Indigenous science explained

Indigenous science is the application and intersection of Indigenous knowledge and science. In ecology, this is sometimes termed traditional ecological knowledge. Indigenous science refers to the knowledge systems and practices of Indigenous peoples, which are rooted in their cultural traditions and relationships to their indigenous context. It follows the same methods of Western science including (but not limited to): observation, prediction, interpretation, questioning.[1] The knowledge and information that Indigenous people have was often devalued by white European and American scientists and explorers.[2] However, there has been a growing recognition of the benefits of incorporating Indigenous perspectives and knowledge particularly in fields such as ecology and environmental management.[3] [4]

Traditional and scientific

Indigenous knowledge and experiences are often passed down orally from generation to generation. Indigenous knowledge has an empirical basis and has traditionally been used to predict and understand the world. Such knowledge has informed studies of human management of natural processes.

In ecology

See main article: traditional ecological knowledge. Indigenous science is related to the term "traditional ecological knowledge" or "TEK" which is specific category of Indigenous science.[5]

The study of ecology focuses on the relationships and patterns between organisms in their environment.[6] TEK is place-based, so the information and understanding are context-dependent.[7] One example of such work is ethnobiology which employs Indigenous knowledge and botany to identify and classify species.[8] TEK has been used to provide perspectives on matters such as how a declining fish population affects nature, the food web, and coastal ecosystems.[9]

Indigenous science has helped to address ecological challenges including the restoration of salmon, management of seabird harvests, outbreaks of hantavirus, and addressing wildfires.

Place based sciences

Indigenous science may offer a different perspective from what is traditionally thought of as "science". In particular, Indigenous science is tied to territory, cultural practices, and experiences/teachings in explicit ways that are often absent in normal scientific discourse.[10]

Collaboration between Indigenous communities and research scientists has been described as a kind of "indigenizing" of the scientific method with Indigenous-led projects and community work enacted as a starting point for the collaborations.[11]

Climatology studies have made use of traditional knowledge (Qaujimajatuqangit) among the Inuit when studying long-term changes in sea ice.[12] [13]

As well as in ecology, Indigenous knowledge has been used in biological areas including animal behaviour, evolution, physiology, life history, morphology, wildlife conservation, wildlife health, and taxonomy.[14]

Indigenous technologies

The definition of technology is "the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry.".[15] Examples of Indigenous technologies that were developed for specific use based on their location and culture include: clam gardens, fish weirs, and culturally modified trees (CMTs). Indigenous technologies are available in a wide range of subjects such as: agri- and mari-culture, fishing, forest management and resource exploitation, atmospheric, and land based management techniques. Chaco Canyon is an example of land-based Indigenous technologies which show keen insight into the scientific and mathematical underpinnings.[16]

Technology by area

The American Southeast

Agriculture in the southeast was based on a mixed-crop, shifting cultivation system[17] growing corn, beans, and squash together in the same mounds; an inter-cropping system known as the three sisters.[18] In this horticultural technique, each plant offers something to the others, thus improving the crop yield. Corn is a high-caloric food, supported by the beans, which provide nitrogen from nitrogen-fixing bacteria that live on their roots, and squash provide ground cover (suppresses weeds and keeps soil moist). Other crops incorporated in the inter-cropping system included sunflowers or grains like barley or maygrass.[19]

Notable scholars

Notes and References

  1. Henri . Dominique A. . Provencher . Jennifer F. . Bowles . Ella . Taylor . Jessica J. . Steel . Jade . Chelick . Carmen . Popp . Jesse N. . Cooke . Steven J. . Rytwinski . Trina . McGregor . Deborah . Ford . Adam T. . Alexander . Steven M.. 3 . April 2021 . Weaving Indigenous knowledge systems and Western sciences in terrestrial research, monitoring and management in Canada: A protocol for a systematic map . Ecological Solutions and Evidence . en . 2 . 2 . 10.1002/2688-8319.12057 . 2021EcoSE...2E2057H . 235519593 . 2688-8319 . 17 April 2023 . 17 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230417035740/https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2688-8319.12057 . live .
  2. Book: Kimmerer, Robin Wall . Braiding sweetgrass . 2013 . 978-1-57131-335-5 . 1st . Minneapolis, Minnesota . 829743464 . 17 April 2023 . 17 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230417035748/https://www.worldcat.org/title/829743464 . live .
  3. Battiste . Marie . 2005 . Hsieh . Jolan . Indigenous Knowledge: Foundations for First Nations . International Journal of Indigenous Education Scholarship . 1 . 17 April 2023 . 15 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230415053856/https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/winhec/article/view/19251 . live .
  4. Book: Berkes, Fikret . Sacred Ecology . 2012-03-29 . Routledge . 978-1-136-34173-1 . 1st . en . 10.4324/9780203123843 . 17 April 2023 . 17 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230417035743/https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203123843/sacred-ecology-fikret-berkes . live .
  5. Snively . Gloria . Corsiglia . John . 2000 . Discovering indigenous science: Implications for science education . Science Education . 85 . 1 . 6–34 . 10.1002/1098-237x(200101)85:1<6::aid-sce3>3.0.co;2-r . 0036-8326 . 17 April 2023 . 17 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230417035807/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/1098-237X(200101)85:1%3C6::AID-SCE3%3E3.0.CO;2-R . live .
  6. Book: Odum, Eugene . Fundamentals of Ecology . Saunders Philadelphia . 1971 . Vol. 3.
  7. Alexander . Steven M. . Provencher . Jennifer F. . Henri . Dominique A. . Nanayakkara . Lushani . Taylor . Jessica J. . Berberi . Albana . Lloren . Jed Immanuel . Johnson . Jay T. . Ballard . Myrle . Cooke . Steven J. . July 2021 . Bridging Indigenous and Western sciences in freshwater research, monitoring, and management in Canada . Ecological Solutions and Evidence . en . 2 . 3 . 10.1002/2688-8319.12085 . 237787345 . 2688-8319 . free . 2021EcoSE...2E2085A .
  8. Johnson . Jay T. . Howitt . Richard . Cajete . Gregory . Berkes . Fikret . Louis . Renee Pualani . Kliskey . Andrew . 2016-01-01 . Weaving Indigenous and sustainability sciences to diversify our methods . Sustainability Science . en . 11 . 1 . 1–11 . 10.1007/s11625-015-0349-x . 131199874 . 1862-4057 . free . 2016SuSc...11....1J .
  9. Díaz . Sandra . Demissew . Sebsebe . Carabias . Julia . Joly . Carlos . Lonsdale . Mark . Ash . Neville . Larigauderie . Anne . Adhikari . Jay Ram . Arico . Salvatore . Báldi . András . Bartuska . Ann . Baste . Ivar Andreas . Bilgin . Adem . Brondizio . Eduardo . Chan . Kai MA . 2015-06-01 . The IPBES Conceptual Framework — connecting nature and people . Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability . Open Issue . en . 14 . 1–16 . 10.1016/j.cosust.2014.11.002 . 2015COES...14....1D . 14000233 . 1877-3435 . free . 11336/56765 . free .
  10. Aikenhead . Glen S. . Ogawa . Masakata . 2007-07-01 . Indigenous knowledge and science revisited . Cultural Studies of Science Education . en . 2 . 3 . 539–620 . 10.1007/s11422-007-9067-8 . 2007CSSE....2..539A . 144674577 . 1871-1510 . 17 April 2023 . 17 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230417035745/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11422-007-9067-8 . live .
  11. Hernandez . Jessica . Spencer . Michael . 2022 . Weaving Indigenous Science into Ecological Sciences: Culturally Grounding Our Indigenous Scholarship . Human Biology . 10.1353/hub.2017.0088 . 263508192 . 1534-6617.
  12. Web site: Nicholas . George . 21 February 2018 . When Scientists "Discover" What Indigenous People Have Known For Centuries . 12 August 2022 . Smithsonian . 12 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220812184923/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-science-takes-so-long-catch-up-traditional-knowledge-180968216/ . live .
  13. Web site: Enabling Resiliency in the Face of Climate Change: SmartICE is an award-winning technological innovation for the North. . 12 August 2022 . SmartIce . We are the worldʼs first climate change adaptation tool to integrate traditional knowledge of sea ice with advanced data acquisition and remote monitoring technology. Our system combines these approaches to provide invaluable, data-driven insights into sea ice thickness and local ice conditions, in near real-time. . 4 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220804094003/https://smartice.org/ . live .
  14. Jessen . Tyler D . Ban . Natalie C . Claxton . Nicholas XEMŦOLTW . Darimont . Chris T . 15 November 2021 . Contributions of Indigenous Knowledge to ecological and evolutionary understanding . Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment . Wiley . 20 . 2 . 93–101 . 10.1002/fee.2435 . 1540-9295 . 244164214 . free. 1828/13751 . free .
  15. Oxford. . 2012-01-05 . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 10.1093/ref:odnb/91810 .
  16. Anasazi Measurement Systems at Chaco Canyon, New Mexico . 30247773 . Hudson . Dee T. . Kiva . 20 August 1972 . 38 . 1 . 27–42 . 10.1080/00231940.1972.11757770 .
  17. Foster . I. H. T . 2010 . Risk Management among Native American Horticulturalists of the Southeastern United States (1715-1825) . Journal of Anthropological Research . 66 . 69–96 . 10.3998/jar.0521004.0066.104 . 163611138 .
  18. Ngapo . Tania M. . Bilodeau . Pauline . Arcand . Yves . Charles . Marie Thérèse . Diederichsen . Axel . Germain . Isabelle . Liu . Qiang . MacKinnon . Shawna . Messiga . Aimé J. . Mondor . Martin . Villeneuve . Sébastien . Ziadi . Noura . Gariépy . Stéphane . 2021-03-03 . Historical Indigenous Food Preparation Using Produce of the Three Sisters Intercropping System . Foods . 10 . 3 . 524 . 10.3390/foods10030524 . 33802384 . 2304-8158 . free . 8001537 .
  19. Scarry . C Margaret . Scarry . John F . June 2005 . Native American 'garden agriculture' in southeastern North America . World Archaeology . 2005 . 37 . 2 . 259–274 . 10.1080/00438243500095199 . 132869989 . 0043-8243.

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