Welcome to The Bioregional Library
The Bioregional Library hosted at Bioregiones.org is a curated digital repository dedicated to the preservation, revitalization, and dissemination of knowledge systems rooted in the world’s bioregions. It emphasizes Indigenous epistemologies, linguistic diversity, ecological stewardship, and community sovereignty. This library operates through a planetary bioregional framework that acknowledges the complex interdependence of life systems, languages, and cultural landscapes. Each entry in the library corresponds to a bioregion with specific cosmovisions, ancestral practices, and biocultural legacies. The goal is to support the transmission of intergenerational knowledge while enabling educators, researchers, and grassroots organizations to access and contribute to a decentralized and pluriversal knowledge infrastructure. Below is the current list of bioregions whose languages, worldviews, and historical experiences are being documented and archived.
A
Abiayala – pan-American Indigenous name referring to the entire American continent as a unified life system. Modern reference: North, Central, and South America.
Alkebulan – ancient Indigenous name for Africa, used historically by Nubians and Moors. Modern reference: Africa.
Amazonia – the vast tropical rainforest and river basin, second-largest river by discharge, ancient Indigenous stewardship systems. Modern reference: Amazon Basin across Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana.
B
Bering to Baja Maps – Indigenous bio cultural corridor spanning the Northwest coast, emphasizing continuity from Alaska to Baja California. Modern reference: Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Baja.
C
Cascadia – Pacific Northwest coastal and montane region defined by salmon watersheds and cedar forests. Modern reference: British Columbia, Washington, Oregon.
Chinook – Bioregion centered on the Columbia River and ancestral Chinook trade networks. Modern reference: Lower Columbia River Basin, WA–OR border.
Colorado – Desert plateau and river systems sacred to Indigenous nations of the Southwest. Modern reference: Colorado River Basin, including AZ, UT, CO, NV, CA.
E
Eire – Gaelic name for Ireland, with millennia of ecological wisdom embedded in its lands. Modern reference: Republic of Ireland.
Eurusasia – A synthesized term for interconnected lands of Europe and Asia in Indigenous ecological continuity. Modern reference: Eurasian landmass spanning Europe and Asia.
G
Gonawindua Aluna – Kogi and Arhuaco term evoking the sacred Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and its cosmological layer. Modern reference: Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia.
Great Lakes – A system of ancient freshwater lakes held sacred by Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and others. Modern reference: Great Lakes Region covering Michigan, Wisconsin, Ontario, and others.
H
Hawaii – Indigenous archipelago anchored in island cosmologies and stewardship of ʻāina (land) and wai (water). Modern reference: Hawaiian Islands, USA.
K
Kalaalit Nunaat – Inuit term for Greenland, a sea-ice and Arctic land shaped by marine and terrestrial resilience. Modern reference: Greenland.
Keo Deudai & Aotearoa – Indigenous names for New Zealand (Aotearoa) and neighboring Pacific island territories. Modern reference: New Zealand and Pacific archipelagos.
M
Maya – Centered on ancient Maya civilizations, sacred forests, and urban centers from southeastern Mexico to Honduras. Modern reference: Yukatan Peninsula, Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras, El Salvador.
Miwok–Ohlone – Bioregion of oak savanna, redwood forests, and coastal estuaries stewarded by Central California Indigenous peoples. Modern reference: San Francisco Bay Area, CA.
Mnisose – Lakota name for the Missouri River (“Mníšoše”), central to Plains ecology and Indigenous council systems. Modern reference: Missouri River Basin in central US.
Mohawk – One of the six Haudenosaunee Nations, “Keepers of the Eastern Door,” connected to forest and lake systems. Modern reference: Upstate NY, Ontario, Quebec.
O
Oniatario–Ontario – Haudenosaunee term meaning “beautiful lake,” encompassing ancestral freshwater lands. Modern reference: Ontario and Lake Ontario region.
Ondonga – Ovambo kingdom territory with ancestral governance and water stewardship traditions. Modern reference: Northern Namibia.
P
Panama – Cultural corridor and rainforest–island interface with deep Indigenous knowledge systems. Modern reference: Republic of Panama.
Patagonia – Wind-swept southern cone of South America, inhabited by Mapuche and other cultures of land and coast. Modern reference: Southern Argentina and Chile.
S
Salish Sea – Coast Salish territory encompassing interconnected marine and estuarine ecosystems. Modern reference: Puget Sound, Strait of Georgia, coastal BC–WA.
Skaana – Eagle–orca motif representing marine biomass and Indigenous kayaking and stewardship knowledge. Modern reference: Pacific Northwest coastal waters, BC and Alaskan coast.
Sequoia – Redwood groves and Sierra foothills with strong Indigenous ecological wisdom. Modern reference: Sierra Nevada and Redwood regions, California.
Seneca – One of the Haudenosaunee Nations rooted in forests, lakes, and rivers of western New York. Modern reference: Western NY State.
T
Tongva–Yuman – Indigenous cultures of Southern California and Baja desert-border ecosystems. Modern reference: LA Basin, Baja California, Arizona desert corridor.
Turtle Island – A cosmological name for North America based on creation stories and relational ontologies. Modern reference: North American continent.
Y
Yoreme (Mayo) – Riverine agricultural territory of Sinaloa and Sonora, grounded in reciprocal land‐water practices. Modern reference: Northern Sinaloa and southern Sonora, Mexico.