Holistic Environmental Thinking: What Western Audiences Can Learn from Indigenous Land Management

Abstract

New approaches need to be considered for environmental science education and environmental management in the United States. Current approaches to K-12 and college level STEM education tend to exclude or marginalize diverse pedagogies and epistemologies, contributing to low rates of recruitment and retention of diverse student populations in STEM fields, both at college and occupational levels. This lack of diversity has resulted in institutional dynamics and environmental land management practices that have remained largely unchanged for decades in the United States. Management models also frequently fail to appropriately engage smaller stakeholders such as Indigenous tribes and local community members that hold valuable place-based environmental knowledge. Lack of diverse perspectives and reduced information results in suboptimal outcomes, both for local stakeholders and the environment. The goal of this research is to develop a framework for the inclusion of holistic environmental pedagogies and epistemologies in environmental science education and management, with an emphasis on partnership with Indigenous communities to achieve these goals.