CIS guest speaker Rose Bear Don’t Walk CIS guest speaker Dr. Katrina Claw
What is Indigenous Science?
Indigenous Science is a transdisciplinary field that centers Indigenous epistemologies, values, and knowledge alongside methods of inquiry from the humanities and social sciences with those from the life/physical sciences to address questions of importance to Indigenous peoples. By centering the community and using relational and sustainable practices, Indigenous Science is uniquely positioned to incorporate anti-colonial theory and inclusive cultures in STEM fields. Importantly, Indigenous Science practices expand beyond research to include capacity building in science and developing career pipelines to gain representation in the larger scientific community. Indigenous Science and scientists span numerous academic disciplines, including Genetics/genomics, Linguistics, Botany, Anthropology/Archaeology, Entomology, Material science, data science, Science and Technology Studies, Science education, and more.
At the Center for Indigenous Science, we integrate four attributes of Indigenous Science: Traditional Knowledge, transdisciplinary frameworks, collaborative and community-based methods, and capacity building.
Traditional Knowledge
Traditional Knowledge (TK) stems from hundreds to thousands of years of local observation and practice that are passed on through generations. TK has been mostly ignored or not seen as valid by science in the U.S. and Europe, whose practitioners are predominantly white, referred to as Predominantly White Science. Alternatively, Indigenous Science highlights TK as valid knowledge systems and uses TK to generate, test, and confirm hypotheses and data.
TransdisciplinaryFrameworks
Practitioners of Indigenous Science work from a broad knowledge base that includes TK along with humanities, social sciences, life sciences, and physical sciences. Through relational ways of knowing and an understanding of, and the role of science within, colonialism and continued colonial practices, Indigenous Science brings anticolonial frameworks that move beyond disciplinary perspectives.
Community-Based Methods
Scholars in Indigenous Science are critically engaged with research ethics and methods and are critical of approaches that are not engaged with community partners. Research methodologies within the United States and broader contexts have been built on extractive methodologies that conduct research on Indigenous peoples, not with them. A number of scientific disciplines have been criticized for practicing “helicopter science”, where researchers come into a community, take samples and collect data over a short period of time and then leave the community, never to return or to share the results or benefits of a study with community members. To ensure that research involved the communities most impacted, we promote community-based methodologies that center Indigenous sovereignty.
Capacity Building
Indigenous peoples have been historically excluded from science, both as participants and practitioners, and continue to experience unwelcome environments in science disciplines. As a result, Indigenous communities continue to not receive the benefits from science and technology. Native American/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian community members are dramatically underrepresented in science fields and the scientific workforce. Indigenous students training in the sciences are often the only people with Indigenous heritage in academic departments. In addition, the scientific training Indigenous students receive is from predominantly white institutions with non-Indigenous values and perspectives.Indigenous Science promotes the inclusion of Indigenous peoples and ways of knowing in science.
Explore Indigenous Science and Community-Collaborative Research
