Western Knowledge Systems Research Articles

Contributions of African Traditional Knowledge to Community Development Theory and Practice

Africa's capacity for developing, testing, and applying traditional knowledge is closely linked to its indigenous knowledge capacity. This paper explores the role of Indigenous knowledge in community development and the challenges associated with its integration into development theories and initiatives. Colonialism, which diminished the relevance of traditional knowledge and promoted Western development techniques, has left a legacy of dependency on Western knowledge systems. As a result, the contribution of Indigenous knowledge to community development and other developmental practices has often been overlooked. This study employs a quantitative research method based on secondary data analysis to investigate these issues. The findings highlight the significant potential of Indigenous knowledge in contributing to development efforts. However, various factors, including restrictive rules, regulations, standards, and limited funding for Indigenous knowledge research, documentation, and application, hinder its full utilisation. To address these limitations, this paper recommends the development of a clear research agenda for Indigenous knowledge, with articulated research objectives and expected outcomes. Additionally, the establishment of frameworks for validating knowledge within the educational system is proposed. These measures aim to enhance the recognition and integration of Indigenous knowledge into development practices, fostering a more holistic and culturally sensitive approach to community development.

Traditional and Western knowledge systems used by smallholders: Harnessing synergies for improved household food security in rural Ghana

ABSTRACT The discourse on knowledge integration persists in research and development practice. The need for traditional and Western knowledge systems to work together to achieve sustainable agricultural development in Ghana’s rural areas has become evermore relevant to achieve household food security in the context of changing climate, declining soil fertility, and labour challenges. The authors examined the role of knowledge integration in shaping the food security outcomes of socially differentiated smallholders’ households in Kassena-Nankana Municipal District and the Kassena-Nankana West District in the Upper East Region of Ghana, where food insecurity prevalence is very high. Using mixed methods approach, they found that most low resource endowed households that were unable to combine traditional and Western farming methods were more likely to experience food insecurity than were other households. Farmers with higher resource endowments integrated knowledges from both traditional and Western systems leading to better yield outcomes. However, combining both knowledge systems did not guarantee automatic success due to intervening factors. The authors conclude that different categories of smallholders’ resource endowment significantly impacts the smallholders’ food security status, and recommend that policy and development programming should promote integration of traditional and Western farming knowledge systems to achieve sustainable food crop production.

Collections from Colonial Australia in Berlin's Museum für Naturkunde and the Challenges of Data Accessibility

German-speaking naturalists working in southeastern Australia in the mid-19th century relied heavily on the expertise of First Nations intermediaries who acted as guides, collectors, traders and translators (Clarke 2008, Olsen and Russell 2019). Many of these naturalists went to Australia because of the research opportunities offered by the British Empire at a time when the German nation states did not have colonies of their own. Others sought to escape political upheaval at home. They were welcome employees for colonial government agencies due to their training in the emerging research-oriented natural sciences that the reformed German universities offered at a time when British universities were still providing a broad general education (Home 1995, Kirchberger 2000). Wilhelm von Blandowski (1822–1878 ) and Gerard Krefft (1830–1881 ), who both worked in colonial Victoria and New South Wales, are among this group. Throughout their work, they corresponded extensively with naturalists in Berlin, exchanging specimens and ideas. But the preserved Australian animals, plants and rock samples, as well as the written and drawn records of animals and landscapes now held at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (MfN), are much more than objects of scientific interest. They also contain information about Australia's First Nations. The collections provide evidence of their role in collecting as well as their knowledge of the natural world, which has long been overlooked and, at least in part deliberately, made invisible by Western knowledge systems (e.g., Das and Lowe 2018, Ashby 2020). People data have been recognised as crucial for linking such collection objects with expeditions, publications, archival material and correspondence (Groom et al. 2020, Groom et al. 2022). It can thus potentially help reconstruct invisibilized Indigenous histories and knowledge. However, while the MfN keeps information about European collectors and other non-indigenous agents associated with their specimens in internal catalogues, databases and wikis, Indigenous actors remain largely absent from these repositories, which reproduce the colonial archive 'along the archival grain' (Stoler 2009). With this in mind, we discuss in our presentation the complexities of using persistent identifiers and tools, such as Wikidata, to improve the integration and linkage of people data in the work currently being undertaken by the MfN and the Berlin's Australian Archive project to digitise and make accessible the museum’s collections. Drawing upon the guidance provided by the FAIR*1 and CARE*2 principles for data (Wilkinson et al. 2016, Carroll et al. 2020), and learning from the 2012 ATSILIRN Protocols for Libraries, Archives and Information Services*3, the 2019 Tandanya Adelaide Declaration and the 2020 AIATSIS Code of Ethics*4, we address the potential of these efforts in terms of collection accessibility, and also highlight the challenges and limitations of this approach in the context of colonial collections.

Enriching research practices through knowledge about Indigenous research methodologies

Introduction
 Learning about Indigenous research paradigms and methodologies offers insights and reflexive opportunities for those who seek to improve their research practice. This paper explores how research at the ‘interface’ can enrich scholarly inquiry across the academy. Whilst a single paper cannot do justice to the sophistication and nuance of Indigenous methodologies, as an authorship team of one Indigenous and two non-Indigenous academics, and through our established relationship and subsequent conversations, we present in this paper seven distilled methodological learnings that can enrich standard qualitative research practice. We predominantly explored the work of Indigenous scholars worldwide, and where relevant have drawn on non-Indigenous scholars where there may be ‘interface’ compatibilities. We also build off some of our previous work such as Andrews (2020a, 2020b), Andrews (2021) and Bolton and Andrews (2018).
 It is very important to clearly state that we are not suggesting readers, particularly non-Indigenous readers, use this paper as a template for Indigenous research, or as a guide for conducting research with Indigenous peoples and communities. Rather, our intention is to share our personal learnings about Indigenous research with a view to bridging methodological understanding to achieve high quality qualitative research. Indigenous researchers have sought to navigate the interface between Indigenous and western research to generate new knowledge that reflects the interests, values and priorities of Indigenous peoples. The last twenty-five years has seen significant effort by Indigenous scholars across the globe to establish an Indigenous academic research agenda and pioneer change in research practices. The interface between Indigenous and western knowledge systems has much to offer research as a basis for the generation of new knowledge (Durie, 2004; Martin, 2008). It is at this interface, or intersection between two knowledges, that we make connections and offer our insights.
 This paper is divided into four sections: Beginning, Middle, Reflective End and New Beginnings, a framework drawn from our work. Within these four sections are seven key methodological reflections under the sub-headings: Understanding place in research, Positionality, Worldviews in research, Privileging knowledges, Relational accountability, Storytelling as methodology and Circular research processes, and at each sub-heading is our key learnings. This is shown in Figure 1, noting the arrows grow in size as we approach ‘Beginning Again’ as a way of illustrating the enriching of knowledges and practices as the learning process loops iteratively.

Decolonial Re-existence through Animist Realism: Water Spirits and Shamanic Mantras in Janice Pariat's Boats on Land

Colonialism's deleterious impact on Indigenous epistemologies has engendered an exigent concern in the project of decoloniality, calling for a re-existence of marginalized cosmovisions. To accomplish this, an epistemic delinking from the paradigm of Eurocentric discourses is imperative in the interest of a comprehensive appreciation and recognition of Indigenous knowledge systems. In this vein, the present study employs the literary trope of animist realism to analyze two short stories from the anthology Boats on Land by the Khasi author, Janice Pariat. Her creative writing explores the animist philosophy of the Khasi community who dwell in the humid tropical State of Meghalaya, India. Through an attentive reading of the animist belief in water spirits and shamanic mantra rituals, this paper critiques colonial narratives of Khasi animist worldviews as "satanic", "supernatural", or psycho-pathological aberrations. The paper presents Khasi animist wisdom as a sophisticated and equitable principle of mutual coexistence and respectful relationality between human and more-than-human realms, replete with spiritual, ecological, and cosmological overtones. Indigenous animist epistemologies are indispensable as sustainable alternatives to the knowledge structures of colonial modernity. The present study contributes to the envisioning of a coexistence of Indigenous and Western knowledge systems in the spirit of mutual recognition and constructive engagement within an evolving epistemological landscape in the ongoing decolonial enterprise.

The Poetics of ‘Sensuous Knowledge’ in Mariama Bâ’s So Long a Letter

Through a focus on Mariam Bâ’s So Long a Letter, this paper argues for the importance of indigenous feminist theories in interpreting the work of African women writers. I argue that western systems of knowledge create binary categories, disregarding perspectives that do not conform to hegemonic frameworks; yet the radical indigenous feminism of Bâ’s text cannot be satisfactorily analysed within such a worldview. Instead, I approach So Long a Letter using Minna Salami’s Sensuous Knowledge (2020), which focuses upon the emotional and spiritual needs of African women within their specific cultural milieu. Salami’s study posits emotion as a legitimate tool in the fight against sexism and racism; a valid way of knowing that can co-exist with reason rather than becoming its abject. This sheds light on Bâ’s feminist politics, as indigenous feminist structures reveal her heroine Ramatoulaye in all her complexity as an empowered Senegalese woman.

Community‐driven science and science education: Living in and navigating the edges of equity, justice, and science learning

Community‐driven science and science education: Living in and navigating the edges of equity, justice, and science learning

Elevating the Uses of Storytelling Methods Within Indigenous Health Research: A Critical, Participatory Scoping Review

There is a profoundly troubling history of research being done on Indigenous peoples without regard for their priorities and accompanying calls to decolonize health research. Storytelling methods can privilege Indigenous voices in research. Indigenous people’s knowledge systems have existed for millennium, where knowledge is produced and shared through stories. Our collaborative team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers, and Indigenous Elders, patients, healthcare providers, and administrators, conducted a participatory, scoping review to examine how storytelling has been used as a method in Indigenous health research on Turtle Island (North America), Australia, and Aotearoa (New Zealand). We searched key databases and online sources for qualitative and mixed-methods studies that involved Indigenous participants and used storytelling as a method in health research. Reviewers screened abstracts/full texts to confirm eligibility. Narrative data were extracted and synthesized. An intensive collaboration was woven throughout and included gatherings incorporating Indigenous protocol, Elders’ teachings on storytelling, and sharing circles. We included 178 articles and found a diverse array of storytelling approaches and adaptations, along with exemplary practices and problematic omissions. Researchers honoured Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing through careful preparation and community engagement to do storywork, inclusion of Indigenous languages and protocols, and Indigenous initiation and governance. Storytelling centered Indigenous voices, was a culturally relevant and respectful method, involved a healing process, and reclaimed Indigenous stories. But it could result in several challenges when researchers did not meaningfully engage with Indigenous peoples. These findings can guide respectful storytelling research that bridges divergent Indigenous and Western knowledge systems, to decolonize health research.

‘Braiding Knowledge’ about the peopling of the River Murray (Rinta) in South Australia: Ancestral narratives, geomorphological interpretations and archaeological evidence

This paper uses a ‘braided knowledge’ approach to explore Aboriginal ancestral narratives, geomorphological interpretations and archaeological evidence relating to the Murray River (Rinta) in South Australia’s Riverland region. The 'knowledge carriers’ of ancestral narratives are honoured and complexities regarding the ways in which their wisdom was recorded by Europeans are considered. Commonalities between Aboriginal and Western knowledge systems are outlined through a number of key threads relating to the geographic directionality of peopling in the region, river dynamism (particularly in relation to the deglacial transformations from 15 ka) and more. Differences between knowledge systems are also explored and include descriptions of ‘Indigenous frameworks’ which embed multiple levels of meaning, as well as Aboriginal interpretations of the subsurface. The paper shows that through a collaborative exchange of ideas, together with the conscious positioning of Aboriginal knowledges, normally disparate systems may be explored to amplify our understandings of Indigenous riverscapes.

“Speaking for the Dead to Protect the Living”: On Audre Lorde’s Biomythography, Law, Love, and Epistemic Violence in the Coronial Jurisdiction in the Kimberley

From 2017–2019 I was counsel representing the families in a coronial inquest which looked at Aboriginal youth deaths in the Kimberley region of Australia with a particular regard to self-harm. A coronial inquest is a judicial proceeding that investigates unexplained deaths, unusual deaths, or deaths in state custody. In this paper I consider the epistemic violence my clients experienced, and I particularly examine the potential for affect and relationality to create connectors between epistemes in the hope of a more emancipatory conception of justice. I draw on Audre Lorde’s corpus as one that is worthy of serious regard in critical legal studies and useful in my work. In particular, I turn my gaze inwards and draw on Audre Lorde’s creation of biomythography as a method for legal writing and legal practice, to offer an account of my role in the Inquest. Biomythography is a form of writing which grounds subjective individual and collective experience, and its interrelationship with history and myth to centre experiences of justice and injustice. In using this methodology, I consider ways the civil law, through its interpretive function and authority in the coronial jurisdiction, oppresses First Nations Australians. Through writing my biomythography I show that the Coroner’s fact finding role arrives at truth in a way inherently embedded in Western knowledge systems and I regard the Coroner’s truth determining function as violent. Finally, I consider the potential of affect as a connector between epistemes to create emancipatory possibilities for justice.

Transformative epistemologies for regenerative tourism: towards a decolonial paradigm in science and practice?

There is a growing scholarly interest in the potential of regenerative tourism approaches to address sustainability challenges. Drawing from an ecological worldview that interweaves Indigenous and Western knowledge systems, regenerative tourism approaches seek to increase the capacity of support systems for fulfilling net-positive social-ecological effects. We argue that Western scientific paradigms drive current tourism research methodologies and are sometimes insufficient and unfit to (advance) regenerative tourism research. The extent to which new research methodological approaches can align with the ecological worldview and regenerative paradigm is an underpinning premise. As part of a broader study of the emerging regenerative tourism concept, a scoping review of 84 peer-reviewed and 116 grey literature articles, supplemented by consultations with nine regenerative tourism practitioners, six Indigenous practitioners and one cultural knowledge holder, identified nine research gaps that explicate this mismatch. An analytical framework guided the gap analysis and the formulation of a future research agenda. Findings suggest that tourism scholarship is not keeping pace with the evolution of regenerative tourism, requiring additional and new approaches. A transformational decolonial, transdisciplinary research paradigm is proposed that fully embraces the regenerative tourism paradigm and thus enables knowledge production that facilitates plural regenerative tourism futures.

Monitoring and evaluation of Indigenous Land and Sea Management: An Indigenous‐led approach in the Arafura Swamp, northern Australia

SummaryAs Indigenous Land and Sea Management has grown in scope and scale, there has been increasing focus on monitoring and evaluation to foster learning, strengthen accountability and report on outcomes. A resurgence in Indigenous governance has led to recognition that Indigenous knowledge, law and governance systems are essential to successful conservation initiatives on Indigenous lands. Indigenous‐led monitoring and evaluation involves Indigenous Peoples exercising control, direction and informed decisions about monitoring and evaluation practices and signals a greater role for Indigenous methodologies alongside participatory approaches and Western sciences. This Article describes the Intercultural Monitoring and Evaluation Project, led by the Arafura Swamp Rangers Aboriginal Corporation in partnership with Bi and Yolŋu Traditional Owners and clans and non‐Indigenous practitioners and researchers. The Intercultural Monitoring and Evaluation Project aimed to co‐produce an Indigenous‐led and Country‐based monitoring and evaluation system for Arafura Swamp Rangers Aboriginal Corporation's Healthy Country Plan. The Intercultural Monitoring and Evaluation Project recognised that the Rangers from the Arafura Swamp Rangers Aboriginal Corporation are accountable within Bi, Yolŋu and Western governance systems and that monitoring and evaluation at Arafura Swamp Rangers Aboriginal Corporation needed to strengthen relationships between all three. The Intercultural Monitoring and Evaluation Project involved: (i) developing understandings of monitoring and evaluation in Bi, Yolŋu and Western knowledge systems, (ii) generating organisational roadmaps, targets and indicators, (iii) developing Bi, Yolŋu and Western monitoring methods, (iv) building a data management system and seasonal monitoring calendar, (v) initiating a monitoring and evaluation committee to inform Arafura Swamp Rangers Aboriginal Corporation's strategic decision‐making and (vi) sharing the story of the project with others. This approach embedded monitoring and evaluation in Indigenous law and governance, oral knowledge traditions and the intergenerational kinship relationships that sustain people and Country, while also connecting to Western adaptive management frameworks. Indigenous‐led approaches can integrate monitoring and evaluation with Indigenous practices of caring for Country, contributing directly to the multiple ecological, cultural and socio‐economic goals of Indigenous Land and Sea Management.

Bridging Indigenous and Western knowledge-systems in knowledge co-production with Amazonian Indigenous communities: a systematic realist review

ABSTRACT Researchers have sought to understand how Indigenous and Western knowledge systems can be bridged for development research to be (a) more inclusive of local actors and knowledge and (b) more relevant to the problems it aims to address. Research in Amazonian Indigenous contexts remains dominated by a ‘Western’ science struggling to accommodate bottom-up development research. This paper examines how Indigenous and Western knowledge is bridged in knowledge co-production with Amazonian Indigenous communities, and what outcomes such bridging incurs. The paper uses a systematic realist review analysing 22 studies. It finds that the bridging of Indigenous and Western knowledge, in co-production with Amazonian Indigenous communities, was based on partnership between Indigenous and scholarly communities. Emphasising mutual respect, power-sharing, and empowerment of Indigenous communities, this bridging contributes to generation of knowledge that is more legitimate and beneficial for all actors involved in the co-production process. However, the paper also observes a gap between knowledge co-production in theory and practice. Power-relations between Western scientists and Indigenous communities need to be further addressed in development research. More work is needed to enhance the legitimacy of knowledge, in order to further empower Indigenous communities to address local challenges according to their own contexts and needs.

Indigenous Elder-centered methodology: research that decolonizes and indigenizes.

Indigenous research posits that practice-based evidence is fundamental to culturally grounded, multifaceted methods. The objective is to outline the key tenets and characteristics of Elder-centered research and relevant methodology using an interconnected progression of Alaska Native studies. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 Alaska Native Elders, 21 Alaska Native caregivers, and 12 Alaska Native and non-Native caregivers in two studies exploring cultural understandings of memory and successful aging. The design and implementation of these studies employed Elders at every level, ensuring cultural relevance, outcomes, and dissemination. Results reflect the benefits of engaging Alaska Native Elders in research and reveal methods for best practices: (a) creating advisory councils, (b) identifying stakeholders, (c) weaving together Elder and western knowledge systems, and (d) the reciprocal nature of Elder engagement and well-being. This research centers Indigenous values and research for an Elder-centered methodology that encourages engagement of older adults in applicable, meaningful, restorative, and enculturated ways.

Does Logic Decolonization involve having a Relativistic approach to Logical Principles?

The concept of “decolonization” has been widely and erroneously used to the point that it has lost its meaning. Whenever decolonization is invoked, there seems to be disagreement between the universalist and relativist camps. While the debate continues, one can barely imagine a middle position where both camps could find a synthesis. So the question that resonates from this is, does logic decolonization involves having a relativistic approach to logical principles? The logical premise is not universal, as this paper acknowledges, because no one has the divine right to declare something to be true or incorrect. According to this paper, relativism, which is universalism’s opposite, does not result in epistemic decolonization because it involves swapping one system for another. In light of this issue, this paper makes the case that logic/epistemic decolonization is necessary, but only if it entails integrating indigenous knowledge with the Western knowledge system.

Tradisi Silaturrahmi di Kalangan Nahdiyyin Dalam Persepektif Al-quran dan Al-hadist

NU As an organization that is the embodiment of traditional values ​​that have developed in society, in the historical process the Nahdliyin have succeeded in forming their own knowledge system, which is an accumulation of knowledge systems that have developed in the archipelago. Therefore the NU tradition is the Nusantara tradition and NU Islam is Nusantara Islam, both of which are an inseparable unit, starting from tradition, custom, with all its heresies and superstitions. The scientific tradition of the Archipelago has been eroded in such a way by the Western knowledge system that came with the presence of colonialism, which from the beginning was persistent in studying tradition to master the spirit of that tradition, and then used it as a weapon to conquer the holders of the tradition. Various prodonances and systems were applied to wrap up the freedom of this nation, not only in the political and economic fields, but also shackled from the point of view of thought and science. They have defined language politics, spelling politics and transliteration politics are also implemented. One form of this tradition is silaturrahmi. There is a culture of friendship with relatives, both far and close, both those who are closely related to those who are far away, we visit, we visit their homes, they will connect with their feelings so that. As well as fostering feelings that touch each other. In the word of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, we have guests, we must respect our guests so that we are among those who believe in the Last Day, those who believe in the Last Day, of course, will do good to anyone because that is a threat. To maintain brotherhood. People who believe in the Last Day will collect and organize social actions with relatives and neighbors of guests that we need to respect when their children are guests of Allah that we need to respect and we should maintain the values ​​of the religious teachings that we carry out during silaturrahim. Even in history Rasulullah saw when he had you Musailamah Al kadzab Rasulullah shallallahu'alaihi wasallam accompanied the group to his vehicle which was at a place some distance from Rasulullah's House. As well as giving memories or souvenirs to them. With the Messenger of Allah escorting his guests to their place to part with his guests as well as Rasulullah giving souvenirs to the guests who were present at the Prophet's house. We, as the people of the Prophet Muhammad Alaihissalam, we also respect guests the same as our uswah. The will to respect guests as well as the example of the Prophet sallallaahu alaihi wasallam, even the bad people and the Messenger of Allah are respected even though from the side of those who do not believe in the teachings of Islam and even distort the teachings of Islam, the Prophet still respects and builds social well.

Questioning the practice of participation: Critical reflections on participatory mapping as a research tool

Participatory mapping has been documented to be an effective process for empowering stakeholders and integrating Indigenous and western systems of knowledge. Reflecting on the way participatory mapping is conducted allows researchers and facilitators to genuinely listen to community voices. Our experiences with participatory mapping demonstrate that there is an emphasis on transforming map content to meet research goals and less focus on the process and consequences of participatory mapping for stakeholders. In this paper, we critically reflect upon our roles as researchers in using participatory mapping. We describe four case studies in Mongolia, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, and the United States, tracing the typology of voices (i.e., individual-researcher, collective, and researcher-interpreted collective voices) throughout the participatory mapping process. We take a critical look at this process by questioning our practice and limitations of participation, how voices are (in)equitably represented, and the unintended consequences of our projects. Finally, we share a roadmap of community participation to assess the process and identify opportunities for reflection to enhance collaboration and improve equitable outcomes.

Challenges in combining Indigenous and scientific knowledge in the Arctic

ABSTRACT A ‘co-production of knowledge' transdisciplinary approach connects different systems of knowledge that are in collaboration with each other. The transdisciplinarity presupposes bringing natural, social sciences, and Indigenous knowledge together. A growing body of literature on knowledge co-production and better control over research by Indigenous stakeholders contributes to a better collaboration of different knowledge holders. However, as power imbalance and issues of trust continue to persist, further analysis of case studies, where different knowledge holders collaborate, allow for a better understanding of how better long-term collaborations could be built. This reflection paper examines several observations and parts of interviews carried out during a recent ethnographic study on urban Indigenous identity preservation in Anchorage, Alaska in collaboration with the urban Yup’ik population. It may serve as an illustration of some challenges that might hinder the co-production of Indigenous knowledge and Western science. The observations examined in this paper may contribute to a further understanding of different approaches to learning of Arctic Indigenous and Western knowledge systems that are in need of further clarification to enable their better interaction for meeting current sustainability challenges.

Setting a foundation for Indigenous knowledge systems‐guided boreal caribou (tǫdzı) conservation planning in the Western Boreal Region of Canada: A systematic map protocol

Abstract In recent years, researchers have increasingly recognized the need to bridge Western and Indigenous knowledge systems to strengthen research in wildlife conservation. Historically, this arena has not made space for Indigenous knowledge holders to share components of their knowledge systems with agency and to support their own self‐determination as equal partners. Since time immemorial, Indigenous Peoples have been developing, maintaining and refining their own knowledge systems, based on intimate knowledge and relationships with the lands, airs, and waterways. There remains enormous potential for Western scientists to engage in equitable knowledge exchange and co‐production with Indigenous Peoples. This applies to species such as boreal caribou Rangifer tarandus caribou, known by the Dene name, tǫdzı; which hold ecological value and cultural importance for both Indigenous and non‐Indigenous people in the boreal region of Canada. To gain an overarching perspective of this species, we will create a systematic literature map that will examine peer‐reviewed and grey literature involving spatial mapping of all species of caribou Rangifer tarandus based on Indigenous knowledge. This map will (a) characterize available data and previously engaged knowledge holders and (b) identify positive experiences that exemplify best practices for knowledge co‐production. Searches will be conducted in English in selected databases. Search strings will be tested against a collection of benchmark papers of documents previously chosen to determine strings with maximum sensitivity and specificity. Results will be reviewed through the: (1) title and abstract; and (2) full text. All screening decisions will be recorded in a database, with 10% of full‐text screening decisions validated. Items retained for inclusion in the systematic map will be coded using a list of coding questions. Ten percent of coding outcomes will be validated by a second reviewer. The systematic map will employ a narrative synthesis approach that will compare retained studies against a list of best practices from the current proposal. It will examine case studies that performed well according to the list and contribute to a repository of previously documented Indigenous knowledge about caribou to support projects involving Indigenous and Western knowledge co‐production.

“We Deh”: Women-Loving Women, Rurality, and Creole Linguistic Potentials

This paper draws on ethnographic interviews with women-loving women (WLW) in Berbice, Guyana, South America, to interrogate the Creole linguistic term “deh” as a cultural heuristic device central to the visibility politics in this rural community. The linguistic concept of “deh” is a localized Creole (a dialect produced from the mixing of African, Indian, and Indigenous languages), which unsettles the Western image of the “closet” and the discourse of “coming out.” “Deh” is a double-entendre referring to a spatial location, like “over there,” and to a romantic or sexual relationship between two people. How might the linguistic concept of “deh” open up a discursive epistemological space where same-sex desires are not marginalized or relegated in rural spaces? How do women loving women (WLW) create the conditions for their existence in rural spaces? Analyzing nine interviews with WLW, this paper explores how Black and Brown women-loving women embody and express their same-sex desires through the Creole concept of “deh” and argues that “deh” exposes the colonial violence of language. Through “deh,” WLW offers a framework for rethinking self-making and repositioning their relationship to the broader society and the state. The colonial/modern system imposes and projects LGBTQ as a global framework for understanding human sexuality; as a transgressive linguistic and embodied sexual praxis, “deh” destabilizes the colonial knowledge of gender and sexual practices in Berbice. As such, this paper can be read as an act of decolonizing Western knowledge systems.