Combining Tradition and Technology

In “Reform Federal Policies to Enable Native American Regenerative Agriculture” (Issues, Spring 2024), Aude K. Chesnais, Joseph P. Brewer II, Kyle P. Whyte, Raffaele Sindoni Saposhnik, and Michael Kotutwa Johnson provide a useful baseline into the history of regenerative agriculture and its use on tribal lands. Inherent in tribal producers, regenerative agriculture continues to be practiced since time immemorial using traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), which works with ecosystem function through place-based innovation.

Often, TEK is dismissed despite thousands of years of responsive adaptation. Many methods used by tribal producers yield equivalent or higher outcomes than the practices stipulated for reimbursement by the US Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, yet they are not always eligible for the same payments because they are based on methods instead of equivalent outcomes.

TEK is a living adaptive science that uses traditional knowledge fused with current conditions and new technologies to create innovative Indigenous land stewardship. Not only do Native systems of regenerative agriculture assist in carbon sequestration, but they also focus on whole ecosystem function and interaction. This creates a more long-term sustainable regenerative system. Native systems recognize that soil health cannot be siloed from water quality, habitat preservation, or any other element because of the impact of its interconnectedness across all parts of the ecosystem.

The right to data sovereignty, resource protection, and cultural information is integral for the progress of regenerative agriculture on tribal lands. From historical inequities to current complex jurisdictional issues, Native producers face challenges not faced by other producers. Most tribal land is marginalized, contaminated, less productive, and thought to be less desirable. Tribes have experienced historical barriers that have led to problems in accessing or controlling their own data and to misuse of their data by outside entities. Moving in the right direction, tribally-focused data networks will help tribal nations combine tradition and technology for optimal land stewardship.

Emily Luscombe