Native Culture Research Articles

Sand Talk: Process Philosophy and Indigenous Knowledges

Abstract Through a close study of T. Yunkaporta's 2019’s Sand Talk, this article explores fractal thinking and the pattern of creation in Indigenous cosmology; the role of custodianship in respectful interaction between living systems; alternative Indigenous understandings of nonlinearity, time, and transience; the process-panpsychism and animism present in Indigenous perceptions of cosmos as living Country, illustrated in the Dreaming and Turnaround creation event; the role of embodied cognition and haptic and situated knowledge in Indigenous science; Indigenous holistic reasoning and the mind-body connection; the process-relational metaphysic embedded in ritual and yarning practice; the knowledge encoded in place-based totemic mythology, lore, and ritual; and Indigenous understandings of complex systems as adaptive, self-organizing, and patterned. This article does not offer a process reading of Indigenous thought but rather demonstrates the significant contribution to process metaphysics that may be provided by an Aboriginal Australian perspective. Yunkaporta's text carves out a language of resistance to the McDonaldization of Indigenous research. While historic scholarly engagement with Aboriginal culture has overemphasized content, Yunkaporta demonstrates how this has occurred to the exclusion of the processes of Indigenous knowledge transmission and creation. Yet a process view requires engagement with the how, not only with the what. Such knowledge transmission is discerned in daily lived relationships among land, spirit, and people—binding epistemology to participation in a specific landscape embedded within a living culture. Place-making for Indigenous knowledges requires exploring how Indigenous ways of valuing, knowing, and being, shaped by cultural activities on Country, offer new understandings for Western metaphysics.

Разработка аудиовизуального курса русского языка как иностранного с национальным культурным компонентом в рамках новой образовательной стратегии Китая

The research aims to present the experience of developing an audiovisual set of textbooks with a national-cultural component “Two Worlds – Two Souls” for Chinese university students in the “Russian Language” training program. The paper discusses the basic requirements for Russian language textbooks in China, the structure and content of the author’s set. The research is novel in that it is the first to propose a model of a set of Russian language textbooks for Chinese students focused on the development of two competencies (auditory and intercultural) and including texts about Russia and China (culture, history, traditions, people) in equal proportions. As a result, it was proved that at the present stage of development of Chinese education, materials based on the principle of a dialogue between native and foreign cultures are necessary, compiled taking into account a gradual increase in difficulty, including texts on traditional and modern topics and contributing to the development of many competencies.

Pediatric anesthesia in Australia and New Zealand and health inequity among First Nations and Māori children.

Australia and New Zealand are two countries in the Southern Pacific region. They share many pediatric anesthesia similarities in terms of medical organizational systems, education, training, and research, however there are important differences between the two nations in relation to geography, the First Nations populations and the history of colonization. While the standards for pediatric anesthesia and the specialty training requirements are set by the Australian and New Zealand College of Anesthetists and the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia in New Zealand and Australia, colonization has created distinct challenges that each nation now faces in order to improve the anesthetic care of its pediatric population. Australia generally has a high standard of living and good access to health care; disparities exist for First Nations People and for those living in rural or remote areas. Two influences have shaped training within New Zealand over the past 40 years; establishment of a national children's hospital in 1990 and, more importantly, acknowledgement that the First Nations people of New Zealand (Māori) have suffered because of failure to recognize their rights consequent to establishing a partnership treaty between Māori and the British Crown in 1840. Health inequities among Māori in New Zealand and First Nations People in Australia have implications for the health system, culturally appropriate approaches to treatment, and the importance of having an appreciation of First Nations people's history and culture, language, family structure, and cultural safety. Trainees in both countries need to be adequately supported in these areas in order for the sub-specialty of pediatric anesthesia to develop further and improve the anesthetic and surgical outcomes of our children.

Youth Suicide Prevention Programming among the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians: Effects of the Lifelines Student Curriculum.

Suicide continues to be a leading cause of mortality for young people. Given persistent intersecting forms of disadvantage, Native American adolescents are especially vulnerable to mental health adversities and other suicide risk factors. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MBCI) implemented the Choctaw Youth Resilience Initiative (CYRI), a five-year SAMHSA-funded project that began in 2019. This study uses Choctaw student pre-test/post-test survey data to examine the effectiveness of the Hazelden Lifelines Suicide Prevention Training curriculum for youth. A lagged post-test design was used, whereby post-surveys were administered at least one month after program completion. Several intriguing results were observed. First, the lagged post-test model was subject to some pre-to-post attrition, although such attrition was comparable to a standard pre/post design. Second, analyses of completed surveys using means indicated various beneficial effects associated with the Lifelines curriculum implementation. The greatest benefit of the program was a significant change in student perceptions concerning school readiness in response to a suicidal event. Some opportunities for program improvement were also observed. Our study sheds new light on suicide prevention training programs that can be adapted according to Native American youth culture. Program implementation and evaluation implications are discussed in light of these findings.

Making Big Business Everybody’s Business: Aboriginal leaders’ perspectives on commercial activities influencing aboriginal health in Victoria, Australia

BackgroundThe commercial determinants of health is a rapidly expanding field of research; however Indigenous perspectives remain notably underrepresented. For Indigenous peoples the intersection of globalisation, colonialism and capitalism may amplify commercially-driven health inequities. This study aimed to explore the perspectives of Aboriginal leaders regarding the influence of commercial activities on Aboriginal health and wellbeing in Victoria, Australia.MethodsSemi-structured interviews with 23 Aboriginal leaders from across five sectors (n = 15 urban, n = 8 rural/regional) were analysed through reflexive thematic analysis.ResultsThree overarching themes were identified encompassing (i) harmful commercial practices and processes, (ii) improving corporate engagement and (iii) opportunities for self-determination through business. Participants expressed concern over aggressive marketing by the gambling industry, commercial exploitation of Aboriginal culture, the privatisation of public services, and lack of oversignt of corporate social responsibility strategies. Simultaneously, Aboriginal-led businesses were viewed as opportunities for cultural connection, and financial empowerment and self-determination.ConclusionNumerous commercial entities and activities are perceived to influence Aboriginal health and wellbeing. This study highlights the need for stronger policy and regulation to mitigate harmful industry practices while incentivising the potential positive impacts of the commercial activities on Aboriginal health and wellbeing.

Main Causes and Corresponding Strategies of “Dumb English” Phenomenon among Secondary School Students in Mainland China: A Review of Relevant Research Findings

This paper reviews selected literature published since 2000 to explore the increasing concern among scholars and educators in Mainland China, regarding the phenomenon of “dumb English” among secondary school students. Existing research primarily analyses the main causes of “dumb English” from the perspectives of deficiencies in English teaching in rural areas, the absence of native language culture in English instruction, deviations in students’ focus during oral English training, and psychological factors, etc. Corresponding strategies have been proposed to address these issues. Future research could focus on adjusting and optimizing the traditional English teaching models and evaluation systems in secondary school classrooms.

Exploring Religious Animal Symbolism in Louise Erdrich’s The Plague of Doves

In her 2009 novel The Plague of Doves, Louise Erdrich weaves a complex story that demonstrates the attempted erasure of Native American culture and religion through contrasting religious animal motifs. Serpents, doves, and lambs have inherent associations with biblical and some indigenous religions that, together, build a conflict that is reflected by the tension between the occupants of the reservation and by the white characters. For example, the Biblical interpretation of serpents is that they are evil spirited and essentially the embodiment of Satan; however, some religions view serpents as creatures that cast out demons. These contrasting beliefs, along with other examples in the novel, create the religious and spiritual conflict that occurs in the novel as the Native Americans are bombarded with Catholicism and other pressures to abandon their culture. Associating or assigning these animals with religious symbolism to different characters, both white and indigenous, Erdrich enriches the conversation surrounding the conversion of Native Americans to Catholicism and the separation of indigenous peoples with their families and culture by exposing the entitlement and power imbalances present between Native Americans and Westerners.

State care services as devices of acceptance to the social body: the case of Afro-descendant migrant mothers in Chile, beneficiaries of the National Child Health Program

IntroductionIn the field of medical anthropology, particularly from the practices of medical care in a situated context, the text discusses how state care services under the “National Child Health Programme” implemented by nursing professionals in Chile transmit values and expectations that could be transformed into devices of acceptance to the social body for migrant mothers of African descent who come with their children to health centres.MethodsThe Methodology employed in this study was devised through a case study in the commune of Talca, within the Maule region, utilizing semi-structured interviews with nurses who work within the Programme, as well as open interviews and thematic workshops with migrant women users of the Programme.ResultsThe results point to the valuation of the programme by the women, who identify it as an instance of providing and receiving care for their children; they also recognise that they are judged by their caregivers for not “correctly” following the instructions given to them with their children living in Chile or for exercising transnational maternity. On the other hand, nursing professionals revealed racial and class prejudices about women of African descent, especially Haitian women.DiscussionIt is suggested that this programme, recognized regionally as an effective assistance and care policy in the fight against infant mortality and morbidity, becomes an acculturation device for migrant mothers and their children born in Chile. It is expected that both mothers and children adhere to the program’s guidelines, resulting in similar behaviours and attitudes as those of Chilean mothers. This generates few instances of learning and appreciation of the native cultures of the new Chilean infants and reveals that categories of differences such as ethno-racial, gender, and migratory status are articulated in the nurses’ health practices, emphasising the mandate to follow the instructions of migrant mothers and their children.

Prostitution in the shadow of life-long sexual abuse: Arab women’s retrospective experiences

ABSTRACT The present study uses the life-course and intersectionality perspectives to explore the meaning that aging Arab women attribute to their lived experiences of life-long sexual abuse in the shadow of engaging in prostitution. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to analyze the narratives of 10 older Arab women in Israel who were engaged in prostitution. Four themes emerged: experiencing childhood in the shadow of sexual abuse, becoming a prostitute, being entrapped in prostitution, and settling accounts with the native culture. Women aging in prostitution experience a harsh reality of abuse and loss. The present study points to multiple channels of abuse throughout the life course, from childhood until old age.

The Dual Role of Culture in Evolutionary Play: Anthropogenic Expansion Vs Destruction of Biodiversity

A large number of Green discourse blames the human species for the current ecological crisis. However, this description of humanity as the ecocidal culprit serves to conceal the role of humans, in both past and contemporary pre-industrial societies, as custodians of biodiversity. Indigenous societies are known to have conserved their natural resource base for posterity, by instituting cultural norms and institutions against exhaustive resource use. In addition, pre-industrial societies also increased biodiversity on taxic and genetic levels, by domestication of many wild biota, and on the ecosystem level with agroforestry. While Darwin gave much importance to the process of domestication of plants and animals by means of artificial selection, modern science and agriculture curricula tend to neglect this aspect of the history of human civilization. The novel taxa, created in the process of domestication, are characterised by many morphological and behavioural traits never found in the wild progenitor species. Further selection of favourable traits of the new species created an abundance of distinctive crop landraces and animal breeds. The increment in diversity at the ecosystem, taxic and genetic levels, by the process of domestication and in ancient agroforestry systems, began to reverse with industrial development over the past two centuries. Indeed, industrial development has been the chief driver of the continuing process of biodiversity erosion and habitat loss worldwide. Industrial agricultural systems, signposted by the Green Revolution (GR), has severely truncated the on-farm crop species and genetic diversity, which characterised traditional multi-crop farming and agroforestry systems in native agrarian cultures. Over the past six decades, the continual replacement of hundreds of landraces with a handful of GR cultivars, combined with the institutional apathy toward in situ landrace conservation efforts, has led to the disappearance of the importance of genetic purity of landraces from breeding programs and heirloom crop conservation discourse. Most of the modern farmers, predominantly dependent on the industrial supply of crop seeds, have forgotten the methods of genetic purity maintenance, resulting in the rapid loss of the hundreds of crop landraces with distinctive properties, which were selected centuries ago for diverse agronomic, gustatory, and aesthetic qualities. A recognition of the value of the custodian role of ecosystem people in creating and conserving biodiversity, vis-a-vis the current industrial decimation of biodiversity on all levels, will likely promote biodiversity conservation ethos in modern societies, and the value of genetic purity of the extant crop landraces.

Influence of pH and temperature on the performance and microbial community during the production of medium-chain carboxylic acids using winery effluents as substrate.

Winery effluents containing high ethanol concentrations and diverse organic matter are ideal substrates for producing medium-chain carboxylic acids via fermentation and chain elongation. However, the process needs to be better understood. This study presents novel insights into the bioconversion mechanisms of medium-chain carboxylic acids by correlating fermentation and chain elongation kinetic profiles with the study of microbial communities at different pH (5 to 7) conditions and temperatures (30 to 40°C). It was found that high productivities of MCCA were obtained using a native culture and winery effluents as a natural substrate. Minor pH variations significantly affected the metabolic pathway of the microorganisms for MCCA production. The maximal productivities of hexanoic (715mg/L/d) and octanoic (350mg/L/d) acids were found at pH 6 and 35°C. Results evidence that the presence of Clostridium, Bacteroides, and Negativicutespromotes the high productions of MCCA. The formation of heptanoic acid was favor when Mogibacterium and Burkholderia were present.

Divinizing Nature for Sustainable Global Growth: The Indian Perspective

The recent catastrophic climate conditions and the spate of wildfires, floods, cyclones, etc. on an unparalleled scale sweeping most parts of the globe has sent mankind in a tizzy. Despite numerous summits and conferences of world leaders and the action plans continue to make headlines even though the real effect on the ground seems suspect. Faultlines flagged include the seemingly unsustainable global market economy, high-level consumerism, widespread deforestation, emissions from ever-burgeoning number of automobiles and fossil-fuel fed industries, use of chemicals, building of big dams, etc. While all this is true, the real change has to come about in human attitude to nature. From the urge to exploit nature, it has to be of an interdependence based on respect for the natural elements and creatures because these maintain balance and provide congenial environment for life. My paper analyses the situation and concludes that for this to happen, we need to involve heart and soul as much as the mind. Our native cultures existing since ages and finding expression in ancient as also contemporary literatures provide an answer to tackle the fearsome scenario facing us, and this is to treat nature not just as a living being, but rather a divine being.

Bioremediation of Chlorate and Chromium in Soil Columns Using Contaminated Site Native Culture

AbstractChlorate and hexavalent chromium (chromate) are both widely used in different industries, and the improper waste management in the past left many sites with elevated concentrations in groundwater that pose potential risk to human and/or ecological health. Bioremediation is a sustainable management solution that can reduce both of these contaminants to less toxic species. In our earlier microcosms experiments, we have demonstrated that native microorganisms collected from a site contaminated with chlorate and chromate can lower the concentration of these chemicals in groundwater to acceptable regulatory levels provided sufficient electron donor, nitrogen, and phosphorous are provided. In this study, continuous flow column experiments were performed using soil from the site impacted by both chlorate and chromate in the Province of Manitoba (Canada) and synthetic groundwater amended with acetate, nitrogen, and phosphorous. The objective was to evaluate at a bench scale possibility of in‐situ groundwater treatment. Concentrations of chromate and chlorate measured in the columns' effluent water dropped by 86% and 96%, respectively. However, increased biomass and precipitation of trivalent chromium reduced the water flow rate in the columns, a concern for implementing this method as a long‐term in‐situ remediation solution.

Assembling Collections: Isabella Parry and the Distribution of Aboriginal Material Culture at the Port Stephens Australian Agricultural Company Settlement, 1830–1834

This article revisits a suite of Worimi objects in the British Museum whose collection is attributed to Sir Edward Parry, Australian Agricultural Company commissioner from 1830–1834, and brings into view the oft-overlooked diaries and letters of his wife, Lady Isabella Parry. By foregrounding Lady Parry as the primary distributor of material, I shed light on her circulation of objects from Port Stephens to her family estate in Cheshire. Finding herself isolated in an unfamiliar environment, Parry wrote letters and assembled collections in an attempt to exert control over her surroundings and reassert connections to England. While Parry never achieved a sense of belonging within the colony, her material legacy illustrates the importance of collecting and gift-giving to imperial women’s identity formation. Her archive speaks to the value ascribed to colonial material culture within British families, generating knowledge about some of the many Aboriginal objects housed in museums throughout Britain.

ELF and Transcultural Communicative Practices in Multilingual and Multicultural Settings: A Theoretical Appraisal of Recent Advances

Transcultural communicative practices (TCPs) have become increasingly important in English language pedagogy owing to the growing number of multilingual and multicultural settings. In this study, I theoretically appraise these practices and place them in the context of English as a lingua franca (ELF) and transcultural communication in the English language classroom. Drawing on Takkula et al.’s (2008) claim that all people are products of their native culture and mother tongue from the moment of birth, the paper argues that language students must be educated to overcome their culture-bound assumptions and beliefs and acquire the necessary skills for transcultural exchanges and that to this end, ELF is a valuable transcultural communication tool. The benefits and challenges of such practices are also discussed. The benefits for students include increased cultural sensitivity, improved communication skills, and enhanced critical thinking, whereas the challenges include language barriers, cultural differences, and class time constraints. The study concludes with hints for English language teachers and practitioners to effectively implement TCPs in classrooms to promote transcultural understanding and communication among students.

‘We love sharing your land’: Children’s understandings of Acknowledgement to Country practices and Aboriginal knowledges in early learning centres

This paper explores children’s understandings of Acknowledgement to Country practices and Aboriginal knowledges. Guided by the relational lenses of respect, responsibility and reciprocity, we conducted focus groups with children across five Australian early education centres. We found that Acknowledgement practices were evident through recitation of their Acknowledgement to Country, engaging with artefacts, and/or discussion of artworks. Secondly, children demonstrated emerging understandings about place names, the symbolic use of flags for places and people, and Australian plants and animals. Thirdly, Aboriginal cultures as living cultures were evident in temporal discussions about people and culture. Finally, imaginative play implied efforts to make sense of Aboriginal concepts and language. Across the study, children were active in experimenting with ideas in their own meaning making. Acknowledgement to Country was not a moment in the day; rather, it was embedded throughout the day through routines, storytelling, play and creative activities, all designed to foster learning.

Hybridity and Cultural Duality in E.M Forster’s Character Dr. Aziz: A Post-Colonial Analysis

The study examines the impact of British influence on Indian culture and its people, leading to a dualism in their personalities, as conceptualized by Homi K. Bhabha's notion of hybridity. The analysis of Forster’s novel and the character of Dr. Aziz using Bhabha’s concepts of hybridity and ambivalence reveals that British culture poses a significant threat to the native culture, eroding the ancient histories of Indian cultures in the younger native generation. This qualitative research, based on the findings of this study, also opens up a new dimension for researchers in the same field or those interested in hybridity, or A Passage to India. This research is qualitative in nature, and the data was collected from the novel A Passage to India. The research also identifies that Dr. Aziz appears to be influenced by the English lifestyle and attempts to emulate English behavior on multiple occasions, seeking friendship with English people and even organizing and leading a trip for them to demonstrate his honor and responsibility. However, after facing accusations, he refrains from accepting the friendship of the English until they cease to rule India, displaying dual and hybrid behavior. The study also uncovers the influence of the English language and cultural values on Indians. Considering that Forster wrote the novel A Passage to India during his visits to India, it is evident that he witnessed the scenario during the British Raj, lending credibility and trustworthiness to the events described in the novel. This provides a satisfying validation of the research results.

Supporting the Journey Home: The Process of Co-designing an Education Program to Strengthen Palliative Care Capacity in First Nations Communities

In Ontario, Canada, several training programs have been created to improve home-based palliative care in First Nations communities, though they primarily focus on meeting needs at end-of-life. Therefore, education focused on incorporating an early palliative care approach for community health-related workers is necessary. To address this gap, we tested the CAPACITI curriculum with 12 health care providers working in First Nations communities across Ontario, 11 of which were members of a First Nations community, and engaged them in a collaborative process to co-design an education program that they felt was representative of First Nations values and culture. The co-designers were trained as nurses (n=8), personal support workers (n=2), a social worker (n=1), and a physician (n=1). We met with them for 12 weekly one hour sessions. They completed a workbook of questions and recommendations to tailor the education to a First Nations community context. We incorporated these recommendations into the new education by reviewing existing material, making notes of suggested changes, and adding new content. We redesigned the education according to several themes: incorporating culture, recognizing First Nations health care workers and knowledge, and approaching education wholistically. The resulting program, Supporting the Journey Home: Growing the Community Bundle to Care for those with Serious Illness, gives First Nations health care providers practical resources to operationalize an early palliative care approach with community members. To our knowledge, this is the first study to describe the co-design process of an existing palliative care education program with First Nations health care providers.

Khanty urban women in the second half of the 20th — early 21st century: continuity of ethnocul-tural traditions, a view from the “inside”

Ethnicity is a dynamic category based on ethnic background. Most clearly it is expressed in the traditional environment, natural for the preservation of cultural traditions, which is associated with ancestral places, rural areas. In recent years, the number of representatives of indigenous peoples of the North living in the cities of Yugra has increased significantly. The main force of national intelligentsia is concentrated in the city of Khanty-Mansiysk, public institutions have been created there that became a part of the modern ethnic culture of the Ob Ugrians. The most representative part of this community are women, they clearly show their creative nature. The purpose of this work is to capture the features of the expression of ethnicity among Khanty women of different generations living in urban conditions, to trace its changes and continuity using the example of resi-dents of Khanty-Mansiysk. To assess this topic, a “look from the inside” is characteristic, the author places herself in the center of the study, as she belongs to this community. The stories of famous Khanty women who were born in the 1930s in a traditional environment but became citizens, as well as stories of their daughters and granddaughters born in the city, serve as a “refe-rence”. The author concludes on the natural “blurring” of ethnic identity in city environment. This is a natural process caused by the environment itself, as well as by metisation of urban residents. The process of assimilation of ethnic cultures in urban condi-tions is faster. The “true” representatives of traditional culture in urban environment are those born in rural areas. The first gen-eration of urban women (“mothers”) keeps in touch with the traditional environment, usually speaks their native language and appears as representatives of ethnic culture. The second generation (“daughters”) takes a marginal position in relation to their native culture and the urbanized environment, they are able to perceive their native culture, but at a different level; they rather carry a universal identity. Representatives of the third generation (“granddaughters”), as a rule, are not speakers of their native language and bearers of the culture, and their ethnic identity is expressed in preserving the memory of their ancestors.

Cultural singularity: informing white practitioners who serve non-white clientele

Social work practitioners confront formidable challenges from non-white clientele. These challenges require theoretical constructs to improve services, which include: (1) cultural singularity; (2) double consciousness; (3) the dual perspective; (4) the bleaching syndrome; and (5) honorary white people. Cultural singularity pertains to white practitioners whose native culture is standard. Double consciousness pertains to dual cultures. The dual perspective is a social work account of double consciousness. The bleaching syndrome is manifested in the honorary white person. In order to enhance assimilation and reduce singularity, social workers must acknowledge non-white cultural traditions that have assets, capacities, and strengths that should be valued. Subsequently, the integrity and prestige of social work will be sustained.