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Articles on Traditional knowledge

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Shutterstock/Guy Hasler

Indigenous knowledge offers solutions, but its use must be based on meaningful collaboration with Indigenous communities

One key difference between kaitiakitanga and conservation is that the former considers people as part of the environment, while the latter manages nature as if people were separate from it.
Men participate in a demonstration of rope making for dog teams, May 12, 2022, in Inukjuak, Que. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Building bridges between scientific and Indigenous knowledge

The DIALOG network forms a bridge between scientific and Indigenous knowledge. It renews the relationship between the university and the Indigenous world, which has for too long been one-sided.
The old village of Aceredo, submerged 30 years ago when a hydropower dam flooded the valley, emerged during a drought in northwestern Spain, in February 2022. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

IPCC report: Half the world is facing water scarcity, floods and dirty water — large investments are needed for effective solutions

Water is central to adapting to climate change, but very few of the strategies put in place to respond to water hazards or ensure its availability have been evaluated.
Indigenous Peoples protest the Brazilian government’s efforts to exterminate their rights and legalize destruction of the Amazon forest at the ‘Luta Pela Vida’ (struggle for life) protest, in August 2021, in Brasilia, Brazil. (Vanessa Andreotti)

From the Amazon, Indigenous Peoples offer new compass to navigate climate change

The climate emergency can’t be addressed with simplistic solutions. A network of Indigenous communities in Brazil invites us to reorient colonial approaches and embrace deeper change.
The keeper of hundreds of Kwakwaka’wakw songs, Kwaksistalla Wathl’thla (Clan Chief Adam Dick), chanting at a feast (qui’las) with Mayanilh (Dr. Daisy Sewid-Smith). (Bert Crowfoot)

Indigenous song keepers reveal traditional ecological knowledge in music

Ancestral Indigenous songs often encode territorial responsibilities and rights, such as in relationship with ‘lokiwey’ (coastal clam gardens) on the Pacific Northwest Coast.
In the case of mānuka honey, there are serious questions about what authenticity actually means. from www.shutterstock.com

Mānuka honey: who really owns the name and the knowledge

While industry bodies fight over who can claim that their mānuka honey is authentic, Māori interests are often left out of the debate.
A team of researchers in northern Australia have documented kites and falcons, “firehawks,” intentionally carrying burning sticks to spread fire: It is just one example of western science catching up to Indigenous Traditional Knowledge. James Padolsey/Unsplash

It’s taken thousands of years, but Western science is finally catching up to Traditional Knowledge

A double standard exists concerning the acceptance of Traditional Knowledge by practitioners of Western science.
Members of the James Bay Cree gather around the fire as part of a week-long celebration called ‘wellness week,’ aimed at improving personal health and wellness in their community in northern Québec. (David DyckFehderau)

Indigenous group tackles diabetes with storytelling

Like many Indigenous groups around the world, the James Bay Cree of northern Québec have a disproportionately high rate of diabetes. They’re facing it down with a decidedly Indigenous solution.

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