On three out of four days of the Ecological Society of America’s (ESA) virtual conference earlier in August, there were workshops or symposiums about working with indigenous communities. Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) refers to the body of knowledge, beliefs, traditions, practices, institutions, and worldviews developed and sustained by indigenous communities in interaction with their biophysical environment. Many important conversations had to be had about approaching tribes, working with them and how Western scientists need to reciprocate the knowledge exchange.

The first workshop was titled “Working Together For A Better Future: How to Establish and Maintain Successful and Durable Partnerships between Indigenous Communities and Non-Indigenous Collaborators” which was followed by the “Honoring the Power of Indigenous Science Data to Revitalize Ecosystems, Communities, and Cultures” symposium.

Both events were moderated by Dr Robert Newman and the panel members included Julie Thorstenson, Clint Carroll, Serra Hoagland, Kim Greenwood and James Rattling Leaf. The speakers talked about their projects and experiences about establishing partnerships between tribes, scientists and federal agencies.

Indigenous people have long observed and studied changes in ecosystems in response to climate change, land use and other human-driven changes. Ecologists are trying to catch up with these observations and there are many opportunities for scientists to learn from and support indigenous communities.

Julie Thorstenson from the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society emphasised that before exploring projects with tribes, scientists need to understand the indigenous perspective and priorities. Tribes can be great partners but should not be viewed as research subjects.

Kim Greenwood from the National Park Service highlighted that there are 574 federally recognized tribes living within the US and each tribe’s uniqueness needs to be understood and respected. Scientists might have the tendency to think that the degrees they hold or agencies they work for will be automatically supported but each project comes down to individual relationships. Students who would like to become involved with TEK, she suggests signing up for ethnobotany, anthropology and social science classes which could teach them different perspectives and methods to use compared to natural science tools.
Serra Hoagland from Northern Arizona University suggested that junior ecologists should be upfront about their own time limitations on projects but should think of establishing relationships long-term. She mentions that at the beginning, scientists could reach out to liaisons in communities (e.g. via the National Forest Service) and emphasises the importance of reciprocity from researchers to the communities (e.g. tribal youth programs).