Indigenous Cultural Knowledge Research Articles

Power, Performance, and the Limits of Contemporary Animism as a (De)colonial Perspective for Indian Caste Society

“Contemporary animism” or what is often termed as “new animism” has emerged as one of the most powerful perspectives to understand and decolonize the indigenous cultural practices and knowledge systems in recent years. Brahmanical Hinduism (or neo-Brahmanism) is considered as a cultural-religious practice that still carries undercurrents of animism in India.2 Animist beliefs have remained strongly embedded in Brahminical religious and cultural practices, such as belief in the existence of soul, persona and so on. This article argues that the ethos of neo-Brahmanism is not only antithetical to the perspectivism of contemporary animism, it rather offers a model that can be termed as ‘inverted animism’ or the cultural practices that tend to colonize the radical potentials of animism. Such Hinduism as hegemonic cultural practices disrobe the environment from its personhood, even fetishizes the person, and turns them into objects. It is an ‘animism’ that goes against its own spirit by colonizing the personality of the object, materials and other entities.

Fog in western coastal ecosystems: inter-disciplinary challenges and opportunities with example concepts from the Pacific Northwest, USA

Coastal fog occurs along many of the world’s west coast continental environments. It is particularly consequential during summer when an increased frequency of fog co-occurs with the seasonal dryness characteristic of most west coast climate systems, for example, in the Pacific coast of North and South America, the southwestern African coast, and southern coastal Europe. Understanding coastal fog formation and effects has consequences for many disciplines, including the physical (e.g., atmospheric science, oceanography), biological (e.g., biogeography, ecophysiology), and socio-ecological realms (e.g., Indigenous cultural knowledge, public safety, economics). Although research practices differ across disciplines, they share many of the challenges needed to advance fog science. For example, coastal fog remains difficult to reliably monitor when, where, and why it occurs, which adds difficulty to understanding fog’s effects on all facets of the integrated coastal system. These shared challenges provide ripe opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, a template with past success in advancing fog-related science that can continue to have success in the future. In this perspectives review, we summarize the current status and frontiers of fog-related science from multiple disciplines, leveraging examples primarily drawn from the Pacific Northwest coastal region of the United States to show how interdisciplinary collaboration is needed to continue to advance our collective understanding of coastal fog formation and effects on west coast environments.

Girrimarring wiirrilgal bulany ngayanbading (bat nest-type fur sun-like): blending traditional knowledge and western science to create roosting habitat for the threatened golden-tipped bat Phoniscus papuensis

Context Despite being widely distributed along eastern Australia, the golden-tipped bat (Phoniscus papuensis) is listed as Vulnerable in New South Wales (NSW). The 2019–2020 wildfires affected an estimated 40% of foraging and roosting habitat, causing further conservation concern. The species roosts in suspended birds’ nests located along watercourses in rainforest or wet sclerophyll forests. Habitat augmentation is a key recovery action for the species; however, effective techniques are unknown. Aims We integrated western scientific and Indigenous cultural knowledge and practice to deliver an artificial roosting structure for golden-tipped bats, and designed and implemented a collaborative model for habitat restoration, with genuine opportunity for cultural practice and two-way knowledge sharing. Methods In partnership, members of Indigenous groups, western scientific organisations and volunteers shared learnings about bats, culture and caring for Country. Weaving materials were collected from local forests, roosts were woven and hung in rainforest gullies and monitored using remote cameras and direct visual inspection. Key results Golden-tipped bats used woven roosts, suggesting that roosting-habitat augmentation could support recovery of the species. Strong partnerships were established between government conservation programs and local Indigenous communities, engaging younger generations in cultural practice and learning. Delivery models were demonstrated for further collaborative, two-way threatened species projects. Conclusions Golden-tipped bats will use woven structures for roosting. Integrating Indigenous knowledge into threatened species programs can deliver effective conservation outcomes for specialist and cryptic species. Implications Should further broadscale fire, or other impact causing loss of roosting structures occur, community, Indigenous groups or government agencies can utilise this model to implement effective conservation actions together.

Indigenous Knowledge and the Hann Expedition: Re-Examining Scientific Collections From Colonial Expeditions

An examination of the motivations, dynamics and activities of colonial exploring expeditions can provide valuable insights into the ways in which the colonial mindset shaped the development of natural history collections in colonised lands. The Indigenous Knowledge and the Hann Expedition: Re-examining scientific collections from colonial expeditions project is working to redress these omissions in the historical record by re-contextualising the botanical specimens collected on the 1872 Northern Expedition and re-connecting them with the Aboriginal Country from which they were collected (Dalley et al. 2024). The 1872 Northern Expedition, led by William Hann, sought to establish the mineral and agricultural potential of Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland, Australia. Alongside Hann, the expedition party included Jerry (Aboriginal guide), Dr Thomas Tate (botanist), Norman Taylor (geologist) and three other European men: Warner, Stewart and Nation. It was this expedition, with its reports of gold on the Palmer River, that triggered Queensland’s biggest goldrush and led to an influx of more than 20,000 settlers, with disastrous consequences for the Aboriginal people who occupied the area (Taylor and Huxley 2020). Between June and November, the expedition party travelled from Mount Surprise north to the Stewart River, before returning south via the coast at Cooktown and Weary Bay (Taylor and Huxley 2020). Geological specimens were collected by Taylor, and botanical specimens were collected by Tate and Taylor (Dowe and Taylor 2019). The botanical specimens collected by Tate and Taylor, now held at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (K) and the National Herbarium of Victoria (MEL), were enumerated by John Dowe and Peter Taylor (Dowe and Taylor 2019). It has since emerged that the Queensland Herbarium (BRI) holds an additional 18 botanical specimens collected by Tate during the expedition (Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria 2024). These specimens—along with expedition diaries and maps—will provide a stimulus for regional engagement that explores the intersection between the Hann expedition, colonial science, and the ongoing impacts of colonial violence on Indigenous peoples. The project is being led by three direct descendants of members of the expedition party: Nicole Huxley (descendant of Jerry); Peter Taylor (descendant of Norman Taylor) and Cameo Dalley (descendant of Thomas Tate), making the project uniquely—and powerfully—positioned to examine the personal, scientific and sociopolitical legacies of the expedition (Dalley 2021). It was co-designed with Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation and the three herbaria that house the expedition’s botanical collections. Through engaging in truth-telling with Aboriginal knowledge-holders on Cape York Peninsula to openly share and discuss historical truths around colonial violence and disposession—while highlighting the strength and resilience of First Peoples (ANTaR 2024)—the project team hope to correct historical omissions that have stood for more than 150 years and provide a more complete picture of the way in which colonial plant collections were made. Initial engagement is being undertaken with Aboriginal communities in Cape York will be undertaken to generate shared history-making and elevate Indigenous knowledge and memory to develop countervailing historical narratives and recontextualise the botanical specimens collected on the expedition. All engagement with Aboriginal communities will be held on-Country, i.e., on lands to which the Aboriginal peoples being consulted are connected via law, cultural practice, spiritual belief, language and/or custom (AIATSIS 2024). At the time of writing, the three descendants are continuing a series of region-specific engagements that are generating interest in—and support for—Indigenous-led knowledge-sharing and the documentation of untold stories. Based on this initial show of support, the project partners will likely seek funding for a broader Indigenous-led program of on-Country truth- and storytelling around key events that followed the 1872 Hann Expedition. Alongside the on-Country truth-telling, the project will help herbaria develop protocols for recording Indigenous Cultural Knowledge (ICK) shared by Aboriginal knowledge-holders in ways that uphold cultural safety and principles of Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Data Governance. Through two-way knowledge sharing, we hope to enrich the specimens both culturally and scientifically by: acknowledging the histories of specimens and the Traditional Owners of the lands on which they were collected; accommodating ethnobotanical enrichment of specimens by recording ICK alongside Western scientific knowledge in collection management systems, if requested by Traditional Owners; and connecting specimens to Country via enhanced georeferencing utilising Aboriginal knowledge of plants and place, and Expedition resources. acknowledging the histories of specimens and the Traditional Owners of the lands on which they were collected; accommodating ethnobotanical enrichment of specimens by recording ICK alongside Western scientific knowledge in collection management systems, if requested by Traditional Owners; and connecting specimens to Country via enhanced georeferencing utilising Aboriginal knowledge of plants and place, and Expedition resources. This symbiotic blending of botanical science and Indigenous Cultural Knowledge will 'give voice to Country' through knowledge partnerships, helping to heal the past, and to better understand and conserve the complex biodiversity of Cape York.

Transform[ing] heart failure professionals with Indigenous land-based cultural safety in Ontario, Canada.

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death worldwide, with disproportionate impacts on Indigenous Peoples in Canada. In Spring 2022, a land-based learning program was piloted and evaluated as an Indigenous cultural safety training for professionals at a cardiac care centre and university in a large urban city. Baseline and endline surveys showed an increase in knowledge of Indigenous histories, cultures, and practices; increased reflection on positionality and intention to create change; and strengthened relationships with the land. Future work should explore the long-term effects of land-based cultural safety training on participant behaviours, and health outcomes for Indigenous Peoples.

Indigenous voices: Using cultural knowledge for tourism

This research reports on Indigenous cultural knowledge holders' opportunities and challenges in using their cultural knowledge to develop authentic tourism experiences. The research investigated issues related to sourcing, storing, managing, and authorising local cultural knowledge to create authentic tourism experiences. The key finding is that while Aboriginal parties are interested in using cultural knowledge to develop tourism products, pathways need to be designed to facilitate the related development. The research utilised the Indigenous research yarning method and found this approach to be particularly useful with potential for broader use in qualitative research. The findings can be applied more broadly across the Australian national tourism landscape. The findings advance knowledge management theory through the lens of Indigenous tourism.

Understanding Suicide from an Indigenous Cultural Lens: Insights from Elders in Canada.

In this study, Indigenous Elders in Canada were interviewed to explore their conceptualizations of death and dying, particularly in relation to suicide. Through reflexive thematic analysis, three key themes were developed: Indigenous conceptions of death and dying, Christian influences on views of suicide, and indirect suicide. The theme of Indigenous conceptualizations of death and dying included the subthemes of spirituality and life after death, highlighting the importance of spiritual beliefs in Indigenous culture and knowledge systems. The impact of Christian influences on views of suicide was also explored, with participants discussing the complex nature of the relationship between Christianity and Indigenous peoples. Finally, the theme of indirect suicide was analyzed, referring to deaths resulting from behaviors that do not necessarily fit within the conventional definition of suicide. Overall, this study highlights the importance of honoring Indigenous cultural knowledge in research related to suicide prevention in Indigenous communities.

Mental health implementation research in Indigenous communities: creating culturally safe space to enhance collective strengths

In this article, we discuss the construct of cultural safety in relation to the ethics, politics, and practice of implementation research in Indigenous communities. We convened a 3-day workshop, bringing together 23 Indigenous and non-Indigenous collaborators from First Nation communities and universities across Canada to reflect on experiences with implementing an Indigenous youth and family mental health promotion program in First Nation communities. Participants identified three dimensions central to achieving culturally safe space in implementation research: (1) interpersonal dynamics of collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners; (2) structural and temporal arrangements necessary for collaborative work; and (3) the systematic recognition and incorporation of Indigenous cultural knowledge, values, and practices. Within implementation research, attention to cultural safety can mitigate the epistemic injustice that arise from research frameworks and methodologies that exclude Indigenous perspectives and values. Cultural safety can increase the likelihood that the research process itself contributes to mental health promotion.

SUSTAINABILITY OF CULTURAL VALUES, INHERITANCE, AND LITERACY IN STRENGTHENING HUMAN RESOURCES IN MINANGKABAU

Objective: To obtain an overview of the reality of the concept and construction of original cultural values in the lives of the Minangkabau indigenous people in Tiga Luhak, and their integration into sustainable development and strengthening of human resources. Methods: This research uses a qualitative approach with an ethnographic method based on the Post-Positivism paradigm of Interpretive Phenomenology, a holistic study, searching for the essence, and implicating moral values in observation, analysis and making conclusions regarding the disclosure of social facts of the Minangkabau indigenous people. Results: In line with the global issue of sustainability in the Sustainable Development Goals program where the mandate is to preserve the Culture of Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous Peoples of an area, this research becomes important when changes have impacted shifting indigenous cultural values in indigenous peoples. The construction of indigenous knowledge and Minangkabau cultural values has been used and developed for a long time in the social structure of their society. Minangkabau custom contains values and knowledge, something that is original and inherent as a worldview and outlook on life. Minangkabau's original cultural values and knowledge are inherited and become clothing in the daily order of indigenous peoples. The concept of Surau and Silek became the starting point for the development of science. It became the center for studying an in-depth understanding of the natural surroundings which has inherited the wisdom, reason and local wisdom of the Minangkabau people. Minangkabau indigenous cultural values and knowledge have become social and intellectual capital in developing and strengthening human resources. Conclusions: Minangkabau customs and culture are a construction of a series of values, beliefs, knowledge, local wisdom and collective agreements based on the concept of Minangkabau scientific studies, namely epistemology which departs from an understanding of the philosophy of Alam Takambang Jadi Guru. Traditional and cultural values are the foundation in the construction of knowledge in Minangkabau, and these values are the guidelines and way of life for the community. Minangkabau cultural values and indigenous knowledge which have been the basis for the Minang people's life goal.

Agroecology integrates science, practice, movement, and future food systems

Agroecology is an interdisciplinary field that brings together agricultural practice and ecological principles. This article explores agroecology's theoretical foundations, practical applications, and historical evolution, along with its impact on modern agricultural methods. Agroecology looks at how biophysical and social elements combine to produce food sustainably, promote social justice, and protect the environment. The first section of the article looks at how agroecology developed as a scientific field, discussing its fundamental ideas, practices, and objectives- all of which emphasize participatory, adaptive, and holistic methodologies. The inquiry also looks into how agroecology might support biodiversity, resilience to climate change, and sustainable livelihoods. This article also explores the rise of agroecology as a movement driven by social activism, environmental consciousness, and a search for alternative food systems. After that, the article dives further into the history of agroecology, emphasizing the pioneers' contributions and the development of agroecological principles over time. The text goes on to outline the fundamental principles of agroecology. Its main objectives are enhancing resource efficiency, strengthening resilience, and ensuring social equality. This article discusses the practical applications of agroecology in various agricultural settings, such as permaculture, agroforestry, and agroecological farming systems. A few agro-ecology case studies have been described. Finally, the article highlights the future of food systems. The article concludes by highlighting the necessity of combining scientific understanding with indigenous ecological and cultural knowledge and stating that agro-ecology is viable for a more just and sustainable future for agriculture and food security.

Forest restoration and fuels reduction work: Different pathways for achieving success in the Sierra Nevada.

Fire suppression and past selective logging of large trees have fundamentally changed frequent-fire-adapted forests in California. The culmination of these changes produced forests that are vulnerable to catastrophic change by wildfire, drought, and bark beetles, with climate change exacerbating this vulnerability. Management options available to address this problem include mechanical treatments (Mech), prescribed fire (Fire), or combinations of these treatments (Mech + Fire). We quantify changes in forest structure and composition, fuel accumulation, modeled fire behavior, intertree competition, and economics from a 20-year forest restoration study in the northern Sierra Nevada. All three active treatments (Fire, Mech, Mech + Fire) produced forest conditions that were much more resistant to wildfire than the untreated control. The treatments that included prescribed fire (Fire, Mech + Fire) produced the lowest surface and duff fuel loads and the lowest modeled wildfire hazards. Mech produced low fire hazards beginning 7 years after the initial treatment and Mech + Fire had lower tree growth than controls. The only treatment that produced intertree competition somewhat similar to historical California mixed-conifer forests was Mech + Fire, indicating that stands under this treatment would likely be more resilient to enhanced forest stressors. While Fire reduced modeled wildfire hazard and reintroduced a fundamental ecosystem process, it was done at a net cost to the landowner. Using Mech that included mastication and restoration thinning resulted in positive revenues and was also relatively strong as an investment in reducing modeled wildfire hazard. The Mech + Fire treatment represents a compromise between the desire to sustain financial feasibility and the desire to reintroduce fire. One key component to long-term forest conservation will be continued treatments to maintain or improve the conditions from forest restoration. Many Indigenous people speak of "active stewardship" as one of the key principles in land management and this aligns well with the need for increased restoration in western US forests. If we do not use the knowledge from 20+ years of forest research and the much longer tradition of Indigenous cultural practices and knowledge, frequent-fire forests will continue to be degraded and lost.

Protection of Indigenous Cultural Expression under Ethiopia Legal Regime: Analysis of the Current Existing Law

Traditional cultural expression (TCE) is an artistic heritage that is developed and maintained by the community or by individuals reflecting the traditional artistic expectation of the community. Traditional Cultural expression is one of the indigenous/traditional knowledge systems, the protection of which as creativity has been debated for the last four decades and still remains an unsettled and challenging issue to date. With the advent of new technologies, this matter has come to the surface raising not only as a legal matter but also, as a political concern in the context of international organizations. This study tried to analyze the necessity of granting protection for indigenous knowledge/indigenous TCE. The researcher tried to analyze data from various literature, WIPO, ARIPO, and OAPI. Moreover, the researcher tried to analyze international and domestic legal regimes whether they protect TCE or not. Protection of TCE has not reached an agreement at the international level and it is also highly neglected in Ethiopia. There is no clear law that protects TCE in Ethiopia. Even at the policy level, there is no clear policy document that aspires for the protection of the indigenous knowledge system. For sustainable economic development, Ethiopia shall enact indigenous customary law or sui generis legal regime for the protection of indigenous artistic and cultural knowledge

Ecological Management of the Nitrogen Cycle in Organic Farms

Nitrogen availability is among the major limiting factors for the production of organic crops. A central goal of organic farming, according to certification standards, is to rely on ecological and biological principles to build and maintain soil health. Nitrogen is among the most complex nutrient elements with respect to its different chemical forms and its flow within the environment at the soil, microbial, plant, aquatic, and atmospheric levels. Because, from an ecological perspective, all production variables on the farm are interrelated, a challenge for scientists and practitioners is to better understand nutrient cycles on the farm with respect to how particular production practices may improve N availability during particular stages of crop growth while minimizing potential environmental losses that may lead to contamination of the groundwater and aquatic habitats or to undesirable greenhouse gas emissions. Here, based on a selected review of the literature, we evaluate N cycles at the farm level and present key ecologically-based management strategies that may be adopted to improve internal N cycles. Given the location-specific nature of most ecosystem interactions, a participatory agroecology approach is proposed that incorporates the knowledge of indigenous and traditional cultures to better understand and design resilient and socially-equitable organic systems.

Whose voices? Whose knowledge? Children and young people’s learning about climate change through local spaces and indigenous knowledge systems

ABSTRACT This article reflects on collaborative research undertaken in Dawkins Park Reserve, NSW, Australia. The aim of the collaboration was to develop a local Indigenous cultural and educational outdoor precinct. Participants involved Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous teachers and primary (Year 6) and secondary (Year 7) school students from three government schools and one catholic school. Fostering student knowledge of, and stewardship about, the reserve’s ecological biodiversity specific to climate change effects over time was the desired outcome. In this article, we share the successes and key challenges of using this park as a case study for outdoor learning as a case study for outdoor learning about climate change in an authentic, localised setting, and the contributions of Indigenous cultural and scientific knowledge to the development of the students’ understanding. Questionnaires and focus group discussions were undertaken with 174 students, while seven teachers engaged in focus group discussions. Quantitative data supported the significant increase in learning enjoyment outside the classroom and improved understanding of climate change at a local level. Conversely, departmental policy and COVID were identified as constraints for regular off-campus learning.

Situating in Place Indigenous Engagements in Capitalist Market Relations

We use a decolonial approach to political economy and a social conceptualization of space to examine how Indigenous cultural understandings and knowledge mediate market rationalities in context. Indigenous Awajún notions of tajimat pujut (life in abundance) and their horticulturalist practices are embedded in a relational ontology that situates humans as part of the ecosystem in the Peruvian Northwest Amazon. As the Awajún are increasingly incorporated into market economies, these notions and practices interact and, at times, converge with the instrumental rationalities of neoliberalism and notions of sustainability and equity that are embedded in local agricultural support programs. We detail these interactions by drawing on ethnography and secondary sources. In the case of the Awajún, we find that Indigenous rationalities are not entirely subsumed by neoliberalization. To the contrary, Awajún values of tajimat pujut and their relationship with the Amazonian territory mediate, transform, and delimit neoliberal governmentality practices. These discourses and relations coexist in tension with an emerging marketization of the Amazon, and are being reworked through contradictions that shape Indigenous productive decisions and impact the sustainability of the forest. Marketization creates opportunities for the native population to obtain income while promoting capital circulation in neighboring markets and amplifying nascent inequalities. Tajimat pujut resonates with discourses and policies relating to pro-poor sustainable local development, producing an Awajún preference for small crop production and aversion to forest depletion, contrary to mestizo preferences for intense monoculture. In this way, neoliberalization is rendered incomplete even as market relations are increasingly incorporated into Awajún economic practices.

Awakening Indigenous Knowledge: Perspectives and Experiences of Indigenous Early Childhood Education Diploma Students

We draw on a focus group discussion amongst four Indigenous northern Ontario early childhood educators (ECEs) from an Indigenous postsecondary institution’s ECE diploma program, to show the important contributions of programs offered by Indigenous postsecondary education institutes to Indigenous cultural revitalization. We are the Indigenous Elder, two instructors, and senior administrator of the program, as well as a non-Indigenous university professor. We argue for Indigenous community-generated curricula that embody local Indigenous cultural knowledge, values, and practices, drawing on themes arising from analysis of focus group data: participants felt that they brought limited knowledge of their Indigenous language and culture to their program, and participants experienced an awakening of Indigenous knowledge through their participation in Indigenous practices outside the core curriculum.

Teaching to Read as an Outsider: How I Created and Taught an Introductory Course on Indigenous Literatures in Quebec

Teaching to Read as an OutsiderHow I Created and Taught an Introductory Course on Indigenous Literatures in Quebec Marie-Hélène Jeannotte (bio) In 2009, when discussing the new course I was about to give on Indigenous literatures in Quebec, I was often met with doubtful questions: "But what books will you teach? Which authors? Is it really a literature?" A few years earlier, at the turn of the 2000s, Maurizio Gatti, one of the first researchers to study Indigenous literatures in French, faced similar disbelief from an employee at the Quebec documentation center in Paris, but also from the majority of professors he approached to supervise his PhD, some of them even challenging the very existence of Indigenous literatures (Littérature 18). At that time, Indigenous books in French were both rare and largely ignored. Librarians and other book professionals viewed Indigenous texts as purely ethnological (Gatti, Littérature 17–19). Unlike Indigenous literatures in English, which, back in 2009, were already well established in English Canada, Indigenous literatures in French in Quebec were then still absent from the literary field. As Isabelle St-Amand states, Si les littératures autochtones sont relativement bien établies au Canada anglais, il en va autrement dans le cas du Québec, où le statut de la littérature autochtone fait toujours l'objet de discussions. … [L]es œuvres des écrivains autochtones sont peu enseignées dans les universités et peu de discours critiques ont été élaborés sur la question.1 Indeed, Indigenous literatures were missing from university literary studies curricula in Quebec in the first decade of the 2000s. Indigenous literatures in French were taught in Ontario (Gatti, Être écrivain 180) and at Laval University's Department of Anthropology (Gagné 227). In 2008, the need to establish the legitimacy of these literatures in [End Page 135] academia and research but also within a curriculum convinced me to propose the creation of a course entirely dedicated to Indigenous literatures from Quebec to the University of Sherbrooke, the Francophone university where I was an MA student. I designed the course as an introduction to Indigenous literatures in French (or in French translation) in Quebec, including oral tradition and contemporary works. The course was offered for the first time in 2009. According to Gatti (Être écrivain 180) and Louis-Karl Picard-Sioui (5), it was the first Indigenous literatures course in French to officially be included in a Quebec university literary studies' curriculum. I have taught this class often since, updating and expanding it as Indigenous literatures in Quebec achieve wider and wider recognition. While none of my students had ever read an Indigenous work—nor could name an Indigenous writer—at the beginning of our first semester in 2009, the situation is the opposite today. Students who have never read a literary work by an Indigenous author are now in the minority. In this article, I wish to share and reflect upon my experience as a non-Indigenous teacher creating an introductory course in a literature department where Indigenous works were, back in 2009, practically unknown. I do not present this particular course as a model to follow. On the contrary, my intention is to describe the context within which the course was created, as well as the challenges, issues raised, and missteps made along the way. Having now taught this course several times over a decade, I wish to detail its evolution as well as that of its academic context, and of myself as a teacher. As well, I propose to explore questions that will be of interest to non-Indigenous scholars setting out to teach Indigenous literatures. As a teacher, how can I establish the legitimacy of Indigenous literatures? How can I equip students to read, interpret, and analyze works by First Nations authors when basic knowledge of Indigenous cultures is often lacking? How can I help students gain more awareness of their biases? I will share here a few avenues for reflection that have proved useful over these past thirteen years, all of which stem from fostering a sense of humility, listening, and empathy. filling a gap I came to Indigenous Studies through literature and specifically the...

Situating in Place Indigenous Engagements in Capitalist Market Relations

We use a decolonial approach to political economy and a social conceptualization of space to examine how Indigenous cultural understandings and knowledge mediate market rationalities in context. Indigenous Awajún notions of tajimat pujut (“life in abundance”) and their horticulturalist practices are embedded in a relational ontology that situates humans as part of the ecosystem in the Peruvian Northwest Amazon. As the Awajún are increasingly incorporated into market economies, these notions and practices interact and, at times, converge with the instrumental rationalities of neoliberalism and notions of sustainability and equity that are embedded in local agricultural support programs. We detail these interactions by drawing on ethnography and secondary sources. In the case of the Awajún, we find that Indigenous rationalities are not entirely subsumed by neoliberalization. To the contrary, Awajún values of tajimat pujut and their relationship with the Amazonian territory mediate, transform, and delimit neoliberal governmentality practices. These discourses and relations coexist in tension with an emerging marketization of the Amazon, and are being reworked through contradictions that shape Indigenous productive decisions and impact the sustainability of the forest. Marketization creates opportunities for the native population to obtain income while promoting capital circulation in neighboring markets and amplifying nascent inequalities. Tajimat pujut resonates with discourses and policies relating to pro-poor sustainable local development, producing an Awajún preference for small crop production and aversion to forest depletion, contrary to mestizo preferences for intense monoculture. In this way, neoliberalization is rendered incomplete even as market relations are increasingly incorporated into Awajún economic practices.

Synthesis of Australian cross‐cultural ecology featuring a decade of annual Indigenous ecological knowledge symposia at the Ecological Society of Australia conferences

SummaryIndigenous Australians are Australia’s first ecologists and stewards of land, sea and freshwater Country. Indigenous biocultural knowledge, as coded in story, song, art, dance and other cultural practices, has accumulated and been refined through thousands of generations of Indigenous tribal groups who have distinct cultural responsibilities for their ancestral estates. European colonisation of Australia had and is still having severe impacts on Indigenous cultural practice, knowledge, people and Country. In contemporary ecology and environmental management, re‐recognition of the unique values of Indigenous biocultural knowledge and practice is occurring and increasingly being deployed alongside Western approaches in what has been described as cross‐cultural, two‐way or right‐way work. This article describes the development of cross‐cultural ecology and environmental approaches in Australia. We then provide an overview of 10 years of conference presentations associated with the annual Indigenous Ecological Knowledge symposiums of the Ecological Society of Australia (ESA). From 2010 to 2020, 173 people participated in the symposia from around Australia and Aotearoa (New Zealand), of which 62% were Indigenous Australians and 3% Maori. Most participants were from Indigenous Ranger groups followed by University staff, with a roughly even split of men and women. A total of 100 presentations were given and a word frequency analysis of the presentation titles revealed the dominant words (themes) were: Indigenous, management, Country, fire, working, knowledge and cultural. The increasing Indigenous participation in the ESA conferences was coincident with increasing Indigenous‐led projects across Australia, although we recognise that much more work needs to be done to increase Indigenous participation and control in Australian ecology and environmental management to move from cross‐cultural to Indigenous‐led approaches.

The Combined Culturo-Techno-Contextual Approach (CTCA) and Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) Strategies to Teaching and Learning Machine Language in Secondary Schools in Breaking Its Difficulty

There have been several efforts and interventions through research and workshops to introduce novel interventions in teaching and learning strategies by science educators around the globe. And countless numbers of strategies to improve academic performance had been introduced in the learning environment. However, many factors could be linked to different academic achievement and attitude to teaching and learning. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate if the use of Culturo-Techno- Contextual Approach (CTCA), a learning strategy that incorporate the use of cultural knowledge (indigenous knowledge), component of contextual drawing from the immediate environment to illustrate teaching, and the component of technology to better strengthen learning. And the Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL), a strategy involving peer learning method interventions to enhance the academic achievement and attitude of students in senior school in machine language. Why machine language? It is a concept in the Nigeria computer studies curriculum that students find difficult to learning. It is hypothesized that there is no statistically significances difference in i) effects of class stream (science, commercial, and arts) in achievement and attitude, and ii) in school type (private and public) in achievement and attitude when taught using the two strategies to teaching and learning machine language in secondary school. The research design was quasi-experimental (a pre-test post-test nonequivalent group) design. A total of 207 computer studies students in senior secondary year two (SS2) comprising 106 females and 101 males participated in the study. The instrument used to gather data was the machine language attitudes questionnaire (MLAQ) and machine language achievement test (MLAT) which had a reliability coefficient of 0.65. There are two experimental groups and they were taught separately with CTCA and PLTL while the control group was taught with the traditional lecture method. The data (pre-test and post-test scores) collected were analysed using mancova since the participants were not randomly assigned to the groups. When CTCA is used, students are required to (a) draw on their topicrelevant indigenous (cultural) knowledge; (b) use technology to seek pre-lesson knowledge of the topic to be taught; (c) work in groups to share knowledge gleaned from their socio-cultural interactions and webbased resources; and (d) draw on their prior knowledge of the topic when used. While the PLTL is based on social dimension, scientific learning discovery, and optimal learning which is active engagement by the students. The study found no statistically significant effect of class stream of students on achievement and attitudes of students when taught using CTCA, PLTL or lecture method [F (2, 202) = 0.20; p > 0.05] and on attitude [F (2, 202) = 2.13; p > 0.05]. While there was a significant difference in machine learning achievement of students taught using CTCA, PLTL, and the Lecture method [F (1, 203) = 4.34; p < .05] and a significant different in school type in machine learning attitude of students taught using CTCA, PLTL, and the Lecture method. [F (1, 203) = 5.82; p < .05]. Hence, the study concluded that educators are encouraged to use the CTCA and PLTL and they could capitalise on the assets of the CTCA and PLTL in demonstrating how it could be employed as a pedagogical design for enhancing the achievement and attitude of students in computer studies and other subjects which are offered at the senior secondary schools. The strategies will help both teachers and students to gain respect for local activities and culture, its wisdom and ethics and appreciate indigenous science and technology and appreciate the use of local resources more thereby enhancing sustainability and it will encourage collaboration among students thereby leading to better academic achievement and attitude. Keyword: Culturo-Techno-Contextual Approach (CTCA); Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL); Machine Language; Collaborative.