Indigenous Ingenuity: What can we learn?

By
Michael Kotutwa Johnson, PhD
Presented 10/21/2023
 Indigenous Peoples protect 80% of global biodiversity on a mere 25%
of the planet's land with less than 5% of the world’s population.

SOURCES

1. Schuster, R., Germain, R.R., Bennett, J.R., Reo, N.J., & Arcese., P. (2019). Vertebrate biodiversity on indigenous‐managed lands in Australia, Brazil, and Canada equals that in protected areas. Environmental Science & Policy, 101: 1

2. Intergovernmental Science‐Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Regional Assessments of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (2018)
 What is Indigenous Agricultural Knowledge (IAK)?

“…….applied knowledge for raising food and

other agricultural products that is grounded in
Indigenous belief systems and practices which
have been time‐tested over millennia.”
(Johnson et al, 2019 p 4)
Crop and Genetic Biodiversity is Key to Climate
Adaptation
Example: Drought Tolerant Climate Adopted Plants
Place‐Based Adaptive Management Techniques
Food Security Indigenous Ingenuity
Value of Focusing on the Relationship With
Nature
Indigenous Generational Knowledge
Environmental and Cultural Knowledge for the Next
Generation
The benefits of Indigenous farming practices?
• Helps reduce obesity because of
the work required and
nutritional food that is produced

• It reinforces family culture

because everyone is involved in
the process

• It stabilizes families and

communities, so no one is
hungry

• Environmentally friendly with

fields averaging 1‐5 acres and no
pollutants like N,P and K

• It increases the concept of

sharing

• You learn to have a real respect

Photo by Maria Elena Peterson
for the land and what it provides
Thank You!