Indigenous Traditional Ecological & Cultural Knowledge is a growing body of academic work that supports Indigenous approaches to knowledge and culture.
Portland State’s ITECK undergraduate certificate is designed to provide Native and non-Native students with a concentrated, decolonized study of Indigenous ecological epistemologies and their value within a variety of contemporary contexts. In recent years, Western Science has “discovered” what Indigenous People have known since Time Immemorial and Indigenous oral histories continue to confront and correct inaccurate and incomplete historical accounts. Indigenous Ways of Knowing centers kinship and the reciprocal relationship between people and our environment. Through critical analysis of socially constructed narratives, the certificate will explore contemporary themes, such as community health, food sovereignty, Indigenous land management and practices, community development, resilience, and self-determination.