Intergenerational Knowledge: Weaving the past with the present

This blog is Part One of a three part series, highlighting the core priorities of National Wildlife Federation's strategy to enhance Tribal and Indigenous partnerships for collaborative conservation: Intergenerational Knowledge Transmission, Food Sovereignty, and Water Protection. The values of sovereignty, self-determination, and free, prior, and informed consent are foundational to our approach.

If you reside on Turtle Island (also known as North America), it's safe to assume that Indigenous peoples have stewarded the lands you live, work, and recreate on since time immemorial.

You have probably heard a version of this phrase before-as part of a land acknowledgement, or a reason to integrate Indigenous perspectives into federal land and wildlife management.

But what does it actually mean?

"Time immemorial" refers to the fact that Indigenous peoples have been good caretakers of their home for longer than we can even recount as a human race. We're talking tens of thousands of years-beyond legal memory. That is quite a long time.

Utilizing Intergenerational Knowledge

Since time immemorial, Indigenous peoples have come to understand the intricacies that make their home a livable one.

The individual components that make a healthy environment, from habitat for plants and animals, to nutrient-rich soil and clean water, to crop rotations and prescribed fires, and everything in between. Each has a story, a place, a purpose. The collection of these sacred relations, stories, beliefs, traditions, personal experiences, observations, and more, passed down orally and through written word, form the concept of Indigenous Knowledge.

"Indigenous Knowledge is a body of observations, oral and written knowledge, innovations, practices, and beliefs developed by Tribes and Indigenous peoples through interaction and experience with the environment."

Biden Administration, 2022

"Indigenous Knowledge," "Traditional Ecological Knowledge," and "Native Science" are included in "Intergenerational Knowledge." These terms are sometimes used interchangeably to reference constantly evolving Indigenous wisdom, passed down over generations. This robust knowledge system describes how to be good stewards and survivalists, experiencing a prosperous life in collaboration with all living and nonliving beings.

Prescribed fire reduces wildfire risks, promotes new growth, and combats less fire-adapted invasive species. Credit: Robert Hartwig/National Parks Services

Given the generations of care by Indigenous peoples, it may be hard to believe that the early colonizers of Turtle Island thought they had stumbled upon untouched wilderness-wild paradise abundant with vegetation, wildlife, and clean waters. They weren't ready to acknowledge that the "wilderness" was heavily shaped by Indigenous peoples.

To this day, up to 22 percent of the global lands owned, occupied, or used by Indigenous peoples contain an estimated 80 percent of global biodiversity. Knowing this, it is fundamental for successful conservation efforts to understand and integrate Intergenerational Knowledge systems. We must recognize and center these teachings as a collaborative approach to protect our planet's biodiversity.

"Knowing that you love the earth changes you, activates you to defend and protect and celebrate. But when you feel that the earth loves you in return, that feeling transforms the relationship from a one-way street into a sacred bond."

Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

A Connection to the Land

While Indigenous peoples are skilled caretakers of the environment, their application of Intergenerational Knowledge is rooted even deeper. Many Indigenous peoples have developed an unbreakable bond to the beating heart of the land. This relationship is formed through intimate knowledge of keystone plant and animal species that indicate the health of entire ecosystems and informs their practices to steward and respect the land as they would their own body and home.

The sacred bond between people and place has been compromised for many Indigenous peoples who have been separated from their ancestral lands due to colonization. Non-natives suppressed the voices of Intergenerational Knowledge in their pursuit of property and fortune, contributing to the mismanagement of lands and waters over generations.

Open pit mining. Credit: Rinat Gareev/Wikimedia Commons

Extraction and overconsumption of resources like lumber, minerals and crude oil pollute the air, water, and soil, resulting in huge losses of habitat and biodiversity.

Monoculture farming practices produce higher crop yields, but can severely deplete nutrients from the soil and provide poor wildlife habitat, reducing overall ecosystem health.

Invasive species introduced from overseas disrupt local ecosystems, resulting in the endangerment and extinction of indigenous plants and animals.

Over- and unregulated hunting in the past depleted ecosystems of many bird species, predators like wolves and bears, and ungulates such as buffalo.

We are living in a time when the consequences of resource extraction, pollution, and biodiversity loss have reared their head and are no longer challenges we can ethically ignore. Mitigating the climate crisis is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Many Western scientists have thoroughly investigated the causes and effects of ongoing environmental degradation, while many Indigenous Knowledge holders have seen and felt the implications for generations.

It began with colonization, when the land was treated as a resource to be exploited, rather than an extension of humans themselves. It's evident that a place will only thrive when treated with deep reverence and reciprocity-transforming the relationship between people and place "from a one-way street into a sacred bond."This way of life is woven into the ideals of Indigenous Knowledge.

From left to right: Darrell Marks, Daisy Purdy, and Makaius Marks advocating to "Save Oak Flat" from harmful mining. Credit: Daisy Purdy/National Wildlife Federation Staff

Daisy Purdy, Vice President at National Wildlife Federation, explains: "As a conservation organization, we must develop a shared understanding that Indigenous Knowledge is not a supplement to the source, it is the original source. Dominating (western) science is a supplement."

Centering Indigenous Knowledge is one way to pay respect to the Indigenous peoples who have developed their knowledge systems for time immemorial. It is our responsibility to amplify their voices as good stewards of the environment. In the classroom of Mother Earth, they are the teachers, along with the plants and animals.

Knowledge Sharing in Indigenous Communities

Intergenerational Knowledge Transmission is essential to the preservation of culture, traditions, and Indigenous ways of life. Sharing knowledge within and between Indigenous communities is paramount to addressing climate crises and community wellbeing. Indigenous elders play a vital role in transmitting past and current observations, bridging the gap between ancestral wisdom and contemporary challenges. Indigenous youth must be given tools to participate in decision-making that influences their future, and that of their communities, and supports their leadership as future conservation leaders.

By valuing the insights of both Indigenous youth and elders, we foster strong community bonds, while supporting the resilience and adaptability of Indigenous communities in the face of climate crises. Embracing this holistic perspective is essential for implementing environmental solutions that honor and preserve the cultural heritage and life ways of Indigenous peoples. Collectively, we can establish a new precedent that respects and elevates Indigenous voices, ensuring their vital contributions are woven into our shared mission of protecting the environment for generations to come.

The National Wildlife Federation supports Intergenerational Knowledge Transmission through buffalo restoration efforts, water protection along the Colorado River, and many other conservation partnerships with Tribes. Throughout these programs, we support knowledge sharing between youth and elders to advance traditional conservation methods into the future. The National Wildlife Federation acknowledges the need to do more, and the need to do better.

Continue learning about Intergenerational Knowledge Transmission:

• What is "Indigenous Knowledge" And Why Does It Matter? Integrating Ancestral Wisdom and Approaches into Federal Decision-Making (White House)
• Indigenous Knowledge Is Often Overlooked in Education. But It Has A Lot to Teach Us. (EdSurge News)
• Cultural Transfer of Indigenous Knowledge and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (U.S. National Park Service)

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