Showing papers on "Traditional knowledge published in 1999"

Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples

Abstract: Foreword Introduction 1. Imperialism, History, Writing and Theory 2. Research through Imperial Eyes 3. Colonizing Knowledges 4. Research Adventures on Indigenous Land 5. Notes from Down Under 6. The Indigenous People's Project: Setting a New Agenda 7. Articulating an Indigenous Research Agenda 8. Twenty-Five Indigenous Projects 9. Responding to the Imperatives of an Indigenous Agenda: A Case Study of Maori 10. Towards Developing Indigenous Methodologies: Kaupapa Maori Research 11. Choosing the Margins: The Role of Research in Indigenous Struggles for Social Justice 12. Getting the Story Right, Telling the Story Well: Indigenous Activism, Indigenous Research Conclusion: A Personal Journey Index

Sacred Ecology: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Resource Management

Abstract: This book deals with the topic of traditional ecological knowledge specifically in the context of natural resource management. An issue of today is how humans can develop a more acceptable relationship with the environment that supports them. Growing interest in traditional ecological knowledge is perhaps indicative of two things: the need for ecological insights from indigenous practices of resource use; and the need to develop a new ecological ethic in part by learning from the wisdom of traditional knowledge holders. This book explores both of these ideas together by treating traditional ecological knowledge as a knowledge-practice-belief complex. This complex looks at traditional knowledge at four interrelated levels: local knowledge (species specific); the resource management system; social institutions; and worldview (religion, ethics, and defined belief systems). Divided into three parts that deal with concepts, practices and issues, respectively, the book examines many traditional knowledge systems. It discusses the usefulness of traditional ecological knowledge in terms of providing an understanding, not merely information, which is complementary to scientific ecology. At the same time, the book explores a diversity of relationships that different groups have developed with their environment, using extensive case studies.

The politics of tek: power and the "integration" of knowledge

Abstract: This paper takes a critical look at the project of "integrating" traditional knowledge and science. The project of integration has been and continues to be the cornerstone of efforts to involve northern aboriginal peoples in processes of resource management and environmental impact assessment over the past 15 years. The idea of integration, however, contains the implicit assumption that the cultural beliefs and practices referred to as "traditional knowledge" con- form to western conceptions about "knowledge." It takes for granted existing power relations be- tween aboriginal people and the state by assuming that traditional knowledge is simply a new form of "data" to be incorporated into existing management bureaucracies and acted upon by scientists and resource managers. As a result, aboriginal people have been forced to express themselves in ways that conform to the institutions and practices of state management rather than to their own beliefs, values, and practices. And, since it is scientists and resource man- agers, rather than aboriginal hunters and trappers, who will be using this new "integrated" knowledge, the project of integration actually serves to concentrate power in administrative centers, rather than in the hands of aboriginal people.

What is Indigenous Knowledge?: Voices from the Academy

Abstract: Preface: Decolonizing Indigenous Knowledge--Donaldo Macedo Introduction: What is Indigenous Knowledge and Why Should We Study It?--Ladislaus M. Semali and Joe L. Kincheloe Indigenous Knowledge and Schooling: A Continnum Between Conflict and Dialogue--Mahia Maurial Indigenous Knowledge as a Component of the School Currriculum--June M. George Community as Classroom: (Re)Valuing Indigenous Literacy--Ladislaus M. Semali Science Education in Nonwestern Cultures: Towards a Theory of Collateral Learning--Olugbemiro J. Jegede Indigenous Knowledge, Indigenous Learning, Indigenous Research--Jill Abdullah and Ernie Stringer Indigenous Knowledge Systems-Ecological Literacy Through Initiation into People's Science--Madhu Suri Prakash Indigenous Knowledge and Ethnomathematics Approach in the Brazilian Landless People Education--Gelsa Knijnik Indigenous Music Education in Africa--Clemente K. Abrokwaa The Inseparable Link Between Intellectual and Spiritual Formation in Indigenous Knowledge and Education: A Case Study in Tanzania--R. Sambuli Mosha Indigenous Languages in the School Curriculum: What Happened to Kiswahili in Kenya?--Lucy Mule Indigenous Knowledge Systems for an Alternative Culture in Science: The Role of Nutritionists in Africa--Robert K. N. Mwadime Agricultural Extension Education and the Transfer of Knowledge in an Egyptian Oasis--Anne M. Parrish Indigenous People's Knowledge and Education: A Tool for Development--Rodney Reynar Local Knowledge Systems and Vocational Education in Developing Countries--Consuelo Quiroz Indigenous Knowledge, Historical Amnesia and Intellectual Authority: Deconstructing Hegemony and the Social and Political Implications of the Curricular "Other"--Frances V. Rains Indigenous Knowledge: An Interpretation of Views from Indigenous Peoples--Marcel Viergever About the Editors and Contributors Index

Environmental Change and Pastoral Perceptions: Degradation and Indigenous Knowledge in Two African Pastoral Communities

Abstract: Mobile livestock herders have long been seen as the main culprits of over-stocking and rangeland degradation. In recent years, however, anthropologists and ecologists have argued that African pastoralists have developed sustainable modes of pasture management based on a sound knowledge of savanna ecosystems. Comparing indigenous knowledge on species' grazing values, plant succession, and ideas about the causes for environmental change in two African pastoral societies (the Kenyan Pokot and the Namibian Himba), it is shown that their knowledge is indeed fine-grained and complex but at the same time socially constructed and embedded in ideology. It relates to a cultural landscape and not to abstract considerations on climax vegetation and its changes over time. Pastoral knowledge is built up around the interaction between herds and vegetation rather than around the environment as such.

Indigenous Research Methodology: Exploratory Discussion of an Elusive Subject

Abstract: The possibility of a defined Indigenous Research Methodology is exciting to indigenous and non-indigenous scholars alike, though probably for different reasons. Present assumptions suggest that such a methodology would determine standards for authenticity of indigenous research, and would enable a more effective critique of research dealing explicitly with indigenous reality. The question of who should participate in the development of an indigenous research methodology is critical since every scholar who has any connection with indigenous research topics or indigenous people will feel directly impacted. Responses to the question will indicate the form or quality of interactions between indigenous and non-indigenous scholars grappling with the political, social, and personal issues that assuredly will arise in any discourse of an indigenous research methodology. Such a concept might be perceived as a threat to existing forms or models of knowledge and knowledge creation. While indigenous scholars must be aware of such reactions, they will nonetheless experience themselves as the "active-centre" in the process of any indigenous research which they choose to live through. They are a piece of the heart in the body of growing indigenous knowledge. Indigenous research methodology is and has always been the central structure of support for the creation of indigenous knowledge. There are some principles which underlay most indigenous research - where this is understood to mean research conducted by indigenous people. Moving however to a discourse which includes indigenous and non-indigenous participants in an academic focus on indigenous research methodology might profitaby include a consideration of such principles as (a) the interconnectedness of all living things, (b) the impact of motives and intentions on person and community, (c) the foundation of research as lived indigenous experience, (d) the groundedness of theories in indigenous epistemology, (e) the transformative nature of research, (f) the sacredness and responsibility of maintaining personal and community integrity, and (g) the recognition of languages and cultures as living processes.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Inuit: Reflections on TEK Research and Ethics

Abstract: The intimate knowledge that Inuit possess about the environment has figured prominently in North American Arctic research since at least the mid-1960s, when adherents of Julian Steward's adaptationist perspective essentially displaced the acculturation paradigm that until then had dominated Inuit studies. While Nelson's Hunters of the Northern Ice is the prototype of integrating traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) into the cultural analysis of Inuit, virtually all ecologically framed research on Inuit adaptation since has drawn extensively on TEK, if only as one of several information sources. Recently, however, Inuit and agencies and individuals concerned with the conduct of research in the North have expressed concern about the appropriation of this culturally specific knowledge. In the contemporary research environment of Nunavut, TEK is now a political (as well as scientific and cultural) concern. Most specifically, I conclude that 1) TEK is not qualitatively different from other scientific data sets; therefore, its analysis and interpretation must be subject to the same "rules" that apply to other forms of information; 2) TEK, because it is frequently contexturalized in individuals, demands closer ethical treatment than it has previously been accorded; and 3) the protection of TEK from "abuse" by scientists through intellectual property rights initiatives is problematic and unlikely to serve the long-term interests of either Inuit or researchers.

Improving shifting cultivation in Southeast Asia by building on indigenous fallow management strategies

Abstract: Shifting cultivation continues as the economic mainstay of upland communities in many countries in Southeast Asia. However, the conditions that historically underpinned the sustainability of rotations with long fallows have largely vanished. The imperative to evolve more permanent forms of land use has been exacerbated by rapid population growth, gazettement of remnant wildlands into protected areas, and state policies to sedentarize agriculture and discourage the use of fallows and fire. There are many compelling examples where shifting cultivators have successfully managed local resources to solve local problems. Technical approaches to stabilizing and improving productivity of shifting cultivation systems have not been notably successful. Farmer rejection of researcher-driven solutions has led to greater recognition of farmer constraints. This experience underlined the need for participatory, on-farm research approaches to identify solutions. The challenge is to document and evaluate indigenous strategies for intensification of shifting cultivation through a process of research and development. This process involves identification of promising indigenous practices, characterization of the practices, validation of the utility of the practice for other communities, extrapolation to other locations, verification with key farmers, and wide-scale extension.

Use of indigenous knowledge for rapidly assessing trends in biodiversity: a case study from Chiapas, Mexico

Abstract: In order to evaluate the usefulness of rapid surveys of indigenous knowledge for assessing trends in biodiversity, a case study was undertaken in two rural communities, Juznajab and Muquenal, in Chiapas, Mexico. This involved the use of a variety of rapid rural appraisal (RRA) and participatory rural appraisal (PRA) techniques, including semi-structured interviews, transect walks and participatory mapping. These approaches were used in conjunction with analysis of land use maps and aerial photographs to evaluate recent changes in vegetation cover and abundance of utilised species. In both communities, the extent of forest cover was considered by local people to have declined substantially in recent decades, with an annual decline in forest cover of 0.3% and 0.6% estimated by local people in Juznajab and Muquenal, respectively. Results from RRA indicated that this has been accompanied by significant declines in the abundance of useful species. In Juznajab 60% and 79%, and in Muquenal 96% and 85% of plants and animal species, respectively, were considered to have declined within living memory. These declines appear to result from over-utilization as well as habitat changes. For example, most of the tree species used for timber and the animal species used for meat were considered to have declined substantially in both communities. These results indicate that indigenous knowledge is potentially a valuable source of information about biodiversity trends, which could be assessed during Rapid Biodiversity Assessments and incorporated into the process of resource management by local communities. However, the contradictions recorded between assessments of vegetation change by local people and data obtained from other sources indicates the need for caution in the use of indigenous knowledge for this purpose.

Community as Classroom: Dilemmas of Valuing African Indigenous Literacy in Education

Abstract: The interface between school and indigenous knowledge of local plants is rarely a focus of attention in classrooms. The transfer of indigenous knowledge from everyday life to schoolwork is not always valued or encouraged, and indigenous ways of knowing may not be recognized by teachers. This article defines and documents the interplay between indigenous folk knowledge and modern (western) curriculum practice in African schools within the framework of critical theory. It raises important questions of cultural identity at a time of economic and educational globalization. First, the author explores the definition of indigenous knowledge, second, he examines the dilemmas that undermine and undervalue efforts to integrate indigenous education in the formal school curriculum and third, he outlines the rationale for valuing indigenous literacy and makes some suggestions as to how this may be achieved.

Indigenous fruit trees of Madagascar: potential components of agroforestry systems to improve human nutrition and restore biological diversity

Abstract: Biodiversity in Eastern Madagascar is threatened by slash and burn agriculture, which is resulting in species extinction, land and soil degradation and rural impoverishment. An ethnobotanical study was undertaken to determine the domestication potential of indigenous fruit tree species as components of agroforestry systems. Four major selection criteria were used: nutritional and income needs of the population, diversification of the agroecosystem, and protection of plant and animal diversity. At three sites, Andasibe, Masoala and Ranomafana, in the humid primary forest region of Eastern Madagascar, a total of 150 wild fruit species from 82 genera and 42 families, of which 85% were indigenous and 92% of woody habit, were identified. In contrast to most of the deforested areas in Madagascar, the rural population in these areas possess an intimate knowledge of indigenous plant resources. Most of the indigenous fruits are collected from the forest but for a few species, domestication is initiated by managing naturally established species or by planting individual trees in agricultural fields. Wild fruits supplement the daily diet, substitute for exotic fruits, gain importance during periods of food shortage and are most appreciated by children. Commercialization of wild fruits is mainly undertaken by the poorer section of the population. Gender related differences in knowledge and preferences on species were identified and related to the respective household responsibilities. A list of the 26 priority species was established based on the preferences of children, women and men at the three sites. Local, fruit-eating lemur species are also highly dependent on indigenous fruit trees and are crucial for successful regeneration of forest vegetation.

Indigenous knowledge : a resource kit for sustainable development researchers in dryland Africa

Abstract: This manual for socio-economic and gender analysis provides development professionals working as planners, organizers, educators, project managers, or community catalysts with the concepts and tools to facilitate local empowerment and capacity-building and to make their work both more effective and more appropriate to the needs and interests of local people. It introduces a conceptual framework, offers 40 tools and strategies for socio-economic and gender analysis, provides ten examples of a broad range of development activities in different settings around the world, and suggests ways to clarify objectives and to measure outcomes. (Author) Waters-Bayer, A., Bayer, W. 1994. Planning with pastoralists: PRA and more. A review of methods focused on Africa. Eschborn, Germany: German Agency for Technical Cooperation. Abstract: A comprehensive description and review of participatory research in an African context. The authors first present a review of concepts and experiences in participatory planning, then offer a description of a number of participatory data collection techniques, closing with annotated bibliographies on participatory rural appraisal and using PRA with pastoralists in Africa. A comprehensive description and review of participatory research in an African context. The authors first present a review of concepts and experiences in participatory planning, then offer a description of a number of participatory data collection techniques, closing with annotated bibliographies on participatory rural appraisal and using PRA with pastoralists in Africa. 6.2 On-Line Manuals and Publications Recording and Using Indigenous Knowledge: A Manual http://www.PanAsia.org.sg/iirr/ A how-to manual on indigenous knowledge research put out by the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR). The manual is divided into five main parts: Part 1 Indigenous Knowledge and Development contains sections on defining IK, characteristics of local systems, why IK is useful, helping communities conserve IK, using IK in development, recording IK in communities, and intellectual property rights. Part 2 Recording and Assessment Methodologies contains sections on recording methods, sample selection, observation and interviewing, working with groups, using diagrams and audio-visual material. Part 3 Assessment of Indigenous Knowledge contains sections on assessing IK, criteria for assessing IK, tapping insiders` assessment, using western science methods to assess IK, and monitoring and evaluation. Part 4 Mini Case-Studies contains examples to illustrate various points, and Part 5 Question Guides contains guides to construct questionnaires/interviews for various sustainable development topics. The present Resource Kit borrows extensively from this volume.

Protecting Folklore Under Modern Intellectual Property Regimes: A Reappraisal of the Tensions Between Individual and Communal Rights in Africa and the United States

Abstract: Introduction I. Folklore Under Traditional Systems 776 A. Nature of Folklore 776 B. Protection Under Customary Law 780 1. Social groups and rights in folklore 781 2. Effectiveness of customary law protection II. Protection Under National Intellectual Property Laws A. Provisions That Do Not Reference Folklore 1. Scope of protection 2. Problems with protecting folklore under general intellectual property laws B. Laws Referring to Folklore 1. Scope of protection 2. Problems with references to folklore in copyright laws III. Protection under Regional Arrangements A. ESARIPO B. OAPI

Indigenous knowledge of medicinal trees and setting priorities for their domestication in Shinyanga region, Tanzania.

Abstract: This report is about a novell attempt to document, set priorities and determine the availability of tree species used for traditional healing in Shinyanga, region of Tanzania. It is an initial step towards domesticating medicinal trees that are still looked upon as products of the wilderness. The study is part of the concerted efforts by ICRAF to domesticate high-value trees in several countries in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Participatory rural appraisal tools were used to identify and rank the medicinal trees with each respondent. Information was also gathered on the propagation and other uses of the identified trees. The report concludes with an outline for priority research areas identified for domestication work.

Indigenous Values and GIS: A Method and a Framework.

Abstract: In New Zealand, geographic information systems (GIS) are becoming increasingly important in all areas of resource management and environmental planning. There is growing interest among the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, in the use of GIS to help them achieve some of their goals and aspirations. This article describes recent efforts to identify Maori values which are part of Maori traditional knowledge (maatauranga Maaori). It then presents a method and framework for incorporating these values into GIS tools.

Biological and cultural diversity : The role of indigenous agricultural experimentation in development

Abstract: Preface Notes on Contributors Introduction 1 1 Rice cropping practices in Nepal: indigenous adaptation to adverse and difficult environments 6 2 Farmer-based experimentation with velvetbean: innovation within tradition 32 3 Side-stepped by the Green Revolution: farmers' traditional rice cultivars in the uplands and rainfed lowlands 50 4 Environmental dynamics, adaptation and experimentation in indigenous Sudanese water harvesting 64 5 The indigenization of exotic inputs by small-scale farmers on the Jos Plateau, Nigeria 80 6 Farmer management of rootcrop genetic diversity in Southern Philippines 92 7 Farmer experimentation in a Venezuelan Andean group 113 8 Indian farmers opt for ecological profits 125 9 Indigenous agricultural experimentation in home gardens of South India: conserving biological diversity and achieving nutritional security 134 10 Living local knowledge for sustainable development 147 11 Varietal diversity and farmers' knowledge: the case of the sweet potato in Irian Jaya 158 12 The indigenous concept of experimentation among Malian farmers 163 13 Umnotho Wethu Amadobo: the clash between indigenous agricultural knowledge and a Western conservation ethic in Maputaland, South Africa 172 14 Local-level experimentation with social organization and management of self-reliant agricultural development: the case of gender in Ara, Nigeria 184 15 Chinese farmers' initiatives in technology development and dissemination: a case of a farmer association for rural technology development 192 Notes 199 References 202

A methodology for incorporating traditional ecological knowledge with geographic information systems for marine resource management in the Pacific 1

Abstract: In this article I describe a general methodology for documenting indigenous knowledge of Pacific Island coral reef biogeography, and for developing a conceptual framework on how to adapt this information to a Geographic Information System (GIS) database. In many parts of the Pacific, de jure control of marine resources is now vested in government agencies although de facto control of resources continues to reside with many local groups that manage resources through traditional means. As we shall see, local input is critical for effective GIS resource management applications.

Local people's knowledge in natural resources research

Abstract: Innovation and knowledge about natural resources come from many different sources; application of new knowledge does not occur in a vacuum but has to be incorporated into specific social and ecological contexts. Farmers have been developing agricultural systems, domesticating animals, breeding new crop varieties and constructing irrigation systems throughout the centuries without the aid of formalised scientific approaches and agricultural extension systen1s. In order to develop sustainable strategies it is important to take account of, and learn from, what local people already know and do, and to build on this. A variety of terms have been used in the development literature to refer to the collective knowledge of local people: indigenous knowledge, indigenous technical knowledge, 'traditional' knowledge and rural people's knowledge. The term 'local people's knowledge' (LPK) is used here to include local knowledge of people in both rural and peri-urban and urban communities who use natural resources in some way. This includes farmers - and those with other occupations, such as pastoralists, foresters, hunters and gatherers - fisherfolk, artisans, food processors and traders. Although many are likely to be poor, relatively powerless and marginalized, local knowledge is also held by those in Government and the private sector.

Traditional and modern natural resource management in Latin America

Abstract: This collection of papers identifies a major problem facing developing nations and the countries and sources that fund them: the lack of attention and/or effective strategies available to prevent farmers in underdeveloped and poorly endowed regions from sinking still deeper into poverty while avoiding further degradation of marginal environments. The contributors propose an alliance of scientific knowledge with native skill as the best way to proceed, arguing that folk systems can often provide effective management solutions that are not only locally effective, but which may have the potential for spatial diffusion. While this has been said before, this volume describes clearly how to implement such an approach. Moreover, the editors make an eloquent case for the relevance of risk prone areas as a subject of study and the special role that indigenous knowledge plays in such poorly endowed regions. The volume is balanced - it does not advocate one approach over another, and it is multidisciplinary, including work by anthropologists, sociologists, geographers and natural scientists. Through carefully considered opinions by experts who have been intimately involved over the long term in theoretical and practical work related to systems of natural resource management in Latin America, this book addresses a topic that has gained worldwide interest, especially in relation to indigenous knowledge systems.

Shell Age Economics: Marine Gathering in the Kingdom of Tonga, Polynesia

Abstract: This monograph analyses marine gathering in the Polynesian Kingdom of Tonga from ecological, social and cognitive perspectives. The overarching issues explored are (1) the significance of marine gathering in the past and present, (2) how seaweeds and marine invertebrates have been perceived, classified, named and used, (3) how they have been implicated in social relations, and (4) how the integration of the islands into the modern world system has affected the marine environment and the exploitation of its resources. "The anthropology of land- and seascape" is analysed in terms of Tongan perceptions of the marine environment in its topographical and mythical aspects, and in maritime practices. Special consideration is given to indigenous topographical terminology; how the world was believed to be organized and controlled by the gods; the relationships between commoners and chiefs, gods and sacred animals; the Tongan relationship to water; and the division of labour by gender, topographical zone and technique. The ethnobiological aspects are first explored by focusing on how indigenous knowledge is differentiated according to specialized expertise, social class, age and gender. The system developed to classify and name marine organisms is then analysed, and more than 230 names and 50 uses of gathered marine organisms are presented. The last part of the thesis concerns the over-exploitation and destruction of the environment, a Tongan "tragedy of the commons". In Tonga, the replacement of communal property by Crown/state ownership has reduced the local community's capacity to regulate the use of the marine resources. European influences, a high natural population increase, migration, urbanization, and technological and economic change have combined to result in increased pressure on the marine environment and its resources. As a result, we observe the breakdown of communal-property mechanisms for regulating access and exploitation of the environment.