Milton Public Library

Tending the wild, Native American knowledge and the management of California's natural resources, M. Kat Anderson

Label
Tending the wild, Native American knowledge and the management of California's natural resources, M. Kat Anderson
Language
eng
resource.accompanyingMatter
technical information on music
Form of composition
not applicable
Format of music
not applicable
Literary text for sound recordings
other
Main title
Tending the wild
Medium
electronic resource
Responsibility statement
M. Kat Anderson
Sub title
Native American knowledge and the management of California's natural resources
Summary
John Muir was an early proponent of a view we still hold today-that much of California was pristine, untouched wilderness before the arrival of Europeans. But as this book demonstrates, what Muir was really seeing when he admired the grand vistas of Yosemite and the gold and purple flowers carpeting the Central Valley were the fertile gardens of the Sierra Miwok and Valley Yokuts Indians, modified and made productive by centuries of harvesting, tilling, sowing, pruning, and burning. Tending the Wild is an unparalleled examination of Native American knowledge and uses of California's natural resources that reshapes our understanding of native cultures and shows how we might begin to use their knowledge in our own conservation efforts. M. Kat Anderson presents a wealth of information on native land management practices gleaned in part from interviews and correspondence with Native Americans. The complex picture that emerges from this and other historical source material dispels the hunter-gatherer stereotype long perpetuated in anthropological and historical literature. We come to see California's indigenous people as active agents of environmental change and stewardship. Tending the Wild persuasively argues that this traditional ecological knowledge is essential if we are to successfully meet the challenge of living sustainably
Target audience
adult
Transposition and arrangement
not applicable
Classification