Indigenous ways of being and the Ecosystem Approach

Abstract

Indigenous knowledge systems, ways of knowing and being have long been ignored or erased in the science, policy, and management of ecosystems. Through the 2022 Ecosystem Approach Conference and Synthesis Workshop focusing on Indigenous relationships, we facilitated discussions which raised key concerns from Indigenous led environmental teams: funding, collaborations, work/life balance, Indigeneity/Western/colonial balance, and racism. We discuss how conceptions of the Ecosystem Approach are synonymous with Indigenous management by definition and practice. Drawing on specific examples raised in workshop discussions and from the literature, we highlight how holistic approaches to the caring for and science of ecosystems have long been the way of Indigenous communities locally, globally, and across generations. To elevate these approaches and support this holistic vision of having relationship with ecosystems, we collectively call for better avenues of funding and responsive structures to support Indigenous-led initiatives. This requires that first we recognize Indigenous sovereignty and as settler and non-Indigenous scientists we invest in and maintain real relationships by listening to and standing with Indigenous Peoples in an effort to better support care for their Lands, Waters, and Kiin.