Monday, August 3, 2009: 10:15 AM-11:30 AM
San Miguel, Albuquerque Convention Center
SS 4 - Sense of Place: Honoring the Ecological Knowledge of New Mexico Indigenous Communities
New Mexico is home to 21 Native American tribes, including 19 Indian Pueblo communities. Indigenous culture, language, and traditions are a rich part of the American Southwest and their ecological knowledge, an integral part of their heritage. Much can be learned from indigenous ecological knowledge and practices, a sacred knowledge shared at the discretion of the community elders and knowledge holders. At this year’s Annual Meeting, ESA members will be privileged to witness, with local hosts to introduce them, sustainable agricultural practices, biocultural diversity conservation, and ceremonial feast day celebrations at several Pueblo communities: Tesuque, Jemez, and Santo Domingo. The local coordinators of the cultural visits, participants on these journeys, and all ESA members are invited to listen to Pueblo elders as they share their ecological wisdom in this Special Session. Session attendees will then be guided in facilitated discussions to dialogue on how ecological knowledge – from their own indigenous, local, scientific, and spiritual traditions – can contribute to a global sustainable society. Through such ecological and cultural exchanges, the Traditional Ecological Knowledge Section introduces the ESA community to two of its articulated initiatives: to foster understanding of indigenous and local knowledge in relationship to place, and to facilitate communication among people with diverse ways of knowing, both within ESA and between ESA and other communities. Albuquerque is an ideal setting for instilling a new tradition within the ESA community: to honor and embrace all ecological knowledge that fosters a sense of global place and shared home.
Organizer:	Mimi E. Lam, University of New Mexico
Co-organizer:	Donna House, Dine (Navajo Nation)
Speakers:	Gregory A. Cajete, University of New Mexico and Santa Clara Pueblo Louie Hena, Tesuque Pueblo Florence Yepa, Jemez Pueblo Miguel A. Santistevan, University of New Mexico and Indo-Hispano Norma D. Duran, Chicana Donna House, Dine (Navajo Nation)

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See more of The 94th ESA Annual Meeting (August 2 -- 7, 2009)