JACKSON, Wyo. — The vast complexities of indigenous wisdom give insight into ecological preservation necessary to envisioning and maintaining a relationship with the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), but Tribal knowledge has been largely absent from land management decisions.
For at least the past 13,000 years, people have been connected to the area and accumulating knowledge in what’s held as Indigenous Knowledge (IK) or Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). The Greater Yellowstone Coalition (GYC) recently published a three part series sharing the Apsáalooke (Crow) place names of iconic landmarks throughout the GYE, and Buckrail has included a number of them here:
- Snake River – Bilixachiíkuse or “Water Moves the Other Way”
- Bridger Mountains – Cheétawaxaawe or “Wolf Mountains”
- Yellowstone Geyser Basin – Awé Púawishe or “Land of Steam”
- Yellowstone River – Iichíilikaashaashe or “Elk River”
- Beartooth Mountains – Daxpitcheeihté or “Bear’s Teeth”
- Yellowstone Lake – Iichíilikaashaashe Alachiliche or “Where Elk River Begins”
- Wind River – Hucháashe or “Wind River”
Awareness of the indigenous place names and TEK is important to remind people that there is a deeply experienced alternative to the western perspective. This reminder can then help reestablish ecological expectations in the human-land relationship.
“The inclination is often to view Western science and Indigenous Knowledge as competing epistemologies,” says Carlie Ideker, Bridger-Teton & Tribal engagement coordinator with the Wyoming Wilderness Association. “Working with Tribal Nations, as the holders of Indigenous Knowledge and traditional caretakers of these places, can inform and guide Western scientific methods, including the questions we pursue and how we interpret and apply those results back to specific landscapes.”
According to Ideker, while western science is still the newcomer regarding land management and stewardship compared to IK, looking to the extensive lived-experiences and environmental traditions can inform land management decisions being made.
For example, Ideker points to how the Wind River Reservation created the Roadless Area to protect 188,000 acres over 25 years before the 1964 Wilderness Act passed, and how the Newe (Eastern Shoshone) and Inun-ina (Northern Arapaho) have “continued to advocate for water rights to maintain flows in Big Wind as a critical fishery and ecosystem and are directly engaged in the Tribal-led effort across the country for buffalo restoration.”
TEK has been largely left out of land management decisions in western Wyoming. Supporting Tribal sovereignty and building co-stewardship between traditional caretakers and community and state land managers is important for effective conservation design going forward.
“Tribal Talks: Breaking Boundaries” has been an ongoing local series encouraging dialogue between the Teton County community and tribal communities around ecological issues. The final discussion will be held on May 4 at 6 p.m. at the Teton County Library Auditorium.
