Indigenous Knowledge Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Increasingly, our built and natural environments are becoming hybrids of real and digital entities where objects, buildings and landscapes are linked online in websites, blogs and texts. In the case of Aotearoa New Zealand, modern lifestyles have put Māori indigenous oral narratives at risk of being lost in a world dominated by text and digital elements. Intangible values, transmitted orally from generation to generation, provide a sense of identity and community to Indigenous Māori as they relate and experience the land based on cultural, spiritual, emotion, physical and social values. Retaining the storytelling environment through the use of augmented reality, this article extends the biophysical attributes of landscape through embedded imagery and auditory information. By engaging with Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa, a design approach has been developed to illustrate narratives through different media, in a way that encourages a deeper and broader bicultural engagement with landscape.

- by
- •
- Landscape Architecture, Augmented Reality, Culture, Indigenous Knowledge

From the nineteenth century to the present day, external peoples, companies, and governments have perpetrated disrespectful attitudes and behaviours toward Amazonian Originary Peoples. In response, Originary Peoples have increasingly adopted their own protocols of respectful interactions with external actors. However, research on the development and implementation of intercultural understandings of “respect” in pluri-cultural interactions has been scarce. Drawing on findings from collaborative research in the Peruvian Amazon, this article explores how Asheninka and Yine perspectives and practices of “respect” inform and could transform euro-centric conceptions and hegemonic consultation processes based on “mutual respect,” proposing instead a practice of “intercultural respect.” The study was initiated at the invitation of Asheninka and Yine community members themselves. Long-term relationships catalysed an invitation to co-design a community-based collective endeavour, which began in 2015. The discussion and findings presented in this article are part of a larger project that attempts to portray how Asheninka and Yine collaborating communities want to be respected under their own terms. This collaborative work proposes: 1. An Originary methodology; 2. A paradigm-encounter frame; and 3. Ten principles to guide “intercultural respect” for the Peruvian Amazon.

This article addresses the recent attempts to integrate evolutionary history in the US national narrative. Focusing on the cultural, legal, and scientific controversy over Kennewick Man, the ancient human remains discovered in Washington state in 1996, the article explores the narrative politics of American national belonging. Through a popular historical novel on Kennewick Man's life, the article further theorizes nostalgia as a narrative tool in imagining the evolutionary origins of the nation. The article argues that nostalgia produces a temporal dynamic that bridges the gap between national history and global prehistory, and that this dynamic is reinforced through cultural ideas of genetic knowledge. At the same time, prehistoric nostalgia renders problematic ideas of ethnic difference largely invisible.

- by Venla Oikkonen
- •
- American History, Cultural Studies, American Studies, Indigenous Studies

The limits of the planet and of natural resources impede pursuing the modern project based on permanent
growth and represent a major challenge for humanity. Drawing on an agency-centred approach, this paper addresses two two major questions:
‘Who are the social actors who challenge the normative orientation at the core of modernization and promote alternative values and practices that may contribute to the rise of a global age, or may embody glimpses of a global age society?’ and ‘Can we grasp some dimensions of life and society in the global age by studying current social movements? ’

- by Geoffrey Pleyers
- •
- Sociology, Social Change, Social Movements, Development Studies

Federally-recognized tribes must adapt to many ecological challenges arising from climate change, from the effects of glacier retreat on the habitats of culturally significant species to how sea level rise forces human communities to relocate. The governmental and social institutions supporting tribes in adapting to climate change are often constrained by political obstructions, raising concerns about justice. Beyond typical uses of justice, which call attention to violations of formal rights or to considerations about the degree to which some populations may have caused anthropogenic climate change, a justice framework should guide how leaders, scientists and professionals of all heritages and who work with or for federally-recognized tribes understand what actions are morally essential for supporting tribes’ adaptation efforts. This paper motivates a shift to a forward-looking framework of justice. The framework situates justice within the systems of responsibilities that matter to tribes and many others, which range from webs of inter-species relationships to government-to-government partnerships. Justice is achieved when these systems of responsibilities operate in ways that support the continued flourishing of tribal communities.

Indigenous knowledge has earned a somewhat mythic reputation in present day academia. While it is one thing to nod and acknowledge that such knowledge exists, it is quite another to have it recognized as equal to other Euro-Western knowledge systems. This study explores beading, not as an anthropological oddity, or an obscure part of Indigenous culture, but rather as a valid and rigorous epistemological tradition that is intimately connected to each artisan’s sense of identity and understanding of reality. In addition, this study situates beading as an inseparable part of a larger framework of epistemologies that inform an Indigenous worldview.

- by Chuck Bourgeois
- •
- Indigenous Knowledge, Beading

"The increasing sensibility regarding intangible cultural heritage provides momentum to better define a legal framework for the protection of these peculiar immaterial goods. This article questions whether the current intellectual property rights (IPRs) regime represents an adequate model of protection vis-à-vis intangible cultural heritage. A plethora of caveats must be taken into consideration, starting with the desirability of the commodification of intangible cultural heritage, i.e. its exploitation and commercialization through the IPRs regime, but also including the outlining of the legal instruments needed for guaranteeing adequate advantages for the countries and communities representing the sources of origin of the intangible goods.
After framing the crucial issues detected in literature regarding intangible cultural heritage, the article investigates the ways in which the actual IPRs regime grants protection to intangible goods. Our evaluation supports the idea that, without a many-faceted remodeling, current intellectual property laws represent an unsatisfactory mechanism for protecting intangible cultural heritage. This inadequacy is rooted in the inefficacy of IPRs under the patent and copyright regimes in ensuring the protection of cultural heritage, while also falling short of fostering an appropriate comprehensive social policy."

- by Paolo Davide Farah
- •
- Islamic Law, Indigenous Studies, Intellectual Property, Globalization

Indigenous ethics and feminist care ethics offer a range of related ideas and tools for environmental ethics. These ethics delve into deep connections and moral commitments between nonhumans and humans to guide ethical forms of environmental decision making and environmental science. Indigenous and feminist movements such as the Mother Earth Water Walk and the Green Belt Movement are ongoing examples of the effectiveness of on-the-ground environmental care ethics. Indigenous ethics highlight attentive caring for the intertwined needs of humans and nonhumans within interdependent communities. Feminist environmental care ethics emphasize the importance of empowering communities to care for themselves and the social and ecological communities in which their lives and interests are interwoven. The gendered, feminist, historical, and anticolonial dimensions of care ethics, indigenous ethics, and other related approaches provide rich ground for rethinking and reclaiming the nature and depth of diverse relationships as the fabric of social and ecological being.

- by Kyle Whyte and +1
- •
- Native American Studies, Gender Studies, Philosophy, Ethics

Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) is increasingly being advocated as a climate adaptation approach that can deliver multiple benefits to communities. EbA scholarship argues that community-based projects can strengthen those ecosystems that deliver critical services to communities and in doing so enhance community resilience. In particular, the inclusion of indigenous and traditional knowledge (ITK) into community-based EbA projects is positioned as critical to successful climate adaptation. Yet, there is surprisingly little investigation into how ITK is being defined and incorporated into EbA initiatives. This paper critically reviews EbA literature and provides empirical examples from Vanuatu and Samoa to demonstrate the different ways ITK relates to EbA projects. We find that there is widespread recognition that ITK is important for indigenous and local communities and can be employed successfully in EbA. However, this recognition is more aspirational than practical and is not being necessarily translated into ITK-informed or ITK-driven EbA projects. ITK should not be conceptualized simply as a collection of local environmental information that is integrated with Western scientific knowledge. Instead, ITK is part of nested knowledge systems (information– practices–worldviews) of indigenous peoples. This knowledge includes local natural resource management, sociocultural governance structures, social norms, spiritual beliefs, and historical and contemporary experiences of colonial dispossession and marginalization. At present, most EbA projects focus on the provision of information to main decision-makers only; however, since ITK is held collectively, it is essential that entire communities are included in ITK EbA projects. There is a huge potential for researchers and ITK holders to coproduce knowledge that would be best placed to drive climate adaptation in a changing world.

- by Johanna Nalau
- •
- Climate Change, Decision Making, Pacific Island Studies, Climate Change Adaptation

In this article, I explore the parallel responses of two groups of colonial subjects who were confronted with the institutional changes that occurred in the context of Enlightenment ideas in eighteenth-century Mexico: Creole clerics headed by the Jesuit Francisco Javier Clavijero; and native religious men who petitioned to colonial authorities and the crown for additional spaces for the education of indigenous men.

- by Monica Diaz
- •
- Mexican Studies, Enlightenment, Mexico History, Jesuit history

Wíčazo Ša Review 28:1 (2008): 51-72

- by Billy J Stratton
- •
- Native American Studies, Indigenous Studies, Literary Criticism, Literary Theory
- by Marie Battiste
- •
- Indigenous Knowledge
- by Aurora Skala
- •
- Archaeology, Rock Art (Archaeology), Indigenous Knowledge, Underwater Archaeology

"This project involved several components: a review of the national and international literature in regard to the transition to school; an analysis of quantitative data, and consultations with a range of key stakeholders including a series of case study visits to different kinds of prior-to-school education settings. The objective of these research elements was to ensure the reports and guidelines developed through the project are well grounded in practice".
The project also involved visits to a range of settings where Aboriginal children were transitioning into school that were recommended as best practice by the state and territory based education departments. These are written up as case studies within the report.

Background: The colonial origins of schooling and the implications these
origins have on leadership is missing from educational leadership literature. Indeed little has been published on decolonizing and indigenous ways of leading schools. Purpose: In this article, we synthesize the literature on indigenous, decolonizing education leadership values and practices across national and international spaces that have been informed to various degrees by colonial models of schooling. Methodology: Through a review of the research and keywords including colonialism, educational leadership, indigenous communities, and decolonization, we identify two overarching themes. Findings: First, we found that the literature revealed a critique of the way in which Westernized Eurocentric schooling serves as a tool of imperialism, colonization, and control in the education of Indigenous peoples. Second, we discovered that the literature provided unique, but overlapping worldviews that situate the values and approaches enacted by Indigenous leaders throughout the globe. Within this second theme, we identify five strands of an Indigenous, Decolonizing School Leadership (IDSL) framework that can contribute to the development and reflection of school leadership scholars and practitioners. Specifically, we found that the five consistent and identifiable strands across IDSL include prioritizing Indigenous ancestral knowledge, enacting self-reflection and self-determination, connecting with and empowering the community, altruism, and spirituality as expressed through servant leadership, and inclusive communication practices.
Conclusion: Based on the identified worldviews and values, we conclude by offering insights on the structure and policy of post-colonial schooling, as well as implications for the theory, research and practice needed to reclaim the co-opted contributions of Indigenous leaders in ways that decenter Western colonial approaches to leadership.

Esta tese busca caminhar palavras sobre minhas aprendizagens com os artistas ingas Benjamín Jacanamijoy Tisoy, Carlos Jacanamijoy Tisoy, Kindi Llajtu, Rosa Tisoy Tandioy, Tirsa Taira Chindoy Chasoy e outros amigos, com especial destaque à yacha mamita Merceditas Tisoy de Jacanamijoy, em Bogotá e no Valle de Sibundoy, Colômbia. A palavra caminhar (purij) é usada com frequência por meus amigos, em referência à maneira com que tudo o que faz parte da existência possui um caminhar. Por meio de um caminhar, a criatividade flui e dá muitas coisas, como plantas e quadros. Assim, “caminhar palavras” é escrever como quem traça uma linha no papel e amarra um percurso por meio de um desenho, ou como quem tece, ou semeia a terra.
Um caminhar se refere a atividades como passear e viajar pela terra; dedilhar fios de tecido na confecção de chumbes (uma faixa de lã desenhada, que se usa principalmente sobre o ventre, feito cinto) e outras prendas de vestir; semear e cuidar do crescimento das plantas; e seguir linhas que podem virar desenhos, entre muitas outras coisas.
Caminhar é ver a criatividade que flui através das muitas coisas que nascem e crescem nos caminhos de alguém. Isto envolve uma maneira de fazer bem/bonito, ou melhor, suma ruray (suma: bom, bonito; ruray: fazer, em inga). Aprendi, com meus amigos, que territórios da existência se ampliam através do suma ruray, seja porque é desse modo que pessoas se fazem, ou porque é assim que se recorda aqueles que vieram de outros tempos, sejam antes ou depois (ñujpa, nos dois casos). Suma ruray é uma dimensão do suma kaugsay (bom/bonito viver), junto com suma yuyay (bom/bonito pensar). Também é como a terra se expande.
Mais do que arte, como conceberíamos no ocidente, a vida como um todo nasce e cresce a partir de um bonito fazer. Assim, uma obra pode se tornar uma erosão, que desfaz e refaz seu próprio lugar de aparição e existência.

- by Tatiana Lotierzo
- •
- Art, Creativity, Colombia, Indigenous Knowledge
- by Amba J. Sepie and +1
- •
- Geography, Anthropology, Indigenous Studies, Indigenous or Aboriginal Studies

Cultures around the world find meaning in the shapes of stars and features in the Milky Way. The striking appearance of our galaxy in the night sky serves as a reference to traditional knowledge, encoding science and culture to a memory space, becoming part of their overarching cosmologies. This paper examines traditional views of the Milky Way from cultures around the world, primarily in the Southern Hemisphere. These views comprise dark constellations: familiar shapes made up of the dark dust lanes in the Milky Way, rather than the bright stars. Some of the better-known examples include the celestial emu from Aboriginal traditions of Australia, and the llama in Inca traditions of the Andes. We conduct a comparative analysis of cultural perceptions of dark constellations in the Milky Way, examining common cultural themes and meanings at the crossroads of Indigenous Knowledge and Western science.

- by Duane Hamacher and +1
- •
- Sociology, Cultural Studies, Native American Studies, Archaeology

This report sets out the findings of a cross-cultural collaborative project to develop an understanding of the role that the Integrated Kaipara Harbour Management Group (IKMHG) plays in enabling mātauranga-informed management of the Kaipara Harbour. Moving towards a truly integrated and mātauranga-informed approach requires monitoring the extent to which mātauranga Māori sits alongside western science within the IKHMG, and the strengthening of Ngāti Whātua position in resource management decision making.

- by Maria Hepi and +1
- •
- Cross-Cultural Collaborations, Environmental Management, Conceptual Modelling, Indigenous Knowledge

For thousands of years astonishingly rich and diverse forms of tattooing have been produced by the Indigenous peoples of North America. Long neglected by anthropologists and art historians, tattooing was a time-honored traditional practice that expressed the patterns of tribal social organization and religion, while also channeling worlds inhabited by deities, spirits, and the ancestors. TATTOO TRADITIONS OF NATIVE NORTH AMERICA explores the many facets of indelible Indigenous body marking across every cultural region of North America. As the first book on the subject, it breaks new ground on one of the least-known mediums of Amerindian expressive culture that nearly disappeared from view in the twentieth century, until it was reborn in recent decades.

- by Lars Krutak
- •
- Indigenous Studies, The Tattoo, Indigenous Knowledge, Indigenous Peoples

Today I find myself back in the homeland, in the physical, back where my ancestors once walked and talked. In this essay, I unfold stories of migration to highlight the fluid and dynamic nature of such processes evidently shaped by our vā/va’/veitapui, that is, the relations with/within/between people and place(s). I utilize the Tongan approach talaloto, an intimate and sacred practice, to share and interpret my thoughts and feelings about what inspired and empowered me to return to Tonga. Talaloto allows me to reflect on and interpret the histories and struggles that have been meaningful in my journey.

"Desearía relatar una experiencia compartida, la del pavor". Es el pronunciamiento del autor en las líneas iníciales de su obra, el pavor del que habla es aquel que sólo puede situarse temporal-espacialmente en la noche.

- by Lourdes Raymundo Sabino
- •
- Indigenous Knowledge, Antropología
- by Soul Shava
- •
- Indigenous Knowledge
- by Devon Peña
- •
- Agroecology, Sustainable agriculture, Indigenous Knowledge, Plant biotechnology

This fact sheet introduces the issues raised by the appropriation and commodification of cultural heritage, outlining risks and
benefits and how also to avoid the pitfalls of misappropriation. While these issues are faced by all cultural groups, there is a
long history of Indigenous cultural heritage being used by non-Indigenous people for commercial and other purposes.

- by Marina La Salle and +1
- •
- Archaeology, Anthropology, Indigenous Studies, Intellectual Property

This is a story about images and their meaning. This is a story about stories and a story about beings. It is about pipes and pipelines. It is about oil and not about oil paintings. It is fragmented and disjointed. It is a needed... more

- by Dylan AT Miner
- •
- Native American Studies, Art History, Indigenous Studies, Metis Studies

Mobile livestock herders have long been seen as the main culprits of over-stocking and rangeland degradation. In recent years, however, anthropolo-gists and ecologists have argued that African pastoralists have developed sustainable modes... more

This edited volume introduces highlights of the academic interests and research activities of a number of staff at Unitec’s Department of Communication Studies, demonstrating the breadth and scope of the engagement of this academic collective with contemporary communication issues. Edited by Giles Dodson and Evangelia Papoutsaki, it is clear from the work that communication in Aotearoa New Zealand remains complex and continually under negotiation, as this country continues to be formed and reformed by processes of cultural encounter, by political and institutional change and by voices seeking to assert, to contest and to claim their presence – to represent and to be represented within contemporary New Zealand.

- by philip cass and +6
- •
- Communication, Digital Divide, Race and Racism, Migrant Literature
- by Glenn Stone
- •
- Economics, Decision Making, Biotechnology, Indigenous Knowledge

Rural Japanese women have been overlooked or misrepresented in the academic and nationalist discourses on Japanese women. Using an anti- colonial feminist framework, I advocate that centring discussions on Indigenous knowledges will help fill this gap based on the belief that Indigenous-knowledge framework is a tool to show the agency of the ‘colonized’. In this paper, I attempt to answer the following question: What is the role of Indigenous knowledges in the context of rural Japanese women? I first discuss my epistemological approach by exploring the notion of Indigenous knowledges and my location within it. This process led me to employ autoethnography as the central methodology of this paper. Second,
in order to better situate rural Japanese women, I look at Japanese history,
especially the Meiji period (1868–1912) when Westernization began to exert a
major influence on the Japanese nationalist movement via its control over
knowledges carried by rural Japanese women. Third, in order for me to reclaim these subjugated Indigenous knowledges, I introduce my lived experience through autoethnography as a starting point to explore the possibilities that lie in the Indigenous-knowledge framework. Fourth, I further discuss the interlocking nature of the issues surrounding nationalism, representation, knowledge production and identity emerging from the discussion on rural Japanese women and my reflexive text. This leads us to an assessment of how an Indigenous-knowledge framework may shift discussions/perceptions of rural Japanese women in particular. Lastly, I conclude by noting the potential implications and applications of further research on this topic in other parts of the world.

- by Kimine Mayuzumi
- •
- Japanese Studies, Women's Studies, Qualitative methodology, Indigenous Knowledge

Human societies have a long history of incorporating elements of the past into the present; never more has this been the case than today. For centuries, if not millennia, creative artists and writers, architects and fashion designers, publicists and advertisers have borrowed freely from the tangible and intangible heritage of other times and places. There is plentiful evidence of how fundamentally human achievement has depended upon the transmission of knowledge across cultures....In the context of increasingly rapid and global diffusion of tradition-specific images, ideas, and material culture, it is now often a default assumption that ancient objects and images are elements of a shared legacy of humanity. In this spirit, a growing contingent of scholars and activists aggressively defend the free flow of ideas, images, and knowledge—within and between societies, ancient and modern—on grounds that this is essential to innovation and creativity. Proponents of the Open Access and A2K movements speak of the importance of sharing the world’s vast knowledge, while scholars such as Laurence Lessig, James Boyle, and Kembow McLeod (among others) point to the stifling effects of restrictions on open exchange. Frequently the advocates of open access draw attention to benefits that flow to the source communities and cultures (or their descendants), as well as to the recipients who draw inspiration from the cultural heritage of others. Even if economic benefits don’t flow equitably, so the argument goes, the open exchange of tradition-specific objects, practices, ideas, and knowledge may play an ambassadorial role, fostering cross-cultural understanding and respect....

- by George Nicholas
- •
- Geography, Archaeology, Anthropology, Ethics

Borana pastoralists in southern Ethiopia are faced with the challenge of developing more efficient and sustainable use of natural resources. In past decades poorly adapted development interventions and inadequate land-use policies aggravated by population growth have weakened pastoral rangeland management. Ignoring pastoralists’ technical and organizational capacities has contributed to progressive land degradation, the erosion of social structures and poverty. The Endogenous Livestock Development concept recognises pastoralists’ indigenous knowledge-based strategies and priorities, and uses them as the bases for further development of their production system and social relations, to be utilized, improved and combined with modern technologies. This paper explores the Borana pastoralists’ adaptive strategies for improved utilization of natural resources and the manner in which they respond to environmental risk and external influences such as water development and new formal administ...

- by Sabine Tui
- •
- Human Ecology, Institutional Change, Indigenous Knowledge, Natural Resource Management

Field notes from Aarey forest in Mumbai, 18th May 2018.

- by Michael Leung
- •
- Social Movements, Participatory Research, Organic agriculture, Anarchism

The article shows the burning practices used by native northern hunters-gatherers and reindeer herders of Western Siberia as a potential factor of impact on surrounding landscapes. In this sense, the research focuses primarily on aspects of practical importance in the fields of cultural ecology and ethnoarchaeology. The controlled burning of grass, shrubs, and deadwood has been a very effective landscape management tool, though not a common practice among northern natives of Western Siberia. It helped certain groups of them restore the productivity of berry bushes, attract wild ungulates and create better conditions for reindeer herding and travelling, as well as to protect the territory from devastating forest fires. There are some Western Siberian ethnic groups who traditionally have had more freedom in the use of fire (Evenks) and others whose actions in this field have been rather rigidly regulated by traditional rules and beliefs (Ob Ugrians and Selkups). The Tundra and Forest Nenets probably combined their culture features with both of the mentioned groups. This allows us to suggest a version that a relatively freer use of fire is generally a typical feature of the nomadic population. Several areas were revealed in Western Siberia, where the peoples of the North had practiced intentional burning (or supposedly could do it) in order to obtain additional economic benefit from their lands – the Konda river valley, Upper Taz river area and interfluve of Demyanka and Turtas rivers. The local Khanty and Mansi groups of the Konda river valley adopted this use of fire from the neighboring Siberian Tatars or Russians in 1860-70th. Simultaneously, it was also a real paradigm shift in the spheres of traditional beliefs and land use practices of the Ob-Ugrian communities. The last two areas were associated with local groups of Evenks, the people who were brought into disrepute in Siberia and the Far East as arsonists of the taiga. As ethnographic data shows, on the one hand, this was a prejudiced opinion, on the other hand, there were factors that contributed to its formation.

- by Vladimir Adaev
- •
- Indigenous Studies, Ethnoarchaeology, Fire Ecology, Indigenous Knowledge