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In 2022, DOI Secretary Deb Haaland—a member of the Pueblo of Laguna—said, “from wildfire prevention to managing drought and famine, our ancestors have used nature-based approaches to coexist among our lands, waters, wildlife and their habitats for millennia. As communities continue to face the effects of climate change, Indigenous Knowledges will benefit the department’s efforts to bolster resilience and protect all communities” (DOI 2022). This statement stresses DOI’s commitment to the importance of incorporating Indigenous Knowledges into federal processes, especially when it comes to nature-based solutions. The 2022 White House Guidance also directs agencies to better understand Indigenous Knowledges, grow and maintain relationships with tribal nations and Indigenous peoples, and consider, include, and apply Indigenous Knowledges to federal research, policies, and decision- making (Prabhakar and Mallory 2022).
Box 3. Examples of DOI Projects Including Indigenous Knowledges
- Shared governance and research on sweetgrass in Acadia National Park: The National Park Service (NPS) is working with citizens of Wabanaki Tribes—the Aroostook Band of Mi’kmaq, the Houlton Band of Maliseet (Wolastogiyik), the Passamaquoddy (Peskotomuhkati) Tribe at Sipayik, the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township, and the Penobscot Nation—to research how to use historic sweetgrass harvesting practices to enhance sweetgrass abundance (Prabhakar and Mallory 2022, Schmitt 2021).
- Using traditional burning to adapt to climate change: The US Geological Survey (USGS) is working with Indigenous peoples in California to apply cultural burning practices to make landscapes more resilient to climate change (Prabhakar and Mallory 2022, Climate Adaptation Science Centers 2020, Sommer 2020). Additionally, there are broader efforts to enhance federal/tribal partnerships for wildland fire research and management (Lake 2021).
- Floodplain reconnection to restore tribal fisheries: USFWS is working with the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians to reconnect two miles of creek in Oregon to provide access to rearing and foraging habitats for culturally important fish and shellfish (USFWS n.d.).
- Working with tribes to inform riparian restoration: USGS scientists are conducting research with the San Carlos Apache Tribe to develop a restoration plan for culturally important riparian areas that are at risk from climate change (USGS 2020).
Indigenous Knowledges1 are defined in the 2022 Guidance for Federal Agencies as “a body of observations, oral and written knowledge, innovations, practices, and beliefs developed by Tribes and Indigenous Peoples through interaction and experience with the environment.” This collective body of knowledge “can be developed over millennia, continues to develop, and includes understanding based on evidence acquired through direct contact with the environment and long-term experiences, as well as extensive observations, lessons, and skills passed from generation to generation” (Prabhakar and Mallory 2022). Indigenous Knowledges are heterogenous, unique, and context-dependent (Prabhakar and Mallory 2022, Reed et al. 2022). Tribes and Indigenous peoples have been working with nature to help solve problems since time immemorial (Reed et al. 2022). However, in many Indigenous and tribal contexts, there is a slight disconnect between commonly cited definitions of nature-based solutions that conceptualize using nature or natural solutions to solve human problems, as opposed to thinking of humans as a part of nature and leveraging that reciprocal relationship (Reed et al. 2022; Reed 2022). Despite, and perhaps because of, these differences in conceptualizations of nature-based solutions, there is a wealth of information that federal agencies can gain from Indigenous Knowledges. White House guidance on Indigenous Knowledges issued in 2022 states the importance of “understanding that multiple lines of evidence or ways of knowing can lead to better-informed decision-making.” Research has shown that actively involving Indigenous peoples and local communities is a key element of success for restoration projects, which encompass a significant number of the NBS strategies contained in this Roadmap (Reyes-García et al. 2019).
Agencies often lack the expertise to appropriately consider and apply Indigenous Knowledges (Prabhakar and Mallory 2022), but there are a growing number of resources that can guide their application and consideration in NBS planning and implementation. Many of these resources are described and linked in the White House Guidance on Indigenous Knowledge (Prabhakar and Mallory 2022) and the forthcoming DOI Indigenous Knowledges Policy and Indigenous Knowledges Handbook. The White House memorandum includes resources on topics such as planning ahead to incorporate Indigenous Knowledges, how to engage youth and elders, how to include Indigenous Knowledges in federal decision-making, considering shared management structures, recognizing Indigenous methodologies, honoring Indigenous languages, applying Indigenous voice and style, citing Indigenous Knowledges, and building capacity and providing direct funding to tribes and Indigenous organizations. DOI has applied Indigenous Knowledges to specific NBS projects, and much can be learned from those past experiences (Box 3).
Historically, Indigenous Knowledges have been marginalized and excluded from federal research and policy decisions, with some exceptions (e.g., Kendall et al. 2017). To change this and meaningfully incorporate Indigenous Knowledges into NBS research and strategy implementation requires growing and maintaining relationships with tribal and Indigenous groups, coproducing knowledge, and considering comanagement and costewardship of implemented projects (Prabhakar and Mallory 2022). It is important to emphasize that relationships between federal entities and tribal and Indigenous groups must not be extractive; these relationships need to be mutually beneficial and built on trust and respect (Prabhakar and Mallory 2022).
Additional information on applying Indigenous Knowledges to nature-based solutions can be learned from recorded sessions of the USGS webinar series Incorporating Indigenous Knowledges into Federal Research and Management.
1. Recent White House guidance uses the term Indigenous knowledge but recognizes a variety of related terms including traditional ecological knowledge, traditional knowledge, Indigenous traditional knowledge, and native science. DOI policy recommends the term Indigenous Knowledges to recognize that there are many different knowledges, rather than one unified knowledge.