Indigenous People’s View of the Conservation of Resources

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Recommended: Is hunting good or bad for the environment? INTRODUCTION

Throughout history in North America, the indigenous peoples culture, tradition and religion have always differed from the western way of life. In this essay, I will explore two things. First, I will talk about the indigenous people’s view of the conservation of resources which can also be termed as the traditional ecological knowledge and the economist view of natural resources. Second, I will argue in this essay that by thinking of resources from the traditional ecological point of view, we can better understand why conserving our natural resources is important. I believe that we understanding why conservation of our natural resources is important will go a long way in helping us understand why our individual action affects our ecosystem.

About three years ago, I became interested in the indigenous people’s view of the conservation of natural resources when I saw a documentary which explored the indigenous people way of culture and beliefs. What I was fascinated about was when the presenter of the documentary discussed about the principle of hunting in indigenous tradition. Indigenous people set out to just like everybody else to look for food in order to provide for their family, when they kill an animal, they believe that the animal is given to them by the land. They do not believe that they kill the animal because of how skilled a hunter they were. In order to show their gratitude to the land, they make sure that they do not misuse the meat that they derive from such animal.

Who are the indigenous people? Emery and Associates defined indigenous people as descent of populations that lived in a particular country or geographical regions to which the country belongs, at the time of colonization or conquest and who irrespective...

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...has never been neutral in relation to indigenous peoples, lands, resources and development. The struggle to control lands and resources to facilitate development is the principal feature of the relationship between indigenous peoples and governments worldwide. Science is based on discovery, and has provided the foundation for the industrialization of the earth and the concentration of wealth in the hands of nations with the greatest scientific capacity”.

Leopold, A. 1949. A Sand County Almanac.Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Alan, R. Emery and Associates (1997) Guidelines for Environmental Assessments and Traditional Knowledge. A Report from the Centre for Traditional Knowledge of the World Council of Indigenous People (draft), Ottawa, p. 2.

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