Understanding and Cultivating Close Nature-Human Relations: Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Education toward Sustainable and Just Environmental Futures

This dissertation is primarily concerned with nature-human relations -- how human people relate with and see themselves in relation to the rest of nature. Nature-human relations are part of how we make sense of the world around us, and these relationships therefore affect our broader reasoning and decision-making. The magnitude of environmental problems like climate change and polluted lands and waters make it critical for educators to find new ways to work with children and families to cultivate nature-human relationships that build healthier socio-ecological futures. To achieve this, I argue that educators should look to Indigenous peoples, who continue to draw on Indigenous knowledge systems to maintain ecologically sustainable relationships with lands and waters despite the ongoing threat of settler colonialism across the globe. Rooted in Indigenous knowledge systems and socio-cultural theories of teaching and learning, this dissertation aims to: 1) understand connections between nature-human relations and pro-environmental decisions and behaviors, and 2) explore how an Indigenous STEAM summer program was carefully co-designed toward transformative and sustainable nature-human relationships. The dissertation contains three academic papers. Paper 1 explores the design of an Indigenous STEAM summer program and how it supported a kinship relationship between an Indigenous youth and the plant Stinging Nettle. Paper 2 examines human perceptions of their relationships with place and nature from a cognitive psychology perspective. Paper 3 addresses how cultural stories embedded in an Indigenous STEAM program's learning activities cultivated relationships between Indigenous youth and Stinging Nettle. Together the papers highlight how close nature-human relations have the potential to move us toward socio-ecological thriving. The dissertation finds that recognizing plant personhood, supporting human peoples' connections to the places they live and work, and learning from Indigenous stories may all be effective ways to transform nature-human relationships. Importantly, these can be taught -- the Indigenous STEAM (ISTEAM) program is a powerful example of;this. For ISTEAM participants, learning from Indigenous stories as well as recognizing plant personhood helped to cultivate connections to place and nature-human kin relations. Given this, an implication of this dissertation is that educational curricula and pedagogies can be designed with Indigenous stories in ways that support the recognition of more-than-human personhood toward closer nature-human relations. If this were a norm across classrooms and non-school-based learning environments alike, we may see a shift in human decision making and behaviors resulting in more sustainable lifeways. This is critical if we are to address climate change and other environmental problems. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]