Issues in Tribal College Ethnobotany offered to encourage dialogue'

1
Issues in Tribal College Ethnobotany offered to
encourage dialogue.

• Daniel R. Wildcat
• Euchee member of Muskogee Nation
• Haskell Indian Nations University

2
Culture Nature Nexus

• How will tribal colleges address the specific
  tribal issues surrounding plant knowledge?
• Are principles of Respect and Responsibility
  present in activities.
• What role will tribal elders play? Can this role
  or should this role be institutionalized or
  formalized?
• What about the conflict between scientific
  notions of public knowledge vs. tribal
  conceptions of non-public knowledge, e.g. sacred
  or ceremonial knowledge, etc.?

3
The Issue of Biocolonialism

• Can we build shared TCU principles regarding
  bio-piracy and biocolonialism?
• Issues Methodologies and collection,
  distribution and knowledge.
• Can we have an honest discussion about the
  tensions between certain aspects of scientific
  culture and tribal cultures?

4
Tribal College Ethnobotany

• Tribal specific and culturally appropriate
• Teaching
• Research
• Writing
• Explore the way in which plant, animal and
  generally what is called TEK can strengthen
  tribal sovereignty and self-determination.
• Do we need to seriously think about a tribal
  college journal dedicated to TCU science?