Indigenous Geographies and the Study of Indigenous Knowledges

Abstract

This chapter outlines the theoretical framework of my research project. First, I give a concise overview of geographical research on Indigenous land-based knowledges and practices and how this field relates to this research. Next, I provide an overview of the Indigenous knowledges’ (IKs) academic field and the ways in which these bodies of knowledge demonstrate (and celebrate) the value and potential of Indigenous ways of knowing and doing to rebalance human societies’ relationships with the other-than-human sphere. I also consider how this body of knowledge has allowed me to approach my own research project from an “Indigenous” epistemological standpoint. Finally, I highlight some theoretical contribution(s) of my research to the fields of Indigenous geographies and IK scholarship, namely, my “responsibility-based thinking” approach to understanding and representing the Maya environmental ethos of “being part of the land” (described in Chap. 6).