During a kayaking expedition in 1983, the author was sucked into an underwater tunnel in Mexico's Rio Urique. He miraculously emerged unharmed, but this near-death experience awakened in him a primal awareness that had been coddled to sleep by his so-called civilized perceptions. He gained intuitive insights from this awakening that enabled him to…

Although rich in theoretical constructs, American Indian Studies is not considered a discipline because it lacks a core assumption or paradigm. The concept of peoplehood could be that core assumption because its elements--language, sacred history, religion, and land--make up a complete system that accounts for particular behaviors of people…

Describes how a college teacher used Navajo traditional knowledge to rethink the teaching of college biology. Suggests that teachers intimidated by the intricate Dine Philosophy of Education may integrate Navajo knowledge into their courses through focused research guided by Navajo consultants. Includes five examples of redesigned curricula for…

Ph.D. program at California Institute of Integral Studies trains Native Americans and other indigenous peoples to deepen their traditional knowledge and strengthen its environmental impact. A parallel program helps Euro-Americans discover their own indigenous values. Both programs focus on integrating Earth-based knowledge with Western science.…

Among indigenous peoples, Western models of development through acculturation and resource exploitation have been replaced by community-based development emphasizing cultural continuity, holistic indigenous knowledge, community control, and respect for the environment. Includes descriptions of indigenous-Western research partnerships, development…

Addresses problems associated with the appropriation of indigenous knowledge and the marginalization of indigenous intellectual accomplishments by the academic and scientific community. An example is the misuse of indigenous medicinal plant knowledge and the lack of equal status given to this knowledge at nonindigenous institutions. Offers…

A Russian woman describes how living in remote Kamchatka helped her develop an aboriginal perspective. Chopping wood, hauling water, gathering food, alternately homeschooling her children and sending them to an ecological school, and interacting with local aboriginal people taught her the importance of conserving natural resources and living in…

In response to significant changes in the Indigenous information landscape, the State Library of New South Wales and Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, University of Technology, Sydney, hosted a Colloquium, "Libraries and Indigenous Knowledge," in December 2004. The two-day Colloquium brought together professionals, practitioners and…

In this paper, I address the role of educational service provision as a mode of post-colonial assimilation and encapsulation in Native Alaska (USA). I argue that these services have historically served State interests above local interests, implemented with little regard for indigenous values or priorities. The role of education provision in one…

The article discusses efforts made by native scholars across the U.S. to decolonizing research methodologies. It states that for many years, educators and students at tribal colleges and universities (TCL's) have recognized contributions of community-based scholars and their efforts to preserve and revitalize their cultural traditions and ways of…

What does Indigenous knowledge mean in the evolving contexts of First Nations communities? How do Indigenous processes of knowing in both a traditional and modern sense become integrated into early childhood care and development programs? How does the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge in community programs such as childcare impact cultural…

This research study was conducted in Trinidad and Tobago to investigate students' responses to a summative assessment of a cross-cultural unit of work. The unit was designed to help students learn Western science by building bridges between their traditional practices and beliefs on selected health-related matters and conventional science…

There is currently a renaissance of interest in indigenous knowledges, after a long period of neglect and disdain by Western scientific and academic establishments. However, educational institutions have not made some of the more fundamental changes required to successfully integrate indigenous knowledges. Interventions and programs in ECD…

Notions of crisis and chaos have become the rationale for a new discourse in which empire is the logical outcome of a world no longer secure. One level at which this is manifested is in the rejection by the USA of international agreements to which it is signatory, in the demonstrated failure of the Bretton Woods system to meet its declared…

The American Indian Philosophical Association (AIPA) was created in May of 1998 by a group of American Indian philosophers; it grew out of the American Philosophical Association's (APA) Committee to Advance the Status of American Indians in Philosophy. It is associated with the APA but remains an autonomous organization dedicated to the…