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Storytelling and a Connection to the Land
By Michael Collins, Teravana
We may be stuck physically, or in our minds, but a great story can grab the imagination. We can learn from metaphors that take hold of our minds in a way only that specific story can.
Storytelling is embedded in indigenous peoples’ culture, passed on in drawings, on the backs of traditional coats, or by word of mouth. These methods keep the content close and tied to the way of life the ideas represent. Storytelling can create a sense of communal strength, link generations together, inspire a connection with the land, bring youth up into maturity, and teach youth how to tell and become owners of these stories.
By passing down traditions, the words and meanings are owned so that the story cannot be taken away from the original source or group of people. The knowledge passed down is preserved and connected to the land. Traditionally, indigenous peoples have celebrated and honored the land, seeing it as the source of food and medicine needed for survival, treating forests and trees as equals to people. The land as sacred is a common thread among indigenous peoples.
Seeing words and teachings as a canopy of protection, it becomes clearer why indigenous peoples have proven to be the world’s most effective land stewards. The lessons about caring for, respecting, and stewarding the land have proven to work and have been passed down. These lessons can also tell us how land will heal. Today, a solution to help the environment that is often heard is to keep people away from forests. But another idea is to see how indigenous peoples have interacted with the land. According to the World Bank and other sources, about 36% of the Earth’s intact forests are on indigenous peoples’ lands, including 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity.
Place Based Learning (PBL) and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) are instructional concepts that focus on learning from the history of the land and continuing the connection that has defined so many cultures. For example, Teravana’s rolling forests were first inhabited by the Kashaya Pomo who originated in Fort Ross in Sonoma County and are considered the first people to live in the area (Parrish, 1998). The Pomo have traditionally had an intrinsic relationship with forests and the redwood forests that once covered much of northern California. There is an opportunity to learn from the Pomo and other tribes and to pass on the knowledge to young people. The stories and folklore can be the gateway to understanding what the land is trying to tell us and to finding our connection to the land.
Become a steward by attending one of Teravana’s workshops and/or donating: https://www.teravana.org/canopy-of-giving/
REFERENCES
Empowering Indigenous Peoples to Protect Forests. 2023. The World Bank. Worldbank.org.
Kashaya People: The First People. Otis Parrish. Excerpted from Fort Ross © 1998 Fort Ross Interpretive Association (Fort Ross Conservancy) ISBN # 1-56540-355-X.
https://www.fortross.org/history/kashaya