CALL FOR PROPOSALS – Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Past-Present-Future

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“It is traditional to adapt and adaptation is traditional”

Proposals are invited for the second annual Interdisciplinary Indigenous New England conference to be held at the University of New Hampshire.  This year’s theme is Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Past, Present, and Future.  The goal of this conference is to generate conversation among academic scholars, tribal professionals and community knowledge keepers about the spaces of interaction between traditional ecological knowledge and scientific methodologies.  Our aim is that these conversations can create opportunities for and strengthen collaborative efforts between indigenous communities, academic institutions and science professionals.  The Browne Center offers a perfect setting for this conference with opportunities for indoor and outdoor activities.  An indoor conference room offers seating in the round, with a maximum of 60 audience members.  Outdoors, we have access to a wooden yurt that can comfortably accommodate 25 audience members.  There are wooded trails, a salt marsh and nearby fresh water wetlands.  Workshops and roundtables will run concurrently, rain or shine, as indoor and outside sessions.

Deadlines:

 June 30, 2011

Proposal Formats:
  • Roundtable Interactive Discussions: Consisting of 3-4 presenters and a moderator.  Each presenter will have 5 minutes to present on the roundtable topic, followed by a 20 minute interactive discussion among presenters. The remainder of the 60 minute session will be centered on open discussion between presenters and audience.
  • Experiential Outdoor Workshops: Consisting of 1-2 facilitators/presenters.  These will be interactive outdoor workshops with a 60 minute duration.  Themes might include field walks, plant knowledge, material culture projects, and indigenous ecologies.  Potential workshop facilitators are encouraged to discuss their ideas with the conference organizers prior to submitting a proposal.

Suggested Themes:
  • Adaptation, including introduced and adaptive species; sustainability; subsistence and TEK (hunting, fishing, gathering, planting); environmental, social, political and economic change
  • Ethno-botany, including food, medicine and material culture
  • Teaching & Learning, including TEK embedded in storytelling, art, music and dance; youth perspectives; classroom and outdoor learning
  • Environmental Justice, including intellectual property; bio-piracy; land rights and land tenure; natural resource management; clean waters, air and community health
  • We highly encourage proposals that engage audience members, including high-school youth.  Proposals are welcome from faculty and university students; from community-knowledge keepers and elders; from tribal natural resource professionals and from professionals working in the field.

Submission Procedure:

 Please submit an abstract (250 words or less) describing the proposed topic and the presenter’s knowledge of that topic to tek.conference@unh.edu.  Also include a one-page c.v. or one-paragraph personal biography.  (First Nation elders and community knowledge keepers may also contact the program committee and discuss their submissions orally.)  Please submit only one proposal, and indicate whether you want to conduct a workshop, roundtable (3-4 members) or participate as an individual in a roundtable.  Individuals submitting proposals should specify the type of space (indoor or outdoor) they would prefer to use.

Date & Location:

 September 22-24, 2011
University of New Hampshire, Durham (Browne Center)

Contacts:

 For additional information please contact:

Download as a PDF:

 Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Past-Present-Future

Accommodations: We will have rates available at several area hotels and limited tent camping will be available at the Browne Center.

Meals: Presenters and audience members will have the choice of taking meals from nearby restaurants or through community style meals at the Browne Center.

Presented by the University of New Hampshire (Center for Rural and Indigenous Science Education, Center for the Humanities, Anthropology Department) and by Gedakina (www.gedakina.org)