Gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of the land and Indigenous practices and how to engage in a culturally responsible way with Portland State's Indigenous Traditional Ecological & Cultural Knowledge certificate, a first-of-its-kind program in our state and region.
Indigenous peoples have lived sustainably on their ancestral homelands since time immemorial, relying on Indigenous Traditional Ecological & Cultural Knowledge (ITECK), a body of observations, oral and written knowledge, practices and beliefs acquired over generations and continually evolving about the relationship of living beings (including humans) with one another and with their environment.
This certificate will provide you with a unique and beneficial skill set at a time when ITECK is being elevated at the federal level and public agencies and nongovernmental organizations are incorporating ITECK into climate change planning and land restoration and management practices.
In this program, you'll critically explore topics such as the impacts of colonization on traditional foods and community health, food sovereignty and self-determination, Indigenous land management and practices, community engagement and development, resilience, and the re-emergence of Indigenous practices to heal the Land and heal the People.
You'll also have the opportunity to engage in hands-on field work and research with our local, regional, federal and tribal partners, including U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Metro regional government, Portland Parks, Portland's Bureau of Environmental Services, Native American Youth and Family Center, and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.
ITECK is not new, but Western science is finally recognizing its intrinsic value to our collective understanding of the natural world. By learning Indigenous ecological practices, centering Indigenous ways of knowing and engaging in community-based projects, you'll participate in a new career pathway and be prepared to serve and work alongside members of Indigenous populations — in Native-centered programs and nonprofits as well as state, regional and federal agencies.
Become part of a new generation of emerging Indigenous leaders, scholars and advocates.
Portland is home to the ninth largest American Indian/Alaska Native urban community in the U.S., and Portland State's downtown campus is uniquely positioned to partner with the many governmental agencies, tribal and Native organizations and NGOs that are headquartered here.
Our Indigenous Nations Studies department works closely with many of these partners in our backyard. It's through these partnerships that you'll be able to put ITECK into practice. Our students have been part of dozens of projects and activities across our region, including camas and wapato restoration, annual salmon bakes, seasonal seed-scattering and land blessings, land toxicology testing, and work at natural areas to harvest culturally significant plants and assist in land reclamation practices.
You won't have to go far to engage in hands-on learning and research. You'll be part of an ongoing project to reclaim an Oak Savanna landscape right on our campus for food, medicine and ceremony. The site will also be home to an ITECK Center, providing our community with indoor and outdoor gathering spaces for learning, understanding and healing.
Our soon-to-be renovated undergraduate science building, Vernier Science Center, will also house a fully functioning Indigenous kitchen and classroom, gathering area, plant wall and Indigenous library. These spaces, along with our Native American Student and Community Center, will provide you with unique opportunities to connect to the land by growing and preparing Indigenous first foods and medicines and building relationships for sharing ITECK.
At PSU, Native students also have the chance to get involved in our chapters of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society and United Indigenous Students in Higher Education.
Now more than ever, in the face of a changing climate, science and sustainability must center Indigenous perspectives and experiences — something our federal government now recognizes. With this certificate, you'll be equipped with a skillset to do that: apply and incorporate ITECK in the acquisition, restoration, protection and management of culturally significant land; learn Indigenous cultural practices and holistic sustainability models; build reciprocal relationships with the land through seasonal harvests and tending the land; and engage with tribal, urban Native, historically marginalized and other communities.
You can pair this 36-credit certificate with any major or take it as a standalone credential for professional development and career advancement.
You'll be able to go on to jobs with tribes and Native-based nonprofits or bring Indigenous science into a variety of roles at local, regional and federal agencies working in culturally responsible restoration, reclamation, educational and protection practices and holistic/adaptive land management and policy.
- Our partners (and your potential future employers) include:
- Portland Bureau of Environmental Services
- U.S Fish and Wildlife Service
- Friends of Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge
- Metro
- The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
- The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
- Portland Parks & Rec
- Native American Community Advisory Council
- Center for Tribal Nations
- Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration
- Native American Rehabilitation Association
- Urban Greenspaces Institute
- Johnson Creek Watershed Council
- Intertribal Timber Council
- Native American Youth & Family Center
- Port of Portland
- Friends of Tryon Creek
- Multnomah County Library