Traditional ecological knowledge
I'm so happy I was able to do this summer research program I not only gained research experience but I also got to mix Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) with Western science. I already knew about TEK but being able to actually do it this summer was awesome. TEK are oral traditions from the native people who have lived on the land for thousands of years. These oral traditions are important because no one knows this land better than the ones who have been here the longest so I believe it's important to listen to their stories so we can learn from them. During my program we had a seminar about the importance of TEK and the speaker told a story about her Navajo nation. Sheep are a very big part of their culture and they had hundreds of them on their land until one day the government came and told the Navajos they had to get rid of their sheep because they were causing a drought. The Navajo have had their sheep around for awhile and knew this was not the case so they didn't get rid of their sheep. The government came back and killed hundreds of them, the Navajo were hurt by this because these sheep were really important to their culture/ceremonies. Even after the government killed their sheep the drought still went on because the sheep weren't the problem! I thought it was crazy how these non natives who haven't even been on the land longer than the natives think they knew more about the land than the Native Americans. When I would do sampling with my mentor she would tell me her tribes oral traditions, their creation stories and the way the land used to be and I'm so grateful because not every tribe is the same so I was able to learn a whole new culture. I was also able to attend my first Sun dance ceremony which is a part of my mentors tribe. I believe even though I didn't do as much lab work as the other students I believe that I was the luckiest because I was also able to get a culture experience out of the program.
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