#jeffreywall — Public Fediverse posts on home.social

#Biocultural families: Study centers #Indigenous priorities in connections to #environment

by Seth Truscott, August 11, 2026

"Washington State University horticulturist #JeffreyWall partnered with members of the #Mikmaq #FirstNations people of #Canada to create a new, #IndigenousCentered model of the connections that link humans with plants, animals and the environment.

"Wall interviewed over a dozen traditional knowledge keepers in Unama'ki, the #CapeBreton Island homeland of the Eskasoni Mi'kmaq. He asked tribal elders and allies to describe #BioculturalConnectivity — the relationship between human cultures and local #ecosystems — as they see it. The findings were published in Environmental Science & Policy.

" 'I wanted to show the connective forces that the Mi'kmaq prioritize,' Wall said. 'The goal was to be in tune with their deep #CulturalHeritage, traditions and the #indigenization of the future that they want to promote.'

"With more than 66,000 registered members, the Mi'kmaq are a resilient people native to the U.S. Northeast and Canada's Atlantic provinces who are revitalizing their language and growing their landholdings. Wall's work can guide future mapping and inform the institute's land acquisition strategy.

"The project reflects the concept of #TwoEyedSeeing — understanding the world from both #Indigenous and #Western approaches — introduced by Mi'kmaq elders Albert and Murdena Marshall.

" 'There is a growing understanding that environmental conditions can improve if we bring more Indigenous ways of knowing and being into the conversation,' said Lisa Young, executive director of the Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources. 'Maintaining a #reciprocal relationship with the land is in itself a way to protect and preserve it.' "

#SolarPunkSunday #EnvironmentalAwareness #EnvironmentalStewardship #TraditionalKnowledge #Technology #TraditionalEcologicalKnowledge