Indigenous Cultural Practices Research Articles

What Science Can You Teach Without Language? A Conversation with Timothy Wangusa

This biographical dialogue with Timothy Wangusa explores the interface between indigenous culture, Christianity and education in Uganda, how this disrupted the indigenous cultural base and practice and continued to inform and impact lives and culture in Uganda. It interrogates the binary colonial–cultural contestation and disorientation of indigenous identities from an existential base rooted in the body, the spirit and the land. It acknowledges tensions of identity for the African writer as a product of multiple heritages and the challenge of emboldening it in contestation of manifold historical and structural peripherisations in education and national development policies and interventions. In response to the general national emphasis on science in education and development, Wangusa highlights, through his example, the function of language in education and the value of an inclusive curriculum. He decolonises the definitional scope of science to a more inclusive and relational application as a function of civilisation and education. The word, ‘language’, remains central as an enabler in the understanding and pursuit of development and human civilisation. This interview, conducted on 6 July 2022, was a commemoration of Professor Timothy Wangusa at 80 years and part of the Department of Literature’s activities during Makerere University Centennial celebrations, 2022.

Foundational features of indigenous pregnancy care: Lessons learned from indigenous pregnancy care providers

ProblemIndigenous populations experience higher odds of poor maternal and infant health outcomes than non-Hispanic White mothers yet have lower odds of receiving adequate prenatal care. BackgroundMany Indigenous communities rely on modern Western medical institutions to provide pregnancy related health care. These systems were not developed with or for Indigenous communities and often fail to meet the needs of Indigenous pregnant patients. Offering culturally congruent models of care may increase prenatal care utilization. Question, hypothesis or aimThis paper used qualitative inquiry to identify Indigenous approaches to caring for pregnancy. MethodsOur team conducted 16 semi-structured individual interviews and one group interview with a total of 19 respondents. To arrive at thematic categories, the research team engaged in a modified pile sorting technique. The final set of categories, along with sub-themes, descriptions and example quotes, were sent to interviewees for approval. FindingsTen Foundational Features of Indigenous Pregnancy Care were identified. These covered themes related to Indigenous cultural practices, relationships, Indigenous sovereignty, local Indigenous community, full spectrum care, wholistic care, birthing person's wisdom, power and autonomy, flexibility, historical trauma, and cultural awareness. DiscussionModern midwifery care delivered by Indigenous practitioners may partially bridge the cultural gap; however, intentional effort is needed to integrate Indigenous ways into medical doctor practice models and facilities. ConclusionThis paper identifies ten foundational features of Indigenous pregnancy care and demonstrates the importance of recognizing the effects of trauma and providing opportunities for healing, upholding sovereignty, and centering relationships when caring for Indigenous pregnancies.

Relations between Totems and Humans, the Dagara of Jirapa in the Upper West Region of Ghana, and Indigenous Belief Systems and Lessons for Modern Environmental Conservation

This essay investigates how the Dagara totemic relationship with totems may be used to protect biodiversity. The Jirapa municipality, one of the municipalities in Ghana's Upper West Region, is the subject of this essay. The study looked into how the totemic connection could be used to advance biodiversity protection and conservation in the Jirapa municipality and elsewhere. It made use of a phenomenological research. No matter where they are located, people who share a totem or, for that matter, a common ancestor, have similar belief systems and take part in similar cultural rituals, according to the study. One of the most important findings of the study was that people would go to great lengths to protect and never destroy their totems, whether they were plants or animals. Because they considered it to be one of them, the people whose totem it was protected the object. This resulted in the preservation of several plant and animal species. Totems represent family, clan ties, and what people view as appropriate or wrong behavior, according to one conclusion. The participants' conversation led them to the conclusion that totems are spiritual beings that defend their human relationships. In conclusion, there are numerous ways that this link might be used to protect biodiversity. The report makes the suggestion that modern conservation organizations, agencies, and partners use indigenous cultural practices in their conservation programs. In order to increase natural resource conservation, communities where these kinds of traditional or cultural practices are still practiced should be encouraged to maintain and spread these traditions abroad. Keywords: Jirapa, Dagara, totems, symbiotic relationships, and conservation of nature

Language as a means of expression rather than purpose: Chinese postgraduate students’ translingual ideologies in English academic writing

ABSTRACT This study employs a mixed-methods design to explore the attitudes and expressed beliefs of Chinese postgraduate students regarding the strategic use of their entire range of languages in English academic writing (EAW). The survey findings suggest that while students generally accept the idea of mixing languages during the writing process, they have reservations about incorporating such practices into their written products. Qualitative analysis expands the quantitative dataset by elucidating the diverse stances of students—be they resistant, pragmatic, or transformative—towards translingual practices in EAW within institutional settings. The results indicate the coexistence of hegemonic ideologies that promote English dominance and counterhegemonic ideologies that advocate the reclamation of indigenous linguistic and cultural practices. Morever, students' nuanced and complex translingual orientations are both reflective and transgressive of the established monolingual norms. The article concludes by proposing implications for integrating translingual writing to reject deficit language ideologies and amplify multilingual voices in non-Anglophone higher education contexts.

A Review of Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Their Application in Sustainable Solid Waste Management

Indigenous communities have always used their knowledge systems to improve their quality of life. For example, rural communities’ resort to indigenous cultural practices to manage their own waste when local administration lacks coordinated ways to manage waste. In the context of indigenous knowledge systems, the idea of waste is non-existent. As indigenous knowledge is believed to provide a holistic framework for an approach that effectively promotes sustainability. As such, the current study conducted a systematic review to evaluate the extent to which indigenous solid waste management practices contribute to sustainable waste disposal methods. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines, a literature search was carried out in the field of indigenous solid waste management practices. The results indicate a significant imbalance in the amount of conclusive evidence that has been produced to date that suggests the sustainability of indigenous solid waste management practices. It is for this reason that the current study has discovered a substantial literature gap in sustainable solid waste management associated with indigenous knowledge systems. This is an unprecedented trend, especially for a knowledge system that is supposed to promote sustainability practices. However, to improve the likelihood of incorporating indigenous solid waste disposal methods into modern practices, it is imperative to understand the foundational elements that contribute to the advancement of sustainability, lest the sustainability aspect associated with this knowledge system in the discipline of solid waste management remain a mere rhetoric.

Indigenous Perspectives on Strengths, Resilience, and Well-being

Indigenous communities consistently call for strengths-based, assets-driven approaches to promoting health equity. This includes efforts to expand well-being and resilience frameworks to reflect cultural understandings and perspectives. This study describes community-based participatory research (CBPR) involving focus groups with four diverse groups of Indigenous community members in a single reservation community in the United States. Data were analyzed using inductive and deductive multi-coder processes. Our collaborative efforts led to innovations in planned methods and focal areas of study, including a reframing of “resilience” as one that brings hearts and community together. This approach also yielded a unique, intensive qualitative coding structure that represents a substantive effort to democratize and Indigenize research methods. Community members who participated in focus groups identified Indigenous cultural practices, beliefs, and community as critical components to well-being.

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.

Cultural Robbery, the Carceral System and the Settler Coloniality of Multiculturalism in Moroccan-Occupied Western Sahara

Cultural appropriation or exploitation in settler colonial studies occurs when a settler group adopts the cultural practices of the Indigenous group. Appropriation often compounds the marginalization and silencing of the Indigenous group, and therefore overlaps with, and facilitates, the settler colonial tactic of cultural domination. The latter seeks to eliminate the Indigenous group by way of forced assimilation into the dominant settler culture. In this article, I focus on the purpose and intended effect of the parallel pursuit of cultural exploitation and cultural domination. I argue that the side-by-side enactment of such settler colonial strategies amounts to cultural robbery: the settler state ensures exclusive use or possession of Indigenous cultural practices, markers and heritage. It adopts the latter as its own whilst simultaneously prohibiting—through the carceral system—the use and practice of the culture by the Indigenous community. Using the case of Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara, I focus on the evolution of Morocco’s settler colonial strategies in the cultural realm from its 1975 invasion of Western Sahara until today. I argue that Morocco’s policy of cultural domination over the Indigenous Saharawi population, initially enacted alongside other settler colonial genocidal policies, has made way for cultural appropriation alongside domination. This is, I argue, part of a wider Moroccan regime effort to mobilize “multiculturalism” to quell political opposition.

Language reclamation in the family

Oppressive policies have led to a devaluation of Indigenous cultural and linguistic practices, which in turn have contributed to disruption of language transmission in the family. In this article, I take a longitudinal perspective by first discussing the role of the family in language shift and then exploring how people who have learned Sámi (an Indigenous language in Norway) in the educational system decide to speak Sámi when they become parents. I draw on data from sociolinguistic interviews, fieldwork, interviews in the media, blogs and my own background from a coastal Sámi family. The goal of this article is to explore the motivations and experiences of Sámi parents who decide to speak Sámi with their children and to discuss how some of the challenges faced by these parents may be the result of silences brought about by our colonial past, in this case the domination of Norwegian. Language reclamation is a form of decolonization because agency resides with the speakers and because this may contribute to disrupting colonial heritage and heal hurts from the past.

Building a Meaningful Bridge Between Indigenous and Western Worldviews: Through Decolonial Conversation

In this paper, Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars used a decolonial conversation framework to build a meaningful bridge between Indigenous and Western worldviews. Our decolonial conversations approach is a unique and transformative space where Indigenous and Western knowledge systems intersect, facilitating a rich exchange of valuable insights for fostering intercultural dialogue and breathing new ways of knowing and acting into Indigenous cultures. The decolonial conversation provides a platform for transmitting Indigenous knowledge and cultural practices across generations by uniting Indigenous land-based knowledge, community members, and Western researchers. Integrating Indigenous and Western knowledge systems in these environments fosters collaboration, dispels stereotypes, and forges partnerships grounded in reciprocity and trust. Through this collaborative process, traditional cultural camps emerge as potent catalysts for instilling cultural pride, fostering community resilience, and co-creating knowledge. This collaborative approach aligns with the broader objectives of decolonization and cultural revitalization. In our exploration following the decolonial learning conversation, we, comprising an Indigenous woman land-based educator and a racialized academic scholar, focused on the transformative potential and synergies realized by integrating these knowledge systems within the context of traditional cultural camps.

Social constructs of the coastal fante festival performance costumes and sculptural objects in Ghana: An indigenous knowledge system and practice

The focus of this qualitative case study was to explore the intricate relationship between Coastal Fante Festival performance costumes, sculptural objects, and the indigenous knowledge system and practices of the coastal dwellers, who reside in the central coastal regions of Ghana. To explore the social constructs of Coastal Fante Festival performance costumes and sculptural objects comprehensively, this study employed a multidisciplinary approach, combining ethnography, archival research, and artisan collaboration in the geographical context of Winneba and Cape Coast. The unstructured interview and direct observation were the instrumentations used for the data collection. The interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) and visual data analysis tools garnered from sixteen (16) research participants using purposive (expert) and simple random sampling techniques allowed for a holistic understanding of the cultural, historical, and societal dimensions of these costumes and sculptural objects within the Central region coastal community, shedding light on their role as living embodiments of indigenous knowledge and cultural practice. The study revealed that these costumes hold profound cultural significance, symbolizing historical events, social identities, behaviour, codes and spiritual connections within the community. As a result of these social constructs, enculturation and inculturation were achieved, materialising cultural identity, defining mood (attitude), enhancing performer welfare, and addressing issues of history were addressed through performance costumes and sculptural objects. The generation should see these costumes with sculptural objects as a living embodiment of indigenous knowledge and cultural practice, enriching the understanding of Fante culture and its significance in a global context.

“The Ocean is Our Legacy:” Values of Care and Reciprocity

ABSTRACT This essay examines contemporary nuclear and military impacts on the Pacific Ocean and environmental destruction perpetuated by Japan and the United States. It weaves together complex and overlapping histories of militarism that continue ecological violence in the Pacific, and it articulates connections among these legacies in local and global contexts. I argue that communication scholars must stop acquiescing to military security perspectives. Instead, scholars should directly condemn militaries as the world’s biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and critique nuclear weapon states that exacerbate environmental devastation. Considering the 2023 cases of Fukushima–Daiichi radioactive wastewater dumping and Super Typhoon Mawar, I examine Indigenous cultural practices of care as responses from island communities in Micronesia and their diasporas.

Evaluating the Relationship between Christianity and Indigenous Religion in the Context of the Christian Evangelical Church in Timor (Gereja Masehi Injili di Timor)

This article examines the relationship between the Christian Evangelical Church of Timor (Gereja Masehi Injili di Timor, or GMIT) and Indigenous religions. It gives special attention to the Monthly Cultural Liturgy (Liturgi Bulan Budaya, or LBB), which is a contextual theological construct instituted by the GMIT Synod. This research explores the limited efficacy of contextual theology as the approach only aids GMIT members in observing aspects of Indigeneity within the context of Christian worship, while the LBB otherwise rejects Indigenous cultural and religious practices as errant and infidel. Despite incorporation of Indigenous values within an ecclesial milieu, the discriminatory attitudes of GMIT members towards Indigenous communities remain unaddressed within the current prism of contextual theology. Consequently, I aim to improve Christian contextual theology through studying other religions by means of the Indigenous religion paradigm. The goal is to create a more inclusive theology that encourages GMIT members to be more open and accepting of local communities practicing Indigenous religions. Such an amalgamation yields an intersubjective paradigm of contextual theology, the upshot of which makes for a more adaptive LBB that fosters relationships within the scope of GMIT’s ministerial services.

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.

Ghintang Ghisi Dance of Bhaktapur: A Cultural Tourism Product

Bhaktapur is a world-renowned cultural tourism destination of Nepal that offers to tourists wonderful experience and encounter with tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Due to the high classes wonderful and alluring heritage every year large numbers of tourists have been paying their visit. From the cultural tourism perspective colorful jatras, heart-breathing music and dances are also recognized as the renowned sources of attraction. Bhaktapur has already established its fame as a destination of cultural capital that annually celebrates different festivals with performing music and dances on the special auspicious occasion. Rest of them, Ghintang Ghisi dance is also a renowned and an indigenous cultural identity and practice as well as an important tourism product of the destination. It is danced with holding sticks on the occasion of the Gaijatra festival in the month of Bhadra. Although this dance is still unexposed and explored as a significant cultural tourism product in the field of academia it is identified as its research gaps. It is needed to conduct research to recognize this dance as a prominent tourism product. Therefore, to address the research problems and gaps this paper has been prepared. It is based on primary and secondary data whereas qualitative approach, descriptive, analytical and exploratory research designs have been applied in this study. The required data and information have been collected during the field conducted in 2019 and 2022 by consulting with two key informants.

Application of Mangrove Tourism Eco-edu Technology Based on Local Malay Cultural Wisdom in Women Tourism Management Groups

Rupat Island, located in the Bengkalis Regency of Riau Province, is a designated region for the purpose of tourism development. Particularly, the North Rupat District of the island holds significance in this regard. In the process of managing tourist destinations for mangrove ecosystems and beaches in Tanjung Medang Village, the Rupat Molek Tourism Management Women's Group (KPPW) has been actively involved. However, KPPW Rupat Molek has encountered several challenges in effectively managing this tourist destination. These challenges include the limited dissemination of information about the tourist destination on online tourism promotion platforms and inadequate management of various business aspects, such as lodging accommodations, limited culinary options, and insufficient tourist game facilities. The objective of this activity is to provide education to KPPW (Kampung Pantai Penyabong Wawasan) through the implementation of Eco-edu Mangrove Tourism technology, which is rooted on the indigenous knowledge and cultural practices of the local Malay community. The methodology employed encompasses several stages, namely the preparatory phase, the production of tourism promotional materials phase, the training and technical support phase, and the monitoring and evaluation phase. The outcomes of this endeavor encompass tourism advertising materials, which manifest as websites, social media platforms, and publications that serve as introductions to mangrove tourism. The evaluation results indicated that the participants' reception of the training material was quite favorable, as they demonstrated a clear comprehension of the material delivered by the presenters. It is anticipated that this undertaking would enhance the economic conditions of the nearby neighborhood.

Barcoding and traditional health practitioner perspectives are informative to monitor and conserve frogs and reptiles traded for traditional medicine in urban South Africa.

Previous literature suggests that Indigenous cultural practices, specifically traditional medicine, are commonplace among urban communities contrary to the general conception that such practices are restricted to rural societies. We reviewed previous literature for records of herptiles (frog and reptile species) sold by traditional health practitioners in urban South Africa, then used visual confirmation surveys, DNA barcoding and folk taxonomy to identify the herptile species that were on sale. Additionally, we interviewed 11 IsiZulu and SePedi speaking traditional health practitioners to document details of the collection and pricing of herptile specimens along with the practitioners' views of current conservation measures for traditional medicine markets. The 34 herptile species recorded in previous literature on traditional medicine markets included endangered and non-native species. Spectrophotometry measurements of the DNA we extracted from the tissue of herptiles used in traditional medicine were an unreliable predictor of whether those extractions would be suitable for further experimental work. From our initial set of 111 tissue samples, 81 sequencing reactions were successful and 55 of those sequences had species-level matches to COI reference sequences on the NCBI GenBank and/or BOLD databases. Molecular identification revealed that traditional health practitioners correctly labelled 77% of the samples that we successfully identified with DNA barcoding in this study. Our mixed methodology approach is useful for conservation planning as it updates knowledge of animal use in Indigenous remedies and can accurately identify species of high conservation priority. Furthermore, this study highlights the possibility of collaborative conservation planning with traditional health practitioners.

Decolonising access for Performing Arts Training at Makerere University: The Legacy of Rose Mbowa

ABSTRACT Access and relevance have been central in the pursuit of a university education responsive to the development agenda of post-colonial Uganda. In Makerere University, the drive involved critical engagement with hegemonic constraints predicated by an interplay of historical drivers, many of them rooted in colonialism. This paper explores initiatives in Uganda and Africa towards the decolonisation of universities in Africa to centre the African/indigenous context and epistemic bases, enable access to education, provide curriculum responsiveness and ensure pedagogical relevance as imperatives in decolonisation and national (re)construction. Performing arts education was faced with limitations specific to its context of limited academic value owing to a hegemonic hierarchization that devalued scholarship and practice informed by indigenous epistemic bases and cultural practice. This article uses reports, interviews and archival materials to explore the role of Rose Mbowa, a drama teacher and practitioner at Makerere University, in decolonising the matriculation window to increase access for Performing Arts training and enabling university-community collaborative pedagogical contexts to empower learners and the community.

Ideals of counseling practice: Therapeutic insights from an Indigenous first nations-controlled treatment program.

Indigenous Canadians suffer disproportionately from mental health concerns tied to histories of colonization, including exposure to Indian Residential Schools. Previous research has indicated that preferred therapies for Indigenous populations fuse traditional cultural practices with mainstream treatment. The present study comprised 32 interviews conducted with Indigenous administrators, staff, and clients at a reserve-based addiction treatment center to identify community-driven and practical therapeutic solutions for remedying histories of coercive colonial assimilation. Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews revealed that counselors tailored therapy through cultural preferences, including the use of nonverbal expression, culturally appropriate guidance, and alternative delivery formats. Additionally, they augmented mainstream therapeutic activities with Indigenous practices, including the integration of Indigenous concepts, traditional practices, and ceremonial activities. Collectively, this integration of familiar counseling approaches and Indigenous cultural practices in response to community priorities resulted in an innovative instance of therapeutic fusion that may be instructive for cultural adaptation efforts in mental health treatment for Indigenous populations and beyond. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Diarrheal disease and associations with water access and sanitation in Indigenous Shawi children along the Armanayacu River basin in Peru.

Diarrheal disease, particularly in children under 5 years old, remains a global health challenge due to its high prevalence and chronic health consequences. Public health interventions that reduce diarrheal disease risk include improving access to water, sanitation, and hygiene. Although Peru achieved the 2015 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) indicators for water access, less progress was achieved on sanitation. Furthermore, many Indigenous Peoples were overlooked in the MDG indicators, resulting in a prioritization of Indigenous Peoples in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of childhood diarrhea, characterize access to water and sanitation, and determine the association of childhood diarrhea with water access and sanitation indicators in 10 Shawi Indigenous communities along the Armanayacu River in the Peruvian Amazon. A cross-sectional survey (n=82) that captured data on diarrheal disease, sociodemographic variables, and water and sanitation exposures was conducted in 10 Shawi communities. Nutritional status of children under 5 was also assessed via physical examination. Descriptive and comparative statistics were conducted. A small proportion (n=7; 8.54%) of participating children reported an episode of diarrhea in the previous month. Almost half (46.30%) of participating children had stunting, wasting, or both. Although not statistically significant, children living in households that used latrines were 4.29 times (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-18.19) more likely to report an episode of diarrhea than children living in households that practiced open defecation. Although not statistically significant, children living in households that used water treatment methods were 4.25 times (95%CI 0.54-33.71) more likely to report an episode of diarrhea than children living in households that did not. The prevalence of childhood diarrhea was lower for Shawi than for other Amazon areas. The higher prevalence of childhood diarrhea in households that used latrines and water treatments warrants further investigation into local risk and protective factors. These Shawi communities scored low for the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme indicators for water and sanitation, indicating that they should be prioritized in future water, sanitation, and hygiene initiatives. Research will be required to understand and incorporate local Indigenous values and cultural practices into water, sanitation, and hygiene initiatives to maximize intervention uptake and effectiveness.