Reconciling Ways of Knowing

Michael Yellow Bird is a professor in the U of M’s faculty of social work and member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation in North Dakota, USA. His work spans a range of Indigenous and decolonial topics. Yellow Bird’s current research looks at the use of AI to build critical literacy in Indigenous youth and support interactions between people and dogs on reservations. “I’m working with a team that’s going to use the AI with youth to learn more about their culture, more about their language, more about their identity, their health and well-being, and then at some point, use AI to design and imagine their future,” he said. “I’m doing it to help raise the empowerment and the critical literacy of Aboriginal youth for self-sufficiency and sovereignty.” Yellow Bird explained that many current advances made by the western research sphere stem from ancient knowledge. Yellow Bird added that exploring the wisdom of our ancestors thousands of years ago, who had different understandings of the earth, plants and animals is beneficial, especially as technology continues to progress at breakneck speed. Previous advances in technologies, while they may have allowed people to flourish, have sometimes led to destruction, harm and war. Our current slate of technologies has even greater implications for the future of the planet.

By decoding the DNA of the beaked hazelnut (Corylus cornuta), a native plant that thrives in British Columbia, a team of multidisciplinary scientists is providing new insight into how ancestral Indigenous peoples stewarded plants across the province. “The misconception that Indigenous peoples did not use or steward the land is widespread across North America, but is very pointed in British Columbia, where landscapes are often described as ‘wild’ or ‘untouched,’” says Armstrong of the engrained cultural biases she seeks to address through her research. Far from being only “hunter-gatherers” — an anthropological designation of the early 20th century to describe Indigenous peoples on the northwest coast — the study challenges settler-colonial narratives by establishing people actively cultivated hazelnut on a continental scale, beginning likely 7,000 years ago.

Valerisa Gaddy grew up on the border of Arizona and New Mexico – in Navajo Nation. “I was constantly [shuttling] back and forth between res and non-res communities, because my parents wanted me to attend schools that weren’t on the reservation,” the research scientist remembers. As an Indigenous student, Gaddy came up against a number of other challenges. “Indigenous knowledge is still not recognized as science, and my dissertation kept getting sent back because there was ‘too much Indigenous knowledge’ in it. I was told if I want to be taken seriously as a scientist, I have to reduce the amount of Indigenous knowledge in there.” Against the odds – and in spite of the discrimination she received – Gaddy defended her dissertation, receiving a PhD and master of science in environmental science from the University of Arizona, as well as a bachelors in microbiology from New Mexico State University. She now works as the community conservation director at the nonprofit Watershed Management Group, helping communities across Southern Arizona thrive in the Sonoran Desert.

Communities like the Makahs, Yakamas and Puyallup lived in harmony with the rivers and coasts of the U.S. Pacific Northwest for generations. They revered the salmon, relying on it for food, livelihoods and cultural traditions. Waterways and salmon populations thrived — and so did native communities. But beginning in the mid-1800s, everything changed. The government restricted local communities’ fishing rights, dammed the rivers and expanded the commercial fishing industry. Commercial agriculture grew. Pesticides from nearby farms polluted waterways. Salmon populations plummeted. The Makahs and others fought back through the “Fish Wars” of the 1960s, eventually earning back the right to fish their ancestral waters, though disputes linger to this day. Local communities now largely co-manage waterways such as the Columbia River with the Washington state government. They work to protect and restore salmon habitats by implementing fishing seasons and installing “fish ladders” to help fish navigate dammed waterways. While discussions on how best to manage the rivers continue, salmon populations have started to increase. The case of the Pacific Northwest is just one example of how Indigenous communities play an integral role in sustainably managing waterways. Yet too often, they’re excluded from policymaking or denied their rights to steward the ecosystems they coexist with and depend upon.

❄️Winter is a time for slowing down, reflecting, and preparing for new growth that will come in the Spring. What better moment to share the first-ever Impact Report for the IPCA Knowledge Basket! The 2022-2024 IPCA Knowledge Basket Impact Report celebrates our collective achievements, reflects on our learning, and sets out our bold vision for the future. We'd like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the many collaborators and contributors who have supported this important initiative over the past two years: CPAWS National, Indigenous Leadership Initiative, MakeWay, Manitoba Métis Federation, Métis National Council, Nature Canada, Nature United, Restore, Assert and Defend (RAD) Network, Nature Conservancy of Canada/Conservation de la nature Canada, Torngat Wildlife Plants and Fisheries Secretariat, West Coast Environmental Law, Wildlife Conservation Society, WWF-Canada, Ducks Unlimited Canada, David Suzuki Foundation, and many more! Starting in 2025, we'll be working to transform the IPCA Knowledge Basket from an information platform to an activator of knowledge in a wider ecosystem of Indigenous-led conservation support initiatives. We're excited for what's ahead! Learn more and connect with us: https://ow.ly/xW5L50UkiKB

When filmmaker Len Morissette had the idea to spotlight the positive way First Nations and scientists are collaborating to tackle environmental issues in Canada, Campbell River area emerged as a top-choice for the first-ever Indigenous underwater documentary series. Narrated by internationally acclaimed Cree-Métis actor, Tantoo Cardinal (Killers of the Flower Moon, Echo), Water Worlds takes viewers on a breathtaking, educational journey through Canada's oceans, lakes, and wetlands. The series features locations across Canada as it explores the impact humans are having on aquatic ecosystems that are critical to the survival of all species. The 13-part documentary series was created, written, and directed by Morissette. He said his goal was to produce an inspiring project built on the principle of Two-Eyed Seeing, which combines traditional Indigenous knowledge with modern science, to explore the planet’s fragile ecosystems – and how to restore their balance through an Indigenous lens.

Several current and former UC Santa Cruz faculty and staff have joined with leading experts in the field of conservation genomics to launch Wise Ancestors, a non-profit centering Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities as co-creators of biodiversity conservation projects. These projects, dubbed “Conservation Challenges,” use genomic sequencing, biobanking, and benefit-sharing to help protect species from the current extinction crisis and ultimately conserve Earth’s genetic heritage. The challenges are hosted on the new Wise Ancestors Platform, a first- of-its-kind tool to crowdfund and coordinate species-specific genomic sequencing projects. These projects will be tied to explicit benefit-sharing initiatives for conservation, led by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities. As the founding members shaped the organization's mission and operational framework, one insight stood out: conserving biodiversity requires more than genomic sequencing and biobanking—it demands addressing the human behaviors that are driving biodiversity loss. Central to this is recognizing and empowering the knowledge and practices of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, who have sustainably stewarded Earth’s ecosystems for millennia. These communities, however, have faced displacement and atrocious harms at the hands of Western settlers, who largely replaced their ancestral and proven land management practices with new, unproven methods. To counter these harmful practices, the nonprofit decided that each Conservation Challenge would include not only the genomic sequencing and biobanking work, but also an “upfront benefit-sharing” component, in which they support an Indigenous Peoples or Local Communities project to conserve a species or its habitat. This approach ensures that Conservation Challenges unite Western genomic approaches with traditional ecological methods, and also support Indigenous and Local Communities in protecting biodiversity.

742 new species of wildlife and plants have been discovered in the Congo Basin in the last ten years, a report released today by WWF reveals. The report entitled New Life in the Congo Basin: a Decade of Species Discoveries (2013 - 2023) highlights the remarkable biodiversity and the urgent conservation needs of one of the world's most vital ecosystems. The report also celebrates the role of indigenous knowledge in conservation. Indigenous communities, who have coexisted with these forests for generations, are key to preserving and understanding this biodiversity. Many of the species in this report, while newly described in scientific literature, have been familiar to local communities through generations. “For centuries, indigenous communities have lived in harmony with the forests. Recognising their knowledge is integral to conservation success,” said Moise Kono, Indigenous Peoples Coordinator for WWF Cameroon. “It is crucial that their voices and rights are respected as stewards of this land,” Kono added.

When a mysterious and deadly illness began to sicken members of the Navajo community in the Four Corners region of the Southwestern U.S. in 1993, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) investigators were stumped. However, the cause of the illness was less of a mystery to Navajo elders. Because officials were willing to listen to valuable insight gained from centuries of traditional knowledge, a virus that was previously unknown to infect humans in North America was identified as the source of the disease. Diné elders and healers recognized a recurring pattern related to the ongoing respiratory outbreak in the Four Corners region. Similar outbreaks had occurred in 1918 and 1933, and there were records of others further back, predating bubonic plague in Europe. These previous outbreaks occurred following years of excess precipitation. The increased rainfall caused by the 1992–1993 El Niño phenomenon led to a bumper crop of pinyon pine nuts, an important food source for the local rodents. This abundant food supply resulted in a rodent population explosion. In Navajo tradition, humans and mice come from different worlds and, therefore, should be kept separate. Upsetting the balance with too much intermingling between species can bring on diseases, like what was seen in the Four Corners region. Elders warned their people to be careful of deer mice and prairie dogs, as contact with their waste could spread disease. They recommended burning contaminated clothing and sealing food to protect it from rodent access and contamination. When CDC investigators met with tribal elders, they were informed of this regional history. One of the first important clues to the identity of the pathogen came from these meetings. Because investigators were willing to seek out local knowledge and take in the wisdom granted to them, they began to make real progress in identifying the mysterious illness.

As the air cools down, signalling the arrival of autumn, BC’s coastline is covered by a majestic show of foliage. Wandering under the canopy of dark red maple trees and golden oaks glimmering in the sunlight, you may think these wonders are created by nothing but nature — but you would be wrong. For millennia, Indigenous communities have maintained forest gardens, a type of historically managed ecosystem, along the Pacific Northwest coast. Forest gardens typically include perennial fruit, nut trees and shrub species, with swaths of land offering abundant resources for surrounding fauna and Indigenous communities. As Western agriculture practices have caused considerable loss in biodiversity and resilience in ecosystems, examining Indigenous practices in forest gardens can provide valuable insights into current methods. In addition to controlled burnings, other traditional management practices include biodegrading leaf matter and planting complementary species like crab apples and hazelnuts to facilitate nutrient exchange through soil. “When you have a very multifunctional and diverse system like a forest garden with berries, rice roots, hazelnuts, crab apple, you have plenty of different root systems and [and] types of molecules that are executed by the roots, so the microbial community is way more diverse,” said Cornelis. “To understand how these systems work [and] how they might be beneficial to the people of the land and to the animals and to the health of the ecosystem … you have to talk with the people of the land: the Indigenous people” said Ritchie.