Date of Award
Fall 12-11-2025
Degree Type
Honors Thesis
Major
Politics
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Political Science
First Advisor
Brian Weiner
Abstract
In response to a changing climate and while reckoning with their treatment of California Indians, the State of California has embraced Traditional Ecological Knowledge (T.E.K.) and is working to integrate it into their environmental policies. While many scientists and policymakers view T.E.K. as an important resource for environmental management, how do the holders of this knowledge perceive its integration? This research centers the perspectives of California Indian tribes who engaged with the state in the 2024 Tribal Nature-Based Solutions program - an example of a State policy to integrate T.E.K. Their perspectives highlight the different concerns, priorities, and preferred methods of collaboration that surveyed tribes may hold and offer an evaluation of the program’s goal of returning T.E.K. to the land. This research creates a framework grounded in tribal perspectives that may help us to collectively consider: what might the future of T.E.K. integration and partnership between tribes and the State look like?
Recommended Citation
Crane, Lauren, "“Land Back with Strings Attached”: Centering California Indian Perspectives on the Integration of Traditional Ecological Knowledge into California Environmental Policy" (2025). Undergraduate Honors Theses. 85.
https://repository.usfca.edu/honors/85
