Media
For Indigenous Peoples, Language Is Life
- November 16, 2023
Source: Forbes
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Indigenous Nations across the country like mine began to feel it’s disproportionate impact on our communities. Then, we started losing the most precious resource, our elders. All of our teachings and knowledge are verbally transmitted. With every sentence, our elders share pieces of knowledge worth more than gold. Losing elders was incredibly scary. It meant potentially losing our cultures and languages. In response to this crisis, the Oceti Sakowin, made up of the Lakota and Dakota people, designated all language speakers as “essential workers” and gave them first access to vaccination. As a Dakota and Yaqui Indigenous student at Harvard Medical School, I recognized the brilliance in this unprecedented public health policy from our Nations.
CBDâs Geneva Meetings: Benefit Sharing on Traditional Knowledge & Digital Sequence Information on Agenda
- November 15, 2023
Source: Down To Earth
Delegates from different countries are gathered in Geneva to discuss crucial issues related to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its tenet on fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from genetic resources.
The members are negotiating the terms of Article 8 (j) of CBD. This Article ensures that member countries respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities used to conserve and sustainably use biological diversity. The Article also promotes the wider use of this knowledge, innovations and practices while ensuring equitable sharing of the benefits arising from their use.
Climate Actions Centered on Indigenous Knowledge Can Improve Resilience
- November 15, 2023
Source: Phys.org
Climate change in HawaiÊ»i and the Pacific Islands worsens inequities and threatens unique island ecosystems, cultural resources, human health, livelihoods, the built environment, and access to clean water and healthy food. These are among the findings of the U.S. National Climate Assessment, released by the Biden Administration which involved five University of HawaiÊ»i at MÄnoa researchers. The assessment concluded that adaptation actions centered on local and Indigenous knowledge can improve the resilience of Pacific Island communities.
First Research Hub at UMass Will Blend Western and Indigenous Knowledge to Address Environmental Issues
- November 15, 2023
Source: Massachusetts Daily Collegian
Indigenous methods of science focus on relational aspects between people and the environment, as well as relying on storytelling and oral history to pass down sustainable techniques that are important for climate change mitigation and cultural preservation.“We’ve made fantastic scientific progress, but we think that there’s room and value with this approach, and it’s timely to have this additional focus on community-based research,” Jon Woodruff, a professor of earth, geographic and climate sciences and co-lead said.To address these pressing challenges, CBIKS is composed of eight regional hubs, spanning across the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia to partner with 57 Indigenous communities on issues such as climate change. Over 30 indigenous scholars from universities throughout the U.S. are part of the center.
New course: All about Indian knowledge system
- November 14, 2023
Source: Bangalore Mirror
The engineering students in the state may soon delve into the Indian knowledge system, as Visvesvaraya Technological University(VTU) has decided to introduce the same. The university's Executive Council, the highest decision-making body, recently passed a resolution to this effect. In a circular, Prof BE Rangaswamy, registrar of the university, stated,"The ability enhancement course has been replaced in the sixth semester with a course on the Indian knowledge system worth one credit.The traditional knowledge, philosophies, sciences, and cultural practices that have evolved overt housands of years in the Indian subcontinent make up the rich and varied Indian knowledge system.It covers a broad range of topics such as literatute, art, astronomy, yoga, philosophy,spirituality,mathematics, and medicine." The students will be taught an introduction to Indian knowledge systmes, an overview of the Vedic corpus, philosophy, character scope and importance, traditional knowledge vis-a-vis indigenous knowledge, and traditional knowledge versus western knowledge.The course outcomes will provide an overview of the concept of the Indian knowledge system and its importance, appreciate the need and importance of protecting traditional knowledge.
âTwo Eyed SeeingââEmbracing Both Indigenous and Western Perspectives in Healthcare
- November 13, 2023
Source: BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
One way to make healthcare more equitable and effective for Indigenous peoples is to incorporate their knowledge, beliefs, values, practices, medicines, and models of health and healing alongside those of western medicine in delivering healthcare. Known as “two eyed seeing,” this approach to healthcare sees from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing, and from the other eye with the strengths of western knowledge, respectfully embracing both. Two eyed seeing acknowledges that Indigenous methods and treatments are as valid as those used in mainstream medicine, and it allows Indigenous peoples to be partners in their own healthcare
Leaning Into Indigenous Knowledge on Climate Change
- October 28, 2023
Source: Knowable Magazine
Today, anthropologists and climate researchers in Western institutions are increasingly turning to Indigenous people to ask what they have observed about the world around them. In the process, these scientists are learning that Indigenous communities have been cataloging, in their own way, data about change at a hyper-local level — insights that Westernised climate science might miss — and also how that change is affecting people.
Missed opportunity: on the Australia referendum on giving voice to Indigenous peoples
- October 21, 2023
Source: The Hindu
In the recent Australia referendum on the Voice, a proposed body comprising members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders people to advise the country’s Parliament on laws impacting this vulnerable group, voters dropped the plan by a resounding 60% margin, rejecting an opportunity to amend their constitution for the first time in almost 50 years towards a more inclusive ethos. The idea of the referendum came from a historic 2017 summit of Indigenous peoples, which announced the ‘Uluru Statement from the Heart’ and called for a treaty between the Australian government and the indigenous community as well as a commission to promote “truth-telling about our history”.
Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Action at UNGIYF
- October 19, 2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization
This session, held on the 18th of October, focused on the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and on the way forward towards COP 16. Indigenous Youth participating in the panel remarked on the important role played by Indigenous Peoples in biodiversity conservation efforts. Their traditional knowledge is the key for preserving biodiversity, and it did so for centuries: nowadays 80% of all remaining biodiversity on a global scale is found within Indigenous territories. This is why these Indigenous Youth advocate for a greater presence of traditional knowledge, together with scientific one, in the international mechanisms aimed at preserving biodiversity. Furthermore, Indigenous Youth raised the issue of the involvement and participation of Indigenous Peoples in conservation and restoration projects. The guardians of biodiversity should have more space and a stronger voice in the decision-making processes, and their Free, Prior and Informed Consent is needed when implementing any project that may affect them.
Meghalaya Traditional Healing Clinic Inaugurated in Ri Bhoi, Receives Government Funding
- October 03, 2023
Source: The Meghalayan
Traditional healers in Ri Bhoi district witnessed a moment of joy and support as the State government provided financial assistance for the construction and inauguration of the Meghalaya Traditional Healing Clinic in Pahamsyiem, Ri Bhoi. The clinic will be overseen by the Ri Bhoi Traditional Healer Association (RBTHA). The construction of this traditional clinic, focused on medicinal plants, was made possible through a funding of 8 lakhs from the Department of Bio-Resource Development Center, Shillong.