Before we begin…

Integrating Historical Secwepemc Integrating Historical Secwepemc Knowledge with Contemporary Knowledge with Contemporary

ScienceScience

Meeting our aboriginal neighbours again Meeting our aboriginal neighbours again

– – for the first timefor the first time

First United Church, Salmon Arm, BCFirst United Church, Salmon Arm, BC

Sept. 22, 2012Sept. 22, 2012

Warren BellWarren Bell

Past Founding PresidentPast Founding President

WA:TER – Wetland Alliance: The Ecological ResponseWA:TER – Wetland Alliance: The Ecological Response

Thesis:

Western industrial science has lost its way.

Aboriginal wisdom can show us the way home.

The European explorers who first visited the Northwest Coast of North America assumed that the entire region was virtually untouched wilderness whose occupants used the land only minimally, hunting and gathering shoots, roots, and berries that were peripheral to a diet and culture focused on salmon. Colonizers who followed the explorers used these claims to justify the displacement of Native groups from their lands. Scholars now understand, however, that Northwest Coast peoples were actively cultivating plants well before their first contact with Europeans.

In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue….

How do we use knowledge?

Purposes for gathering knowledgePurposes for gathering knowledge

Aboriginal (50,000 years)Aboriginal (50,000 years): : • SurvivalSurvival• Sustaining resourcesSustaining resources• Respect/reverence for natural worldRespect/reverence for natural world

Western industrial society (260 years)Western industrial society (260 years): : • Production of “goods” or “products” (GDP)Production of “goods” or “products” (GDP)• Monetary gain Monetary gain • Curiosity about the worldCuriosity about the world

How does the industrial world

rate knowledge?

1901

Nobel Prizes = Nobel Prizes = the “pinnacle” of the “pinnacle” of Western scientific knowledgeWestern scientific knowledge

• PhysicsPhysics• ChemistryChemistry• MedicineMedicine• LiteratureLiterature• PeacePeace• Economic sciencesEconomic sciences

What’s not recognized?

No award for knowledge of the natural No award for knowledge of the natural world, or of the human-environmental world, or of the human-environmental

interfaceinterface

All Biological sciencesAll Biological sciences• Environmental scienceEnvironmental science• Food and agricultural scienceFood and agricultural science• ForestryForestry• ClimatologyClimatology• Atmospheric, water, soil sciences Atmospheric, water, soil sciences • Ecosystem valuationEcosystem valuation

•Ethnobotany!Ethnobotany!

No award for knowledge of human No award for knowledge of human conduct or behaviourconduct or behaviour

All social or psychological sciencesAll social or psychological sciences• PsychologyPsychology• SociologySociology• AnthropologyAnthropology• HistoryHistory• Political sciencePolitical science• LinguisticsLinguistics

•Ethnobotany!Ethnobotany!

No award for knowledge of ethics, No award for knowledge of ethics, moral judgement or valuesmoral judgement or values

BioethicsBioethics EthicsEthics

• ““Honesty” studiesHonesty” studies• ““Objectivity” studiesObjectivity” studies• ““Integrity” studiesIntegrity” studies• ““Carefulness” studiesCarefulness” studies• ““Openness” or “transparency” studiesOpenness” or “transparency” studies

Somebody noticed this a few years ago….

1980

“The Right Livelihood Award evolved from Jakob von Uexküll's opinion that the Nobel Prizes were relatively narrow in scope and usually recognised the work of citizens in industrialized countries.

Uexküll first approached the Nobel Foundation with the suggestion that it establish two new awards, one for ecology and one relevant to the lives of the poor majority of the world's population.

He offered to contribute financially but his proposal was turned down.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_Livelihood_Award

Percy and Louise Schmeiser Maude Barlow

David Suzuki

      

"...for exemplary courage and perseverance in asserting the rights of indigenous people to their land."

1993 – sisters Mary and Carrie Dann of the Western Shoshone people

“Western Shoshone land - our Mother Earth - is not for sale”

But now there’s a new player…But now there’s a new player…

The modern (multinational) corporation

““Global Inc. – An atlas of the multinational corporation” Global Inc. – An atlas of the multinational corporation” Gabel/BrunerGabel/Bruner

The New Press 2003The New Press 2003

Corporations (100 years) use knowledge to:Corporations (100 years) use knowledge to:• Argue the case for their exploitative actionsArgue the case for their exploitative actions• Defeat critics Defeat critics • Satisfy government regulations Satisfy government regulations • Make money for shareholdersMake money for shareholders

How corporations use knowledge

“There are no base files for this project as it is a Greenfield project.”

Translation: “We have no real clue how this will actually work because we’re building this in untouched wilderness.”

How “civil society” uses knowledge to address corporate actions

Ecosystem valuation

$$$$$$$$

Ecological FootprintEcological Footprint(Wackernagel and Rees)(Wackernagel and Rees)

“ “The amount of biologically The amount of biologically productive land and sea area productive land and sea area necessary to supply the resources a necessary to supply the resources a human human populationpopulation consumes, and to consumes, and to assimilate associated waste.” assimilate associated waste.”

http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/

We can no longer afford

careless development!

Closer to home…

“No archaeological sites were identified within the proposed development area…”

The back story…The back story…

No artifacts on the lower south side of the No artifacts on the lower south side of the river because First Nations would not have river because First Nations would not have built or stayed where it flooded regularlybuilt or stayed where it flooded regularly

There There waswas evidence of FN presence (40-50 evidence of FN presence (40-50 year old culturally modified trees) but this year old culturally modified trees) but this didn’t have to be described, by statute, as didn’t have to be described, by statute, as “archeological evidence”“archeological evidence”

Proponent unwilling at first to work with Proponent unwilling at first to work with FN, and unwilling to disseminate the study FN, and unwilling to disseminate the study to any other parties (eventually agreed to to any other parties (eventually agreed to do so)do so)

Getting closer to using knowledge Getting closer to using knowledge in a new wayin a new way

Water Survey Canada Station # 08LE021 Salmon River near Salmon Arm - Maximum Daily Discharge (M3/Second) 1963 - 2009

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Current

24-M

ay-1

1

26-M

ay-0

9

17-M

ay-0

7

16-M

ay-0

5

25-M

ay-0

3

15-M

ay-0

1

26-M

ay-9

9

16-M

ay-9

7

15-M

ay-9

5

14-M

ay-9

3

19-M

ay-9

1

10-M

ay-8

9

01-M

ay-8

7

25-M

ay-8

5

25-M

ay-8

3

26-M

ay-8

1

07-M

ay-7

9

03-M

ay-7

7

04-J

un-7

5

18-M

ay-7

3

14-M

ay-7

1

14-M

ay-6

9

01-J

un-6

5

23-M

ay-6

3

Date of Max. Daily Discharge

Max

. D

aily

Dis

char

ge

(M3/

Sec

on

d)

Timing by Year of Shuswap Lake Peak Water Levels and Salmon River Peak Water Flows Water Survey Canada Station Data - 1963-2008

0

50

100

150

200

250

2011

2009

2007

2005

2003

2001

1999

1997

1995

1993

1991

1989

1987

1985

1983

1981

1979

1977

1975

1973

1971

1966

1964

Year of Measurement at Water Survey Canada Station

Da

y N

um

be

r in

Ye

ar

tha

t P

ea

k w

as

Me

as

ure

d

Water Survey Canada Station # 08LE021 Salmon River near Salmon Arm - Maximum Daily Discharge (M3/Second) 1963 - 2008

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

May

-63

May

-65

May

-67

May

-69

May

-71

May

-73

May

-75

May

-77

May

-79

May

-81

May

-83

May

-85

May

-87

May

-89

May

-91

May

-93

May

-95

May

-97

May

-99

May

-01

May

-03

May

-05

May

-07

Date of Max. Daily Discharge

Max

. D

aily

Dis

char

ge

(M3/

Sec

on

d)

And dozens of photos….

But now it’s time

for a truly new way of using knowledge

Integrating all knowledge into one seamless whole

20032003

Two perspectives, light years apart….

“Skirted round the great bay into which Salmon R. flows [Salmon Arm] & which is low & swampy along shore, everywhere, but may, with the lower part of the Salmon R. valley, which seems quite flat, contain a Considerable area of land eventually arable, - now thickly timbered. If cleared would need no irrigation. Some of the benches would probably answer for agriculture, & the low undulating country about White Lake Creek [White Creek]. Examined & sounded the entrance of Salmon River, & find it too shallow even at this stage of the water, for anything large to go up, being about 4’ on the bar, but deeper within. The river itself is also narrow & tortuous & does not look as if it could be navigated under any circumstances”

George Dawson, 1877

“Well…we used to just crave for fresh edibles. It was just something we lookedforward to. And it wasn’t just my grandmother. There was a lot of little old ladiesat the time. The neighbours. They’d go down and pack lunch and we’d go downwith them as children. And when they’d pop the wapato out of the mud we wouldgrab them and throw them in the baskets….And then of course we always had tohelp. And it was like a real picnic. Anything we did was picnic with ourgrandparents. I have so many happy memories of them. And it was so plentiful. Idon’t think they could put a dent in it. You know, by digging. It was just all over,right around the bay [of Shuswap Lake], past the wharf in town. It was allwapato and water parsnip along with the bulrush. It was just like a real bigpicnic. And they’d come home with great big huge baskets full of both root edibles.”

Mary Thomas – personal communication to Nancy Turner and Ann Garibaldi 2-15- 01

The “The “new”new” use of knowledge use of knowledge

HolisticHolistic – all known variables considered – all known variables considered togethertogether

Includes human development and culture in Includes human development and culture in the local and planetary landscapethe local and planetary landscape

Changes human behaviour – cultural, Changes human behaviour – cultural, economic, recreational, employment, economic, recreational, employment, housing, and social – to fit the “housing, and social – to fit the “eco-scape”eco-scape” – – not the not the eco-scapeeco-scape to fit the behaviour to fit the behaviour

““Eco-scapeEco-scape””

Combines “landscape” and “ecosystem”Combines “landscape” and “ecosystem” Includes the life forms and the land forms Includes the life forms and the land forms

– water, air, soil, plants, animals, and – water, air, soil, plants, animals, and humanshumans

Also includes cosmic factors such as solar Also includes cosmic factors such as solar activity and lunar and planetary influencesactivity and lunar and planetary influences

Places humans in the scene, but as part of Places humans in the scene, but as part of a grander process in which we are locally a grander process in which we are locally important, but globally inconsequentialimportant, but globally inconsequential

Elements of eco-scape knowledgeElements of eco-scape knowledge

Deep ecological scienceDeep ecological science Deep psychological scienceDeep psychological science All cultural knowledge All cultural knowledge Historical study (up to the planetary Historical study (up to the planetary

level)level) Biomimicry (imitating Mother Nature)Biomimicry (imitating Mother Nature) Equal emphasis on different sources Equal emphasis on different sources

of knowledge –traditional wisdom of knowledge –traditional wisdom and Western scienceand Western science

Albert Einstein

"Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind…. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion "

"Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal."

"Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.”

Chief Seattle

"A human being is a part of a whole, called by us “universe”, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself … as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. …Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."

“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.”

Chief Seattle, 1854

Albert Einstein

The The newestnewest development development

Mary Thomas Mary Thomas Heritage Sanctuary Heritage Sanctuary and Cultural Centreand Cultural Centre

The The newestnewest development development

Ecologically soundEcologically sound Psychologically sound Psychologically sound Economically secureEconomically secure Able to endure for the foreseeable Able to endure for the foreseeable

futurefuture Culturally diverse and sensitiveCulturally diverse and sensitive Just and fairJust and fair Enjoyable and enrichingEnjoyable and enriching Constantly changing and adaptingConstantly changing and adapting

Who are we working for?

Our new employers

Home