Indigenous Knowledge

Indigenous or traditional knowledge is embedded in cultural traditions of indigenous peoples, regional and local communities and based on empirical observations and interaction with the environment over several centuries. 

In September 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as the most comprehensive international instrument on the rights of indigenous peoples. For example, the General Assembly is “[…] Recognizing that respect for indigenous knowledge, cultures and traditional practices contributes to sustainable and equitable development and proper management of the environment, […]”

Article 31 1. Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, as well as the manifestations of their sciences, technologies and cultures, including human and genetic resources, seeds, medicines, knowledge of the properties of fauna and flora, oral traditions, literatures, designs, sports and traditional games and visual and performing arts. They also have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their intellectual property over such cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and traditional cultural expressions.

Read more at un.org/…/declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples.html

Objective

At Access 2 Perspectives, we aim to provide a platform and recommendations for indigenous representatives to act as stakeholders and equal partners in collaborative research projects of any discipline.

Disciplines where IPs contribute

Linguistics

  • language diversity
  • language evolution
  • preservation of traditional knowledge with indigenous languages

Social Sciences & Humanities

  • Cultural studies
  • Anthropology
  • Mental health approaches 
  • Indigenous philosophy and worldwide
  • sharing culture in societies
  • Human rights and legal aspects: self-determination, autonomy, collective rights versus Intellectual Property versus individual ownership
  • Peace & conflict: about territory, land rights, peace agreement treaties

Bioscience

  • Local and systemic ecological understanding
  • Biodiversity
  • Correlation between indigenous self-determined territories and biodiversity hotspots
  • How indigenous knowledge informs ecosystems restoration
  • Natural resource management by and with IPs and communities

Economics

  • sustainable economy
  • REDD+
  • Ocean management (One Ocean)
  • Green Economy

Agriculture

  • Agroforestry
  • Sustainable farming practices

Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage (IPinCH)

The Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage (IPinCH) project was a seven-year international research initiative based at Simon Fraser University, in British Columbia , Canada (2008-2016), exploring the rights, values, and responsibilities of material culture, cultural knowledge and the practice of heritage research.


A video from the NGO First Peoples Worldwide (not operating anymore) on ‘The Economy’ comparing indigenous vs. western world view

Enter the dialogue

List of platforms and organisations representing and represented by Indigenous Peoples

International

+ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_indigenous_peoples
+ UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFF) Secretariat
+ IWGIA
+ Cultural Survival
+ Survival International

Africa

+ Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC)

Asia

+ Asian Century Institute
+ Tebtebba (Philippines)

Europe

+ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Indigenous_peoples_of_Europe
+ Saami Council

Oceania

+ Maori Council
+ Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg
+ NSW Aboriginal Land Council

America

+ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas#

UNDRIP

References

David-Chavez, D. M. (2019, July 23). A guiding model for decolonizing environmental science research and restoring relational accountability with Indigenous communities. https://doi.org/10.31237/osf.io/ec9s5

International Society of Ethnobiology (2006). International Society of Ethnobiology Code of Ethics (with 2008 additions). http://ethnobiology.net/code-of-ethics/

Langlois K (2018). When Whales and Humans Talk. hakaimagazine.com

Robbins J (2018). Native Knowledge: What Ecologists Are Learning from Indigenous People. e360.yale.edu

Traynor C & Foster L, Principles and practice in open science: Addressing power and inequality through “situated openness”. ocsdnet.org

Pecl G et al (2017) Biodiversity redistribution under climate change: Impacts on ecosystems and human well-beingScience Vol 355, Issue 6332

Find more peer-reviewed articles covering and incorporating indigenous knowledge at

scienceopen.com/collection/indigenous-knowledge