Indigenous Perspectives on Soil Health and Water

Before 1993, when Santa Clara Pueblo Indigenous scholar Gregory Cajete began to publish about what he referred to as Native Science, there had been no serious attempts to analyze and gather data regarding American Indian perceptions and cognition related to soil and water management and how those perceptions influenced indigenous practices and choices as they impacted local soils and water.

In this presentation, which was part of the National Center for Appropriate Technology’s second Soil Health Innovations Conferece, which was held in March 2022, current models and data are examined to demonstrate some impacts on indigenous lands and soil resulting from a kincentric ecological approach to land management.

This video is produced by the National Center for Appropriate Technology through the ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture program, under a cooperative agreement with USDA Rural Development. ATTRA.NCAT.ORG.