Traditional Environmental Knowledge 

Doctoral research with Haudenosaunee communities, 2009 - 2016

I completed my doctorate through McGill University Department of Anthropology in May, 2016. My research was based upon fieldwork in 2011, but also cumulative learning over the years between 2009 and 2016. During that time, I interviewed, attending teachings, volunteered, and did university and community based work with Haudenosaunee students, educators, elders, and community members. My dissertation, The Restorative Ecology of Peace: Haudenosaunee environmental knowledge and philosophies of stewardship, is a synthesis of what I learned about Haudenosaunee relationships with the natural world and with their homeland, beginning from the Creation Story through the present, into the future. For this research, I followed the guidance of Indigenous methodologies and Haudenosaunee mentors to carry out culturally appropriate, inductive, community-based research. From collaborative teaching, research, and other work together, I was able to write about ethical research with Native American communities, and to show that one does not have to be Indigenous to understand, respect, and implement Indigenous philosophies of environmental stewardship. This research has implications for literature and understanding of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), in support of Indigenous sovereignty and stewardship models, and for equitable decision-making and just co-management. A pdf copy of my dissertation is available on the Library and Archives Canada website. Transcripts of the interviews I did are housed at the Deyohahá:ge: Indigenous Knowledge Centre at the Six Nations Polytechnic, Ohsweken, Six Nations of the Grand River. I am grateful that Deyohahá:ge: hosted me during fieldwork; they are a marvelous home for important research! For more information about Deyohahá:ge: Indigenous Knowledge Centre, or to access the archives, please follow this link: http://www.snpolytechnic.com/index.php/indigenous-knowledge-centre