As we celebrate this November, it is essential to recognize and honor the profound connection between Indigenous peoples of North America and their environments. From vast forests to arid deserts, Indigenous communities have cultivated intricate relationships with nature, including the crucial role of native bees. This relationship has been one of deep respect, sustainability, and reciprocity—values that resonate with the growing movement toward environmental stewardship and conservation today (1).
At Planet Bee Foundation, we work to raise awareness about the importance of bees, including the lesser-known native bee species that quietly pollinate North America’s ecosystems. Indigenous peoples have long understood the critical role these pollinators play in maintaining biodiversity and supporting food systems. Let’s explore how Indigenous knowledge and traditions have fostered a deep understanding of bees, including how these practices continue to guide modern conservation efforts.
Native Bees and Indigenous Agriculture: A Relationship Rooted in Reciprocity
For millennia, Indigenous peoples have cultivated not only the land but also relationships—with the plants, animals, insects, and ecosystems that sustain them. Long before European colonization, these lands were tended with a profound understanding of reciprocity. Among the most crucial of these relationships is the one between Indigenous agricultural systems and native pollinators, such as the gentle mason bees and industrious bumblebees.
Take, for example, the "Three Sisters"—corn, beans, and squash. These plants are not merely crops but are kin to one another, each offering something the others need: the corn provides support for the beans, the beans enrich the soil, and the squash shelters the ground. These relationships are not just functional but intimate, forged through centuries of interdependence. But their success does not rest on these plants alone. They depend on their insect allies, the native bees, to carry pollen between their flowers, a gesture of reciprocity in action.
The Haudenosaunee, whose ancestral lands stretch across present-day New York, parts of Ontario, and Quebec, cultivated the Three Sisters with a deep understanding of the need to nurture this interrelationship (2). By growing crops together, and creating spaces where pollinators could thrive, they were tending not only to their own food but to the broader web of life that sustains all beings. Similarly, the Hopi and Zuni peoples, on their ancestral lands in the Southwest (now Arizona and New Mexico), created gardens in the desert where native bees found shelter and sustenance, and in return, they helped these crops flourish (3).
This wisdom, passed through generations, was never about domination over nature but about learning to live within the systems of life. Bees, corn, beans, humans—all are bound together in a shared cycle of giving and receiving.
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Bees in Indigenous Mythology: Teachers of Interconnectedness
In the stories of many Indigenous cultures, bees are far more than pollinators—they are teachers. The lessons they offer are as much about how to live as they are about how to grow food. In Hopi stories, bees bring knowledge and abundance. They remind us of our place within the greater cycles of the world, urging us to act with care and to remember that all life is connected (4). For the Cherokee, whose ancestral lands encompass the southeastern United States, bees symbolize hard work, community, and balance. These are not mere metaphors but ways of being in the world that echo through the relationships we cultivate with each other and with the earth (5).
Bees show us what it means to live in harmony with the land—to give without depleting, to receive without taking too much. They teach us the humility of knowing that we are not the center, but one part of a much larger whole.
Traditional Ecological Knowledge: A Path Forward for Pollinator Conservation
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is the accumulation of wisdom that Indigenous peoples have gathered over generations, through careful observation and participation in the cycles of life. In this knowledge lies not only the practices that sustained healthy pollinator populations for thousands of years, but also the philosophies that guide how we should live with the land (6).
In the Northern Plains, the Lakota and Dakota peoples have long practiced land stewardship that includes protecting the habitats that pollinators depend on (7). Their efforts to restore prairie grasslands, plant native flowers, and oppose harmful pesticides reflect a deep understanding that the health of the land is inseparable from the health of the beings that call it home, including native bees.
These practices are not relics of the past; they are vital solutions to today’s environmental crises. As the climate shifts and habitats disappear, Indigenous knowledge offers us a way forward—one that centers relationships and reciprocity, not exploitation. The Yurok and Karuk peoples of Northern California, for example, continue to use controlled burns, a method that fosters biodiversity and creates the ideal conditions for pollinators like native bees to thrive (8).
(8) Quiet Fire
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The Fragility of Native Bees in the Face of Climate Change
But the gifts that bees bring to our lives are increasingly under threat. Climate change, habitat destruction, and the widespread use of pesticides are driving many native bee species out of their ancestral homes (9). These losses are felt keenly by Indigenous peoples, whose relationships with the land and its creatures are woven into their identities, stories, and lifeways. The disruption of these relationships is not just an ecological loss but a cultural one.
As the world changes, Indigenous voices are essential in guiding how we respond. The teachings of reciprocity that have been passed down for generations remind us that we are not separate from the land but part of its fabric. When we care for the bees, we care for ourselves.
Lessons from Indigenous Wisdom for Bee Conservation
What can we learn from the ancient, enduring relationship between Indigenous peoples and native bees (10)? At the heart of it is the principle of reciprocity: the understanding that all beings are in a constant exchange, giving and receiving in ways that sustain the whole. Here are a few key lessons:
Protect Habitat Diversity: Bees need more than just crops; they need wildflowers, shrubs, and undisturbed spaces. Indigenous land management practices, which emphasize maintaining diverse ecosystems, remind us that the health of the whole system matters.
Honor Reciprocity: In Indigenous worldviews, taking without giving back is unthinkable. What can we offer to the pollinators in return for the work they do? We can plant native species, reduce pesticide use, and protect wild spaces. We can learn to see ourselves as caretakers, not owners.
Uphold Indigenous Knowledge: The ecological wisdom held by Indigenous peoples is not just historical; it is living knowledge that has never been more relevant. Collaborating with Indigenous communities and supporting their conservation efforts is not an act of charity—it is a necessity for the health of our shared planet.
Honoring the Gifts of Bees and Indigenous Teachings
As we reflect on National American Indigenous Heritage Month, it is essential to honor the deep ecological wisdom Indigenous peoples have offered—and continue to offer—toward the preservation of pollinators and ecosystems. Upholding Indigenous rights to land and sovereignty is inseparable from the health of these systems. Through supporting Indigenous conservation efforts, we can learn to walk more lightly on the land, recognizing the gift of reciprocity that bees and Indigenous teachings have long demonstrated (11).
(9) Bee Habitat Loss
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Learning More about Indigenous Teaching:
Adult Learners
"Braiding Sweetgrass" by Robin Wall Kimmerer - This book merges Indigenous wisdom, scientific insights, and plant teachings. Kimmerer, from the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, shares stories highlighting Indigenous relationships with nature, particularly pollinators, and emphasizes the importance of reciprocity. It’s essential for understanding Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and Indigenous ecological practices.
The Cultural Conservancy (TCC)
Website: nativeland.org
An Indigenous-led organization dedicated to preserving Native cultures and lands. TCC provides resources on land stewardship, focusing on seed sovereignty, pollinator restoration, and TEK.
The Indigenous Pollinators Network (IPN)
Website: nativebutterflies.net
This network promotes the conservation of native pollinators like bees and butterflies in partnership with Indigenous communities. It integrates TEK into conservation efforts and offers educational resources for protecting pollinators.
The Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN)
Website: ienearth.org
A grassroots organization addressing environmental and economic justice, focusing on Indigenous rights and sovereignty. IEN offers resources on TEK, sustainable land management, and efforts to protect pollinators and biodiversity within Indigenous territories.
Youth Learners
An animated series that follows an Indigenous girl named Molly and her adventures in Alaska. The show teaches about Indigenous culture, traditions, and the importance of nature and community.
Books and Audiobooks
"We Are Water Protectors" by Carole Lindstrom: A beautifully illustrated book that empowers kids to stand up for the Earth and respect Indigenous teachings about water.
"Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story" by Kevin Noble Maillard: This book celebrates the history and significance of fry bread in Indigenous cultures.
National Geographic Kids: Indigenous Peoples
The National Geographic Kids website features articles, videos, and fun facts about Indigenous peoples, their cultures, and their connections to the environment.