Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is the on-going accumulation of knowledge, practice and belief about relationships between living beings in a specific ecosystem that is acquired by indigenous people over hundreds or thousands of years through direct contact with the environment, handed down through generations, and used for life-sustaining ways.[1]
Within Linguistics
Linguistics, the study of language, provides insight into a culture and its view of the natural world. Some indigenous peoples now have dictionaries for their languages. A native speaker can provide information about words, their meanings, associations and similarities. For example, the Yupik language on Nelson Island in Alaska is intrinsically tied to the environment –there are words to describe plants, activities, and elements in the Yupik language that are non-existent in other languages. These words help Yupik people to determine how they interact with their immediate environment.[2]
Connections between documenting traditional ecological knowledge and sustainability
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