Wildlife and ecosystem protection by tribal nations: Using indigenous cultral values and traditional knowledge in management policy

Indigenous people have a complex relationship with wildlife and ecosystems that tribal policy makers should take into consideration in order to properly protect wildlife species and ecosystems. This study demonstrates the importance of protecting wildlife species based on traditional and cultural knowledge. Tribes in the United States with wildlife codes have not defined criteria to protect wildlife species and ecosystems based on traditional and cultural knowledge. The Indigenous Peoples of New Zealand and Canada protect wildlife and ecosystems by integrating their cultural and/or traditional knowledge into their criterion. The Yakama Nation was focused upon, in this thesis, as an example of the possible difficulties and benefits of implementing cultural values and/or traditional knowledge into a resource management plan.