The history of natural history and race: Decolonizing human dimensions of ecology

Background/Question/Methods

The relationship between natural history and the history of racism and its effects on ecological thought and priorities comprises a gap at the confluence of two contemporary trends. First is the resurgence of natural history, as many again consider it to be the foundation of ecological and evolutionary inquiry and advocate organism-centered approaches to address contemporary ecological challenges. Second are recent calls to make ecology a more inclusive and diverse field that will recruit and retain racially diverse ecologists. We take a trans-disciplinary approach to understand links between natural history since the 1500s, colonial expansion of European dominance, and the legacy of chattel slavery. Examining the contributions of key natural historians, we analyze how ideas about racial hierarchy are embedded in the “order of nature.” This history shapes not only who conducts ecological science but also who determines foundational ecological concepts. To reconcile the legacy of these foundational exclusions with recent calls for racial diversity in ecology, we turn to global environmental knowledge but emphasize those grounded in Black histories and experiences. We end by examining the implications of this work for ecological education and research on conservation, offering a fresh lens to finding solutions to today’s major ecological problems.

Results/Conclusions

For centuries, natural history was the dominant form of natural science. Rationalizing an Order of Nature, it benefited from, justified, and provided essential practices and knowledge for colonial endeavors that enriched Europe and European descendants while creating ecological degradation, impoverishment, and violent living and dying conditions for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) globally. These are especially evident in the centuries-long, global endeavor of plantation agriculture. To justly center natural history in ecological decision-making, it must reckon with racist legacies and integrate global cultural knowledge. This is particularly true for the relationship between natural history, conservation, and education. Recognizing multiple forms of in-depth, largely descriptive yet still integrative, and useful knowledge is one way for ecology today to be more inclusive. There have been multiple pathways into the sorts of knowledge about nature that are the hallmark of natural history and which people are seeking in ecology today. Being open to such pathways and the unique knowledge of non-Western knowledge is a way to be more welcoming to BIPOC people and start to overcome the blind spots of western forms of natural history and ecology. Addressing racism does not distract from ecological science but improves ecological knowledge itself.