An Evaluation of Societal Implications of Environmental Education through the Integration of Indigenous and Westernized Practices in the Piedmont Region of North Carolina by Eric L. McDuffie Dr. Rebecca Vidra, Advisor May 2014 Masters project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Environmental Management degree in the Nicholas School of the Environment of Duke University 2014 Acknowledgements I am so thankful to a multitude of people in my wonderful home state of North Carolina who made it possible for me to complete this Masters Project. To the tribal elders of the Occaneechi Band of Saponi Nation and Sappony Tribe, I am deeply indebted for the gracious hospitality and incredible wealth of wisdom given to me through your spoken words. I also thank all of the environmental educators from the mountains to the coast who participated in the statewide survey and especially to the three environmental educators I interviewed. Their insight was invaluable in developing my project. I am also thankful to the NC Office of Environmental Education leadership for giving me permission to use their database of Environmental Education organizations to send out my survey. I also give an enormous amount of gratitude to a particular environmental educator in Durham, NC. It was there I spent the most time learning from her during this study. The Project would have never gotten off the ground without her creative ideas and wealth of knowledge that inspired me to keep going forward. Sarah, I am deeply grateful to you for this experience. I now thank Dr. Rebecca Vidra, my Master’s Project Advisor. She always supported my vision and kept me grounded to always scale down the Project to a working entity. Her wealth of knowledge in all facets of this Project was so gratefully appreciated. I also thank all of my instructors and classmates in the DEL-MEM Program for teaching me their incredible professional practices and opening my eyes to the beautiful world in front of me. And finally, to my incredible wife and family for their tireless support over the last two years for putting up with my craziness through this most challenging Program. I could never have completed this Program without your undying support and understanding. I love you all so much! Yeah, now we can see each other again! ii Abstract Indigenous knowledge is valuable within localized cultures, but it has been historically under-represented in Westernized programs and systems. The knowledge from indigenous cultures offers many valuable practices that could be integrated into Westernized environmental education as generations search to improve sustainable and regenerative practices. This qualitative study examines existing environmental education organizations across North Carolina, along with two indigenous cultures native to the Piedmont region of North Carolina, in order to make recommendations for an environmental education framework integrating the methods of indigenous knowledge. Through thematic analysis of survey responses and interviews, best practices for developing an integrated program and the benefits these types of programs bring to a community are identified. To effectively develop a program connecting indigenous knowledge and Westernized environmental education, the curriculum should be focused locally using delivery methods such as story-telling, role-playing and symbolism. But public education cannot change children’s connection to their environment alone. The parents and the elders of our families and communities are an integral part of reconnecting children to nature. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ii Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. iii Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Problem Definition ..................................................................................................................... 5 Research Question, Goals and Objectives .................................................................................. 8 Background ................................................................................................................................. 9 History of Indigenous Cultures of North Carolina .................................................................. 9 American Indian Education Model ....................................................................................... 11 History of Environmental Education in North Carolina ........................................................ 12 Westernized Environmental Education Model ..................................................................... 14 Methodology ....................................................................................................................................... 15 Definition of Scope ................................................................................................................... 15 IRB Process ............................................................................................................................... 17 Data Collection and Analysis ..................................................................................................... 18 Results and Observations ................................................................................................................... 22 EE Organizations Survey Responses ......................................................................................... 22 Interview Narrative Analysis ..................................................................................................... 29 Discussion and Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 36 Description of Existing EE Centers with Integrated Programs .................................................. 36 Benefits of Integrated Programs to a Community.................................................................... 39 Recommended Best Practices to Develop an Integrated EE Program ..................................... 40 Training Program for Elders Mentoring Other Adults .............................................................. 41 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 43 iv Appendices .......................................................................................................................................... 49 Appendix A: Informed Consent Forms for Survey and Interview Participants......................... 49 Appendix B: Survey Questionnaire (with response summary) ................................................. 53 Appendix C: Interview Questions for Experts from Indigenous Cultures and Westernized Environmental Education...................................................................................... 57 Appendix D: Transcript for Interview with Interviewee #1 ...................................................... 59 Appendix E: Transcript for Interview with Interviewee #2 ....................................................... 86 Appendix F: Transcript for Interview with Interviewee #3 ....................................................... 93 Appendix G: Transcript for Interview with Interviewee #4 .................................................... 103 Appendix H: Transcript for Interview with Interviewee #5 .................................................... 114 Appendix I: Transcript for Interview with Interviewee #6 ...................................................... 122 Appendix J: WING Program Strategic Plan - Short Version .................................................... 130 Table of Figures Figure 1 - American Indian Tribes of North Carolina .................................................................... 10 Figure 2 - American Indian Education Model ................................................................................ 11 Figure 3 - Timeline for Environmental Education.......................................................................... 13 Figure 4 - Environmental Education Model .................................................................................. 14 Figure 5 - Concept Map of Literature ............................................................................................ 16 Figure 6 - Research Methodological Hierarchy ............................................................................. 18 v Introduction Problem Definition According to The World Commission on Environment and Development (1987), our world is in an “environmental crisis” (p.4). Non-renewable resources are running out and renewable resources are being used at a rate faster than they can regenerate themselves (Jowsey, 2009). Land is being over developed due to exponential population growth (Meadows et al., 2004). Waterways are being polluted (Lalzad, 2007). Species are going extinct at an alarming rate (IUCN, 2009; WWF 2011). In Limits to Growth – The 30-Year Update, Meadows et al. (2004) outline the past 10,000 years human-driven society as progressing through two revolutions, first, the Agriculture revolution, then into the Industrial revolution. The authors now call for