Honoring Diverse Knowledge: ‘A’ohe pau ka ‘ike i ka hālau ho’okahi | All Knowledge Is Not Learned in One School

Abstract

Hawaiʻi, American Samoa, and Chuuk are oceanic cultures that share place- and practice-based, cross-generational transmission of knowledge-building processes oriented to maintaining sustainable, resilient communities and ecosystems. Sustainability depended on continuous monitoring of environmental factors and transmission of knowledge, practices, and values through stories and participation in communities of practice. Living sustainably on islands ranging from low-lying coral atolls to high volcanic islands led to mental models of place-based knowledge encoded in narratives, proverbs, and place names. Ancestral stories of voyages to distant lands and revitalization of non-instrumental navigation guided by Chuukese master navigator Mau Piailug culminated in the 2014–2017 Worldwide Voyage by Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island navigators. But American educational policies in Hawaiʻi, American Samoa, and Chuuk have disrupted cross-generational transmission of indigenous knowledge, practices, language, and values. Persistent underrepresentation of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island students in Western science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) reinforces ethnic stereotypes and deficit models of instruction. In response, this chapter proposes grounding curriculum development and teacher education in strengths-based approaches that intersect current STEM knowledge with ancestral knowledge that connects learners to places and practices oriented to sustainable, resilient communities and ecosystems.KeywordsIndigenous STEMSTEAM ecosystemsSustainabilityAncestral storiesTeacher educationCurriculum development