Indigenous knowledge

Indigenous knowledge is a term applied to knowledge held in specific societiess, world-wide. It is particularly used in the context of knowledge and traditions practised by indigenous peoples, and these peoples' rights to intellectual property recognition.

Related Topics:
Knowledge - Societies - Indigenous peoples - Intellectual property

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Some definitions are:

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• Knowledge that is derived from oral traditions (Waiko, 1997).
• Indigenous knowledge is imbedded in culture and unique to a given location or society. The separation of Indigenous Knowledge from its human agents and from the situation in which it occurs can quickly deprive it of its meaning and intrinsic value. The aim should be to link global and local knowledge, not to turn local knowledge into global knowledge (Teasdale & Rhea, 2000).
• Focussed on knowledge systems that are based in local traditions and cultures (Teasdale & Rhea, 2000).
• Flow of information coming out of developing countries about the role that IK is playing in agriculture, human and animal health care, the use and management of natural resources, rural development, education, and poverty alleviation (Teasdale & Rhea, 2000).
• It does not reduce the universe to progressively smaller conceptual bits and pieces. It tends to view human thought, feelings, and communication as inextricably intertwined with events and processes in the universe rather than as apart from them. (Suzuki, 1993).
• Indigenous cultures are generally held to be non-industrial cultures with ancient roots in their land, though some have been migratory and others forcibly displaced. They range from very simple material lifestyles to extensive historical urban/rural systems such as Inka and Aztec (Sahtouris, 1995).
• The Antithesis of Indigenous Knowledge: ??Development' thus insists that the (industrial) human state of being is an evolutionary achievement over, above, and beyond other states of being, and that the purpose and destiny of Earth and its non-human occupants is to be remade in the human image? (Livingstone, 1994) -- John A. Livingston, Rogue Primate: An exploration of human domestication, 1994.

Some of the effects of globalization on Indigenous Knowledge.

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• There is an urgency to rediscover local knowledge and wisdom as universities and their communities respond to globalization.
• Research to uncover the obstacles preventing indigenous populations from taking part in formal, secondary and higher education in the region have led to new insights for the development of new curricula and teaching methods. Thailand, Vietnam, India and Indonesia are all coming up with innovative new curricula and new approaches to the transfer of knowledge.
• Need to link modern science to the broader heritage of humankind. In other words, local knowledge adds value to global knowledge when the two are linked.
• The international attention being given to IK has been evident at conferences, particularly the ?Global Knowledge for Development? and UNESCO conferences. During these conferences it became clear that multiple wisdoms have to be preserved, and not just one wisdom.

Source: (Teasedale & Rhea, 2000).

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Indigenous knowledge: Contentious aspects ►