Southeast and Caribbean Islands

Southeast and Caribbean Islands

Southeast, Broad Region
3 Plants From U.S. Civil War Medical Guide Fight Infection
By: Carol Clark
Government Executive
29 May 2019
Key words: Civil War, medicine, plants, white oak, tulip poplar, devil's walking stick, Native Americans, African Americans
https://www.govexec.com/management/2019/05/3-plants-us-civil-war-medical-guide-fight-infection/157325/?oref=govexec_to
The article is discussing a research paper that explores the Civil War usage of medicinal plants to treat infections. The article states that plants such as the white oak (Quercus alba), tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), and devil's walking stick (Aralia spinose) might have been used to treat wound that were infected with Acinetobacter baumannii, Staphylococcus aureaus, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The article goes into the history behind the confederacy adopting botanical medicine from Native Americans and Africans.

American Civil War plant medicines inhibit growth, biofilm formation and quorum sensing by multidrug-resistant bacteria
By: Micah Dettweiler, James T. Lyles, Kate Nelson, Brandon Dale, Ryan M. Reddinger, Daniel V. Zurawski, and Cassandra L. Quave
Government Executive
22 May 2019
Key words: Civil War, medicine, plants, white oak, tulip poplar, devil's walking stick, Native Americans, African Americans
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-44242-y.pdf
This article discusses the plant based medicines that American Civil War surgeons used. The article discusses the importance of using traditional medicines for both cultural reasons and scientific reasons. The article goes into the history behind the confederacy adopting botanical medicine from Native Americans and Africans. The article states that plants such as the white oak (Quercus alba), tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), and devil's walking stick (Aralia spinose) might have been used to treat wound that were infected with Acinetobacter baumannii, Staphylococcus aureaus, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The plants that were looked at would block the formation of biofilm, which is caused by a colony of harmful bacteria. Some of theme were good at blocking quorum sensing, which allows for the most successful harmful bacteria to grow.

Chesapeake Watershed
Millennial-Scale Sustainability of the Chesapeake Bay Native American Oyster Fishery
by: Torben C. Rick, Leslie A. Reeder-Myers, Courtney A. Hofman, Denise Brietburg, Rowan Lockwood, Gregory Henkes, Lisa Kellogg, Darrin Lowery, Mark W. Luckenbach, Roger Mann, Matthew B. Ogburn, Melissa Southworth, John Wah, James Wesson, & Anson H. Hines
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2016) 113(23): 6568-6573
Key words: Historical Baseline, Archaeological Shellfish, Fossil Shellfish, Marine Fisheries, Environmental Management
https://repository.si.edu/handle/10088/31951?show=full
Estuaries around the world are in a state of decline following decades or more of overfishing, pollution, and climate change. Oysters (Ostreidae), ecosystem engineers in many estuaries, influence water quality, construct habitat, and provide food for humans and wildlife. In North America’s Chesapeake Bay, once-thriving eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) populations have declined dramatically, making their restoration and conservation extremely challenging. Here authors present data on oyster size and human harvest from Chesapeake Bay archaeological sites spanning ∼3,500 y of Native American, colonial, and historical occupation.

Gulf Coast
From the Fire: The Legacy of Longleaf
By: The Nature Conservancy
April 11, 2022
Key words: Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, Texas Nature Conservancy, longleaf pine, fire, ecosystem restoration, basketry, medicine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X1vQZTn7uk
Through the voices of Alabama-Coushatta citizenry, this video shares the importance of longleaf pine to the culture and its restoration through a partnership with the Nature Conservancy of Texas. Fire supression has impacted the longleaf pine, which needs fire to thrive.

How the Alabama-Coushatta Use Fire to Save the Longleaf Pine
By: Pauly Denetclaw
Texas Observer
May 24, 2021
Key words: Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, longleaf pine, Texas, fire, traditional use, basketry, controlled burn, ecosystem restoration
https://www.texasobserver.org/how-the-alabama-coushatta-use-fire-to-save-the-longleaf-pine/
After years of being forbidden to use fire, Gesse Bullock, a 16-year woodlands firefighter and burn boss for the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, introduced a controlled burn to tribal lands to restore and enhance longleaf pine. Longleaf pine needles are traditionally used in basketry and other ways of life, so its restoration is important to the tribal citizens.

How tribal wisdom can help climate science
By: Sophie Yeo
The Hill
January 6, 2020
Key words: United Houma Nation, Louisanna, climate change, respect, knowledge systems
https://thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/climate-change/475767-how-climate-science-benefits-from-traditional
When undertaking climate research as a tribal member with her tribe, Shanondora Billiot knew she had to do things differently. Respect was an important component of all she did. In addition, she knew that time, trust and a willingness to participate were important ways of learning.

Virtual reality Preserves Disappearing Land
By: Brian Owens
Hakai Magazine
June 18, 2018
Keywords: sea level rise, climate change, land loss, Louisiana, virtual reality, technology, memory, migration
https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/virtual-reality-preserves-disappearing-land/
The article discusses sea-level rise that is displacing native peoples from the Isle de Jean Charles band in the Gulf of Mexico and Fijians. Virtual Reality is used to help them remember important places they have had to leave behind.

Sci-TEK: A GIS-Based Multidisciplinary Method for Incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge into Louisiana’s Coastal Restoration Decision-Making Process
by: Matthew B. Bethel, Lynn F. Brien, Michelle M. Esposito, Corey T. Miller, Honora S. Buras, Shirley B. Laska, Rosina Philippe, Kristina J. Peterson, & Carol Parsons Richards
Journal of Coastal Research, 30(5):1081-1099
2014
Key words: Remote sensing, Restoration prioritization, Spatial multicriteria decision analysis, Stakeholder engagement
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281129900_Sci-TEK_A_GIS-Based_Multidisciplinary_Method_for_Incorporating_Traditional_Ecological_Knowledge_into_Louisiana's_Coastal_Restoration_Decision-Making_Processes
Making more informed coastal restoration and protection decisions has become increasingly important given limited resources available for ecosystem restoration projects and the increasing magnitude of marsh and barrier island degradation, and associated land loss, across Louisiana’s coast. An interdisciplinary team investigated the feasibility and benefits of integrating the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of a coastal population with geospatial technology and scientific data sets to assess how the resulting knowledge might inform project planning and implementation for coastal restoration.

Blending Geospacial Technology and Traditional Ecological Knowledge to Enhance Restoration Decision-Support Processes in Coastal Louisiana
by: Matthew B. Bethel, Lynn F. Brien, Emily J. Danielson, Shirley B. Laska, John P. Troutman, William M. Boshart, Marco J. Giardino, & Maurice A. Phillips.
Journal of Coastal Research (2011) 27(3):555-571
Key words: Restoration, GIS, Land Loss, Marsh Health, Community Vulnerability, Grand Bayou
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228944601_Blending_Geospatial_Technology_and_Traditional_Ecological_Knowledge_to_Enhance_Restoration_Decision-Support_Processes_in_Coastal_Louisiana
More informed coastal restoration decisions have become increasingly important given limited resources available for restoration projects and the increasing magnitude of marsh degradation and loss across the Gulf Coast. This research investigated the feasibility and benefits of integrating geospatial technology with the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of an indigenous Louisiana coastal population to assess the impacts of current and historical ecosystem change on community viability.

A Climate Change Adaptation Plan in response to sea-level rise for the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana
United States Geological Survey (USGS)
https://www.usgs.gov/centers/wetland-and-aquatic-research-center/science/a-climate-change-adaptation-plan-response-sea#overview
This project will use existing climate change scenarios and sea-level rise projections to create a Climate Change Adaptation Plan in collaboration with the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana. This Plan can be used as a model for climate adaptation in other small communities, in addition to engaging the Chitimacha through educational opportunities for children and adults, including an internship at the university- or professional-level; by providing data transfer of historic aerial photography, land loss maps, and other geospatial tools and assistance; and by facilitating Chitimacha attendance at Traditional Ecological Knowledge workshops at Oklahoma University and the South Central Climate Science Center.

Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast

The Gullah Geechee: Reflections on the warp and weft of cultural tradition and landscape
By: Heather Hodges
Network for Landscape Conservation
n.d. – website copyright 2018.
Keywords: Gullah Geechee, rice, cultivation, slavery, food, farming, Creole, Carolinas, heritage, foodways
http://landscapeconservation.org/knowledge-center/stories/the-gullah-geechee-reflections-on-the-warp-and-weft-of-cultural-tradition-and-landscape/
The Gullah Geechee are descendants of West African slaves that brought an understanding of rice cultivation to the eastern U.S. The article explores this group’s heritage, foodways, crafts, and connection to the land.

Southern Appalachian Mountains
Cherokee Indians Can Now Harvest Sochan Within a National Park
By: Leigh Ann Henion
Smithsonian Magazine
October, 2019
Keywords: Sochan, foraging, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, federal regulation
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/cherokee-indians-harvest-sochan-national-park-180973089/
For generations, Native Cherokee people were forbidden to collect traditional plant resources within National Parks. New regulations are allowing limited numbers of tribal members to collect plants in national parks when the procedures in the regulations are followed.

Understanding Traditional Knowledge for ecological Restoration: A Qualitative Study with the Eastern Band of Cherokee
By: Nicolette E. Cooley
Northern Arizona University
Keywords: Eastern Band of Cherokee, Forestry, Fire Burning
https://www.firescience.gov/projects/01c-3-3-01/project/01c-3-3-01_01c_3_3_01_deliverable_02.pdf
This thesis discusses the importance of the Eastern Band of Cherokee's traditional ecological knowledge for the preservation of the forest. This study mostly focused on the traditional ways of using fire to preserve the forest. The author collected data pertaining to how the Eastern Band of Cherokee used to maintain healthy forests and compared the fire records data to the time when they were able to maintain the land traditionally and when they were not.

South Florida

Caribbean Islands
Intergenerational research on Indigenous agricultural knowledge, climate resilience, and food security in the Caribbean
By: Dominique David-Chavez and Norma Ortiz
Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center
April 9, 2018
Keywords: Climate change, hurricane, resilience, adaptation, Caribbean islands, food security
https://secasc.ncsu.edu/2018/04/09/intergenerational-research-on-indigenous-agricultural-knowledge-climate-resilience-and-food-security-in-the-caribbean/
Indigenous Caribbean island populations have a long relationship with hurricanes and other forms of extreme weather. Climate change, combined with increasing development, is impacting coastal and inland populations alike. This article describes the authors’ work with community-based, participatory climate research to protect indigenous knowledge for the future.

Local knowledge sheds light on some of the world’s strangest mammals
By: Dominic Rowland
March 7, 2014
Mongabay
Keywords: local ecological knowledge, mammals, rodents, Hispaniola, endangered species, solenodon, huti, Dominican Republic, Haiti
https://news.mongabay.com/2014/03/local-knowledge-sheds-light-on-some-of-the-worlds-strangest-mammals/
Researchers working on the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic found local environmental knowledge key in gathering data on two rare and elusive species. Results show that local sources of information were more complete and reliable than previously thought. Authors note that successful use of local knowledge requires careful preparation of interview questions.

Is Local Ecological Knowledge A Useful Conservation Tool for Small Mammals in a Caribbean Multicultural Landscape?
By: Samuel T. Turvey, Cristina Fernández-Secades, Jose M. Nuñez-Miño, Tom Hart, Pedro Martinez, Jorge L. Brocca, & Richard P. Young
Biological Conservation
(2014) 169:189-197
Key words: Charismatic Species, Ethnotaxonomy, Interview Survey, Plagiodontia, Solenodon
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2013.11.018
Local ecological knowledge is an increasingly used, cost-effective source of data for conservation research and management. However, untrained observers are more likely to provide meaningful information on species that are charismatic and easily identifiable (e.g. large-bodied vertebrates) or of socio-economic importance, and may ignore or misidentify smaller-bodied, elusive and non-charismatic species. These problems may be further exacerbated by variation in environmental awareness and perception between different socio-cultural and ethnic groups often present across the range of threatened non-charismatic species.