The Role of Indigenous Paradigms and Traditional Knowledge Systems in Modern Humanity’s Sustainability Quest – Future Foundations from Past Knowledge’s

Author(s):  
Chels A. Marshall
Author(s):  
Kathryn E. Newhook

Knowledge Management is a diverse field of study, dealing in the facilitation of knowledge sharing, the creation of knowledge systems, knowledge transfer, and knowledge preservation. Information professionals play an important role in helping these processes happen. Equally important is the preservation of Traditional Knowledge. Recognized as the knowledge Indigenous people have accrued over millennia, and formed through their interactions with their environment, Traditional Knowledge and its preservation also fall into the world of Knowledge Management. The performance of a piece of music is the manifestation of knowledge and, in the case of Jeremy Dutcher, is a form of knowledge preservation. Traditional Knowledge’s more fluid and dynamic nature is preserved in Dutcher’s 2018 album Wolastioqiyik Lintuwakonawa, where the artist creates a conversation between technical skill and the knowledge and language of the album. In the case of this paper, Dutcher’s album serves as an example of the way Traditional Knowledge can impact and provide new tools to the information profession and world of Knowledge Management.


Author(s):  
Sucharita BENIWAL ◽  
Sahil MATHUR ◽  
Lesley-Ann NOEL ◽  
Cilla PEMBERTON ◽  
Suchitra BALASUBRAHMANYAN ◽  
...  

The aim of this track was to question the divide between the nature of knowledge understood as experiential in indigenous contexts and science as an objective transferable knowledge. However, these can co-exist and inform design practices within transforming social contexts. The track aimed to challenge the hegemony of dominant knowledge systems, and demonstrate co-existence. The track also hoped to make a case for other systems of knowledges and ways of knowing through examples from native communities. The track was particularly interested in, first, how innovators use indigenous and cultural systems and frameworks to manage or promote innovation and second, the role of local knowledge and culture in transforming innovation as well as the form of local practices inspired innovation. The contributions also aspired to challenge through examples, case studies, theoretical frameworks and methodologies the hegemony of dominant knowledge systems, the divides of ‘academic’ vs ‘non-academic’ and ‘traditional’ vs ‘non-traditional’.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (09) ◽  
pp. 4802
Author(s):  
Izabel Cristina Santiago Lemos ◽  
Giovana Mendes De Lacerda ◽  
Maysa de Oliveira Barbosa ◽  
Gyllyandeson de Araújo Delmondes ◽  
Patrícia Rosane Leite de Figueiredo ◽  
...  

Traditional knowledge emerges as a relevant figure in care used by mothers and caregivers for the management of acute respiratory infections, diarrhea and anemia. To understand the meaning given to the use of traditional knowledge by mothers or caregivers for the treatment of these illnesses, their reflexes to conventional treatment, as well as discuss the role of health professionals with regard to the use of plants and animals by mothers or responsible for the management the respiratory infections; diarrhea and anemia. The research was conducted in Santo Antônio community (Barbalha - CE). Techniques as “rapport” and “Snowball” were used for data collection, and a closed questionnaire and semi-structured interview were applied. For data analysis, the Collective Subject Discourse (CSD) was used. The sample included 54 informants. There were 19 key ideas identified, which revealed an appreciation of the use of natural resources to treat the respiratory infections; diarrhea and anemia, an association between conventional and traditional medicine in the management these common childhood illnesses and the need for health professionals value the popular knowledge in assistance provided. Health professionals are encouraged to include behaviors in their care practice that allow greater contact with local cultures, being able to measure what resources are used and how they can interfere on the prescribed therapy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cruz-Pérez Alejandra Lucía ◽  
Barrera-Ramos Jacqueline ◽  
Bernal-Ramírez Luis Alberto ◽  
Bravo-Avilez David ◽  
Rendón-Aguilar Beatriz

Abstract Background Oaxaca is one of the most diverse states in Mexico from biological and cultural points of view. Different ethnic groups living there maintain deep and ancestral traditional knowledge of medicinal plants as well as traditional practices and beliefs about diseases/illnesses and cures. Previous ethnobotanical research in this state has helped document this knowledge, but with the addition of more studies, more records appear. We updated the inventory of medicinal knowledge between the different ethnic groups that inhabit the Oaxacan territory. Methods A database was constructed from two sources: (1) original data from a 3-year project in 84 municipalities of Oaxaca inhabited by eight ethnic groups and (2) different electronic databases. Results Records of 1032 medicinal plants were obtained; 164 families were registered, with Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Rubiaceae being the most commonly used. A total of 770 species were reported in 14 vegetation types; the most important species came from temperate forests. Only 144 species corresponded to introduced species, and 272 were listed in a risk category. Illnesses of the digestive and genitourinary systems as well as culture-bound syndromes were treated with high numbers of medicinal plants. The Mestizo, Mixe, Mixtec, and Zapotec ethnic groups exhibited the greatest number of recorded medicinal plants. The 17 species that were used among almost all ethnic groups in Oaxaca were also used to cure the highest number of diseases. Discussion Inventories of medicinal plants confirm the persistence of traditional knowledge and reflect the need to recognize and respect this cosmovision. Many species are gathered in wild environments. The most important illnesses or diseases recorded in the present inventory are also mentioned in different studies, suggesting that they are common health problems in the rural communities of Mexico. Conclusions Medicinal plants are essential for ethnic groups in Oaxaca. It is necessary to recognize and understand the complex ancestral processes involved in the human-nature interaction and the role of these processes in the conservation of biodiversity and in the survivorship of ethnic groups that have persisted for centuries. Finally, this study serves as a wake-up call to respect those worldviews.


2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hinemoa Elder

Background: Application of salient cultural knowledge held by families following child and adolescent traumatic brain injury (TBI) has yet to be documented in the literature. While the importance of the family is a well-established determinant of enhanced outcomes in child and adolescent TBI, the emphasis to date has been on the leading role of professional knowledge. The role of whānau (extended family) is recognised as an essential aspect of hauora (wellbeing) for Māori, who are overrepresented in TBI populations. However, whānau knowledge systems as a potent resource for enhancing recovery outcomes have not previously been explored. This paper describes the development of an indigenous intervention, Te Waka Oranga.Method: Rangahau Kaupapa Māori (Māori determined research methods) theory building was used to develop a TBI intervention for working with Māori. The intervention emerged from the findings and analysis of data from 18 wānanga (culturally determined fora) held on rural, remote and urban marae (traditional meeting houses).Results: The intervention framework, called Te Waka Oranga, describes a process akin to teams of paddlers working together to move a waka (canoe, vessel) in a desired direction of recovery. This activity occurs within a Māori defined space, enabling both world views, that of the whānau and the clinical world, to work together. Whānau knowledge therefore has a vital role alongside clinical knowledge in maximising outcomes in mokopuna (infants, children, adolescents and young adults) with TBI.Conclusion: Te Waka Oranga provides for the equal participation of two knowledge systems, that of whānau and of clinical staff in their work in the context of mokopuna TBI. This framework challenges the existing paradigm of the role of families in child and adolescent TBI rehabilitation by highlighting the essential role of cultural knowledge and practices held within culturally determined groups. Further research is needed to test the intervention.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document