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KQs for The Theme Knowledge and indigenous societies, Making connections…
KQs for The Theme
Knowledge and indigenous societies
Scope
• Does our culture determine what we know?
• In what ways does the loss of indigenous languages signify a loss of knowledge and cultural diversity?
• Does the emphasis on holistic knowledge found in some indigenous societies avoid a limited understanding of reality resulting from the compartmentalization of knowledge?
• Who owns knowledge?
• How have government education policies and systems compromised the transmission of indigenous knowledge?
• Why is there sometimes a strong connection between indigenous knowledge and cosmology?
Methods and tools
• How reliable are oral traditions in preserving knowledge in indigenous societies?
• What is the role of oral tradition in enabling knowledge to be handed down through generations?
• What role do objects and artifacts play in the construction and sharing of knowledge?
• Does what is seen to constitute “good evidence” vary from culture to culture?
• What is the role of folklore, rituals and songs in acquiring and sharing knowledge?
• What methods have indigenous peoples developed to support the recording, preservation and protection of their traditional knowledge?
Ethics
• Does the diversity of moral practices that we see in indigenous societies around the world support the case for moral relativism?
• To what extent does deliberate disinformation by educational institutions and governments threaten indigenous knowledge?
• Is cultural appropriation an example of a violation of collective intellectual property rights?
• Is there a difference between moral values and cultural customs?
• Is there any knowledge that a person or a society has a responsibility to acquire, or not to acquire?
• Can the practices of one individual or culture be judged with any validity by applying the moral values of another generation or another culture?
Perspective
• To what extent is our perspective determined by our membership of a particular culture?
• To what extent does the fact that most early literature on indigenous societies was written from a non-indigenous perspective affect its credibility?
• What values and assumptions underpin the use of the term “indigenous” knowledge?
• Does a neutral position exist from which to make judgments about competing claims from different groups with different traditions?
• As an “outsider”, can we know and speak about the knowledge held by a different cultural group?
• How might differences in their worldviews create challenges for collaboration between environmental scientists and holders of traditional environmental knowledge?
• Does the term “indigenous” knowledge” necessarily suggest power divisions between a dominant and non-dominant group?
Making connections to the core theme
• Is it possible to have knowledge of a culture in which we have not been raised? (scope)
• To what extent are we aware of the impact of our culture(s) on what we believe or know? (perspectives)
• How can we know when we should trust and defer to the authority of experts? (methods and tools)
• What ethical concerns are raised by the commercialization of indigenous knowledge and cultures? (ethics)
Knowledge and indigenous societies