Beyond Consultation: A call for “tribal science” in policy making

Popular buzzwords, “consultation”, “participation”, and “consent” infiltrate legal discourses that urge indigenous engagement in conservation and environmental policy processes. But what does such terminology really mean and what power comes with it? Does it provide a substantive means to translate political and scientific inclusion for indigenous peoples?  Or is it simply a symbolic gesture - a transformation in policy discourse without implementation? At one matter is the difficulty long-established bureaucrats have in sharing power. At another is balancing a perceived dichotomized form of knowledge (indigenous knowledge versus Western science). A primary argument by California indigenes is that they are only allotted commenting privileges, a role with little power and influence to affect policy outcomes. Using a case study of the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative in California, this paper highlights goals and setbacks for including a  “tribal science” that would allot California indigenes more meaningful participation in policy negotiations.