Honoring TEK in Native Nations Engagement

Petroglyphs at Canyonlands National Park

Lead CCASS Contact: Karletta Chief

Dr. Karletta Chief leads a number of efforts pertaining to honoring and respectful use of TEK, or traditional ecological knowledge, in environmental projects with Native Nations.  One active project is working with the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe on climate adaptation, with funding from the DOI Southwest Climate Science Center.  The importance of TEK and efforts to promote its use is described in numerous publications:

  • Maldonado, J., H. Lazrus, B. Gough, S. Bennett, K. Chief, L. Kruger, J. Morisette, S. Petrovic, and K.P. Whyte, 2016. The story of Rising Voices: Facilitating collaboration between Indigenous and Western ways of knowing In Understanding Vulnerability, Building Resilience: Responses to Disasters and Climate Change (ed. M. Companion, and M. Chaiken). CR Press.
  • Maldonado, J., T.M.B. Bennett, K. Chief, P. Cochran, K. Cozetto, B. Gough, M. Hiza Redsteer, K. Lynn, N. Maynard, and G. Voggesser, 2016. Engagement with indigenous peoples and honoring traditional knowledge systems. Climatic Change, 135(1): 111-126. DOI: 10.1007/s10584-015-1535-7 
  • Chief, K. and A. Meadow, 2016. Climate conversations: Merging traditional and Western approaches to risk management. Natural Hazards Observer, 40(4): 4-7.
  • Chief, K., A. Meadow, and K. Whyte, 2016. Engaging Southwestern tribes in sustainable water resources topics and management. J. of Water, 8: 350. DOI: 10.3390/w8080350.