Episode 190 - They Told Us So: Indigenous Science

We’ve had plenty of instances on the show (in the main feed and especially in Old News) of archaeological research bearing out information that existed already in the historical and oral traditions of Indigenous groups. We’ll discuss some examples of this, and we’ll also examine the relationship of Indigenous science and knowledge with the Western systems that actively invalidate and exclude them.

Links

• When Scientists “Discover” What Indigenous People Have Known For Centuries (Smithsonian)

• Folklore and earthquakes: Native American oral traditions from Cascadia compared with written traditions from Japan (Geological Society London Special Publications, via ResearchGate)

• Lost Apes Of The Congo (Time)

• Intentional Fire-Spreading by “Firehawk” Raptors in Northern Australia (Journal of Ethnobiology)

• Why These Birds Carry Flames In Their Beaks (National Geographic)

• The Birds That Start Fires: Using Indigenous Ecological Knowledge to Understand Animal Behavior (PLoS)

• Tribal History (Crater Lake Trust)

• Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants (via WorldCat)

• Zoe Todd thread on Braiding Sweetgrass (Twitter)

• Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes through Indigenous Science (via WorldCat)

• Indigenous Fire Practices Shape our Land (National Parks Service)

• Knowledge of medicinal plants at risk as languages die out (The Guardian)

• Cultivating Connection: Restoring Clam Gardens (Biohabitats)

• Jessica Hernandez on Twitter

• Fresh Banana Leaves with Dr. Jessica Hernandez (YouTube)