigenous peoples. In the 80's and 90's many people have had to face the possible end of nature and I think that many are deeply troubled by this. To paraphrase Oren Lyons again: If wolf disappears, our people will also disappear, and if we disappear, the white people will follow.

I look forward to comments from others.

Ah'o

Ray Pierotti

From: Patricia Cochran

Let me begin by saying that I'm not always this cynical, but I believe the primary motivating factor behind the sudden western rush to traditional knowledge is money--- $$$$$. Not only are research dollars becoming available, but drug and pharmaceutical companies see the opportunity to cash in on the knowledge of traditional medicine and practitioners. And there are millions of people seeking to "find" themselves and willing to shell out big bucks to attend revelational seminars, buy books, CD's, mystical solutions to life's quandaries.......

Patricia

From: Darrell Posey (second response)

One of the great problems with ethnoecology as a field of study is that the serious and sincere interest in traditional ecological knowledge for advancing knowledge-and, in my personal case in the fight to secure rights over intellectual, cultural and scientific property as extensions of and manifestations of land and territory-has been overshadowed by the perceived value of traditional resources. In some ways this is good since it draws attention to governments and planners who would otherwise continue to ignore cultural and knowledge diversity...on the otherhand, of course, it trivializes the entire process and reduces the "mission" to concerned scientists to quests for fame and fortune. In response to this, I have worked with the International Society for Ethnobiology for 10- years to develop a Code of Conduct and Standards of Practice to try to direct ethnobiologists toward the serious research and commitment to indigenous and traditional peoples' rights using TEK and similar concepts as tools for improvement of protection and defense of these peoples. Therefore, the cynical observations by Pat Cochran are justifiable-but only partially and ignore the many other reasons most ethnobiologists work on TEK. dap