Molecular Decolonization: An Indigenous Microcosm Perspective of Planetary Health.

Nicole Redvers,Tyson Yunkaporta,Kerry Arabena,Diana Quinn,Michael Yellow Bird

doi:10.3390/ijerph17124586

Abstract

Indigenous peoples are resilient peoples with deep traditional knowledge and scientific thought spanning millennia. Global discourse on climate change however has identified Indigenous populations as being a highly vulnerable group due to the habitation in regions undergoing rapid change, and the disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality already faced by this population. Therefore, the need for Indigenous self-determination and the formal recognition of Indigenous knowledges, including micro-level molecular and microbial knowledges, as a critical foundation for planetary health is in urgent need. Through the process of Indigenous decolonization, even at the smallest molecular scale, we define a method back to our original selves and therefore to our planetary origin story. Our health and well-being is directly reflected at the planetary scale, and we suggest, can be rooted through the concept of molecular decolonization, which through the English language emerged from the ‘First 1000 Days Australia’ and otherwise collectively synthesized globally. It is through our evolving understanding of decolonization at a molecular level, which many of our Indigenous cultural and healing practices subtly embody, that we are better able to translate the intricacies within the current Indigenous scientific worldview through Western forms of discourse.

Highlights

You cannot understand true medicine power unless you have an understanding of the nature of things
Indigenous populations have been identified as a highly vulnerable group within global discourse on climate change because of habitation in regions undergoing rapid change, and the disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality already faced by this population [3]
Colonization continues today through Western modernity with a mismatch occurring between differing environments through forced relocations, destroyed traditional lands, and loss of access to traditional foods and teachings that take over the molecular processes and structures of Indigenous peoples

Summary

Introduction

You cannot understand true medicine power (in whatever capacity that may be) unless you have an understanding of the nature of things. Colonization continues today through Western modernity with a mismatch occurring between differing environments (i.e., traditional vs modern) through forced relocations, destroyed traditional lands, and loss of access to traditional foods and teachings that take over (i.e., colonize) the molecular processes and structures of Indigenous peoples These events and processes have detrimental effects on Indigenous health (e.g., higher rates of inflammation [10,11,12], toxic exposures [13,14], and diabetes [15]). Molecular decolonization is the process of embracing, restoring, and honoring our original selves at the foundational level of being, in keeping with our original ancestral teachings to inform our future human story (i.e., our original selves, prior to the colonizing mindset, was beset with traditional knowledge and a way of living that positively impacted us and all aspects of the planet down to the molecular level of being which needs to be honored and restored). Our health and wellbeing is directly reflected at the planetary scale, and here we provide examples of how the concept of molecular decolonization can be thought about, applied and actioned through a two-eyed seeing lens (i.e., “To see from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous ways of knowing, and to see from the other eye with the strengths of Western ways of knowing, and to use both of these eyes together” [20] in action)

Going without

A Micro- to Meta-Narrative

Decolonizing Stories in Planetary Health

Conclusions