Abstract
Indigenous resource management (IRM) is dynamic and ever evolving, in part because it is based on co-evolutionary relationships between Indigenous cultures and the biodiversity around them. Forms of conservation imposed on Indigenous people and places by settler-colonialism tend to idealise pre-human and human-excluded environments, leading to conflicts between settler-coloniser conservationists and Indigenous communities detrimental to conservation goals. Conservation efforts that align with IRM and acknowledge the co-evolutionary relationships at the foundation of Indigenous culture can lead to more effective conservation efforts. In Hawai‘i, the evolving relationship between Kānaka (Hawaiians) and pua‘a (pigs; Sus scrofa) has been the flash point of conflicts between settler-coloniser conservationists and Hawaiian communities. This paper examines the co-evolving relationships between Hawaiians and pigs in an effort to better balance the conservation efforts aimed at controlling invasive species with the State of Hawai‘i’s obligation to support Indigenous practices and public hunting. We conducted this research by investigating archival Hawaiian language resources, which allowed us to resurrect knowledge lost to time and pinpoint key historical changes over the past 250 years. Our results elucidate this co-evolutionary relationship that shifted from an animal-husbandry relationship to a hunter–prey relationship in the first half of the 19th century. This change in the trajectory of the co-evolutionary relationship was a result of various shifts throughout Hawaiian socio-ecological systems, and therefore necessitates adaptive governance relating to management of and access to pigs. We conclude that Indigenous perspectives offer opportunities to transform conservation biology through multi-objective approaches that address both hunting and conservation goals.
Highlights
Indigenous resource management (IRM) is dynamic and evolving because it is based on the relationships between people and place – including biodiversity – which changes through time (Berkes 2012)
To assess whether or not hunting was an existing practice at the point of contact or whether it is an example of the rapid biocultural evolution that was taking place in the 19th century, word searches were done in the Papakilo Database using the terms for hunting that were applied to pigs and goats
For Indigenous communities, the hunting of introduced and invasive species reflects an adaptation to shifts in SES that provides a means to perpetuate cultural practices while maintaining independence through food self-sufficiency and informal non-market sharing. It is in this context that the hunting of ungulates emerged as an Indigenous practice in Hawai‘i in the first half of the 19th century as a response to the appearance of feral ungulate populations that had not existed previously
Summary
Indigenous resource management (IRM) is dynamic and evolving because it is based on the relationships between people and place – including biodiversity – which changes through time (Berkes 2012). These ‘biocultural relationships’ are at the foundation of IRM in Hawai‘i (Winter et al 2018a, 2020a). Such relationships may be viewed as co-evolutionary, and this coevolution can often be quantified (Winter and McClatchey 2009). Another article in 1863 mentioned the use of firearms, but in a different context as an announcement to promote the killing of pigs at Malaekahana on the island of O‘ahu by shooting them with guns (Moffitt and Hopkins 1863)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
