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17 November 2020 Environmental Justice, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders
Michael S. Spencer, Taurmini Fentress, Ammara Touch, Jessica Hernandez
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders, and the environment they are in relationship with, have been the targets of exploitation, extraction, and destruction. Environmental atrocities throughout the Pacific have demonstrated how imperialism, capitalism, and white supremacy drive destruction through efforts to dominate and exploit for material gain. The relationship between Pacific people and the environment, which defines who they are socially, spiritually, and ancestrally, continues to be damaged and even severed by these injustices. The purpose of this article is to provide examples of major environmental injustices in the Pacific and to develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between settler colonialism and environmental injustices. Indigenous knowledge, with a focus on traditional ecological knowledge, is incorporated not just to demonstrate the deep impact of injustices on Pacific people's cultures but also to highlight how this way of knowing cultivates a path to revitalization and community resilience. Cultural practices rooted in traditional ecological knowledge, such as the preservation of food systems, promote reciprocity between living beings and self-determination, necessary for community flourishing. With this understanding, Pacific peoples' relationship with their land offers further evidence of the critical role culture and Indigenous knowledge can play in environmental justice policies and practices.

Copyright © 2020 Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Michigan 48201
Michael S. Spencer, Taurmini Fentress, Ammara Touch, and Jessica Hernandez "Environmental Justice, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders," Human Biology 92(1), 45-57, (17 November 2020). https://doi.org/10.13110/humanbiology.92.1.06
Received: 4 August 2020; Accepted: 28 August 2020; Published: 17 November 2020
KEYWORDS
environmental justice
Indigenous knowledge
NATIVE HAWAIIAN
PACIFIC ISLANDERS
SETTLER COLONIALISM
traditional ecological knowledge
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