Ethnoecology (2) Flashcards
What is ethnoecology?
The study of how people living in different regions understand the ecosystem around them through their unique culture
What are some parallels to ethnoecology?
Ethnobotony, ethnoastronomy, ethnohistory
What role do linguistics play in ethnoecology?
Linguistic anthropology provides insight ecosystems understandings that are rooted in language.
In other words, how people describe their environment and what is described (where focus is given), represents what is valuable and reflects traditional knowledge.
True or false? TEK is held by Indigenous peoples.
Trick question. While this is true, Indigenous peoples are not the only keepers of TEK.
For example, fishermen/fisherpeoples have intergenerational knowledge of the environment (cod fishing in Newfoundland).
What is Levi-Strauss’s take on nature and culture?
Levi-Strauss suggests that nature and culture constitute a universal dichotomy.
Moreover, they can only be defined in relation to one another.
What is Feminist Anthropology and would you say Levi-Strauss would agree with Feminist anthropological theory?
No,
Feminist anthropology rejects nature/culture dichotomies as ethnocentric and idealist.
It also challenges the inherent sexism and power struggles of these dichotomies.
“Is nature to culture as female is to male?”
What is a narrative as defined by Fairhead and Leach?
A narrative is a story or explanation that is said to be true, but is not necessarily factual or backed by evidence.
- Kissidougou
What false forest histories are contained in the narratives concerning Kissidougou?
- Narrative that deforestation in the area is due to overpopulation and malpractice ecosystem management by the local people
- Counternarrative is that forest cover has actually gradually increased over time due to enriching local land use practices.
What are the political effects of false narratives?
Give an example other than Kissidougou.
- loss of land sovereignty for local residents or Indigenous peoples
- Socio-economic consequences of ill-informed policy
Example:
Sayisi Dene First Nation people were pastoral, semi-nomadic people that followed the barren-ground caribou in northern Manitoba. In the mid-1900s, western scientists observed traditional hunting practices that have maintained caribou populations dating back pre-colonization. The conservationists created a false narrative that this was going to lead to the caribous extinction, which ultimately resulted in the forced relocation of the Sayisi Dene First Nations to Churchill, Manitoba. This had severe socio-economic effects, leading to poverty, starvation, violence, and death.
How does the case of the last cod also portray the effects of false narratives in western science?
Cod populations were overestimated yearly by population scientists. This allowed for the continued overfishing of the species. This resulted in population collapse. The province of Newfoundland relied on cod fisheries as an economic staple. This was detrimental to the employment rate and lead to mass emigration from the province.
What methods do Fairhead and Leach employ in order to discredit the false forest history and substitute their own counternarrative?
Qualitative ethnographic data combined with quantitative aerial imaging data
What two approaches to ethnoecology does Nazarea identify? How do these two approaches differ in regard to their implications for non-Western systems of classification?
(1) Demonstrate Western scientific ignorance about other peoples’ ways of thinking and doing and to point out its arrogance in dismissing anything that is different as being inferior
(2) Cross-refer native systems of classification to the Western scientific tradition
Both approaches encourage the recognition of the value of traditional knowledge and alternative sciences.
The first approach places value of the thoroughness and conciseness of local knowledge.
The second approach challenged one-size-fits-all classifications and ethnocentrism.
What does Nazarea add to the anthropological conversation on ethnoecology? To where does she suggest ethnoecologists should turn their attention?
Shift our attention to…
(1) decision making processes and behavioural outcomes
(2) how ways of knowing are parallel
(3) how ways of knowing have developed through interconnected relationships
How does cognitive anthropology, in general, and the work of Harold Conklin, in particular, inform Nazarea’s perspective?
Conklin’s lead in individualized detailed study; the understanding of local understanding
“ethno-“ meaning localized application
How does the field of ethnoecology inform Haenn’s research?
Haenn investigates the ontology of Campeche farmer’s in Mexico
Narrative: deforestation is harmful to ecosystem health
Campeche farmer’s have an equally valid conflicting narrative that the forest is inherently evil and needs to be managed in this way.
