Indigenous Technical Knowledge

Abstract

Indigenous technical knowledge (ITK) refers to knowledge about the local environment that is produced, held, and used by indigenous peoples and communities. The acknowledgment of ITK challenges the dominance of Western science, recognizes the plurality of knowledge claims, and provides indigenous peoples with representation on resource management issues that affect their lives. However, complex issues remain – political, ethical, epistemological, methodological, and ontological – regarding how ITK should be defined, accessed, and handled, and how it may be brought into conversation with Western science. While ITK is commonly defined as being ontologically and epistemologically distinct from Western scientific knowledge, many assumed differences have been questioned as Western science itself has been exposed as situated and performative. Geographers have entered the debate as both proponents and critics, highlighting the situated and processual nature of all knowledge production – indigenous and Western scientific– and the links between ITK and broader political economic processes.