GLWQA Guidance Document assists in bridging TEK & western science in research and management activities

Odanah, WI—The United States Caucus of the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) Task Team is pleased to announce the publication of the “Guidance Document on Traditional Ecological Knowledge Pursuant to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement” (Guidance Document). After four years of collaboration involving staff from tribal, intertribal, and federal agencies, as well as academic institutions, the Guidance Document was first presented to tribes in November 2020 for a sixty-day comment period. After subsequent revisions, the Guidance Document has been finalized and can be found on the website of the Bureau of Indian Affairs here.

The Guidance Document was developed in response to a request from the federal governments of the United States and Canada to support a role for TEK in the implementation of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA). The final Document provides an introduction to TEK, as well as examples of how TEK has played a role in natural resource management and research activities. As a living document, it is the hope of the U.S. Caucus that the Guidance Document will continue to evolve to best assist those who are interested in bridging TEK and western science in their research and management activities.

The U.S. Caucus TEK Task Team supports opportunities for both Indigenous and Western knowledges to contribute to science in support of the GLWQA. Current membership is comprised of staff from seven U.S. federal agencies, two academic institutions and eight tribes and intertribal commissions, including Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission.

Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission is an intertribal natural resource agency comprised of eleven member Ojibwe bands, located in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. GLIFWC works with its member bands to both manage and preserve off-reservation treaty reserved rights and resources. Please visit www.glifwc.org for more information about GLIFWC.

*Photo credit: Brian Beckwith, via Upsplash