Knowledge is the understanding or awareness that individuals have acquired through experiencing, learning, and thinking. It can be factual or procedural, implicit or explicit. There are a variety of ways to acquire knowledge, such as observation, experience, experimentation, intuition, and tradition. On the other hand, science is only one of the approaches to acquiring knowledge, which requires systematic methodology. Therefore, knowledge is a much broader term, and not all knowledge needs to be scientific. However, by equating knowledge to science and truth, the Global North has strengthened its colonial power through epistemicide, which refers to the killing of knowledge systems, such as organic spiritual and land-based systems. The higher education institutions, which were supposed to be the confluence of diverse knowledge systems, are now “exerting a form of control over knowledge and providing a means for a small elite to acquire this knowledge for the purposes of the leadership of a spiritual, governance or cultural nature” (Hall & Tandon 2017). This process of elite universities such as Oxford which privatized knowledge and confined it continues today with institutions like Middlebury.
Indigenous knowledge systems can be a strategy for creating a sustainable future. Many indigenous cultures have developed a deep understanding of the interconnectedness of land and humans. Indigenous cultures often ascribe spirit to the natural world. Many have developed “a belief system that embraces the sentience, sacredness, and conscious agency of nature and its non-human beings” (Eisenstein 157). For so long, though, hegemonic governments and imperial societies have marginalized indigenous populations and their knowledge systems. Traditional global development, in some capacity, has perpetuated epistemicide:
“Indigenous world views may contain knowledge essential to material and psychic well-being. The transmission of these world views and their associated practice is a reversal of traditional development, which said, ‘We know how to live better than you; we know how to ‘know’ better than you.’” (Eisenstein 158).
Many indigenous knowledge systems have the capacity to inform sustainability efforts. Examples of sustainable knowledge practiced by indigenous people can be found in the book Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer, Tukano shamanism in the Northwest Amazon, sea ontologies and the concept of ubuntu in Nguni language.
The Potawatomi People
Kimmerer speaks specifically of the Potawatomi population and emphasizes the importance of considering a more reciprocal and sustainable way of living. In Kimmerer’s mind, the Potawatomi tribe’s knowledge offers a path forward, and realizes that in order to make a change, the gap between scientific knowledge and indigenous wisdom needs to be mended. Kimmerer describes how “Indigenous peoples have lived for thousands of years in place, keeping the land sacred and knowing the stories of the land. They learned how to feed themselves and their communities without diminishing the ecological integrity of the landbase on which their lives depended” (Kimmerer 89). Kimmerer also notes how the Potawatomi community uses the plant’s actions as a model for their own agricultural practices. She describes how “Plants know how to make food and medicine from light and water and soil. They know how to give without expectation of return. We call them ‘plants’ as if that’s all they are – botanical objects, commodities – but really they’re our teachers” (Kimmerer 63). An example of modeling after plants in the book is the concept of the Three Sisters. The Three Sisters technique is planting corn, beans, and squash together so that all plants benefit. From observation, the Potawatomi people have figured out that these three crops work together in a beneficial way: the corn provides a support structure for the beans to climb, the beans provide nitrogen for the soil, and the squash provides ground cover to retain moisture and suppress weeds. Kimmerer emphasizes that “The Three Sisters is an ancient and sustainable method of agriculture that embodies the principles of reciprocity, community, and resilience.” (Kimmerer 67). The Three Sisters is one of many techniques that indigenous populations use to embody a more sustainable lifestyle and live harmoniously with the Earth.
Ubuntu
Ubuntu is a South African concept representing relational humanness. Ubuntu is not humanist. Instead it focuses on humanness as a quality that develops through connections to other humans and the non-human world. Ubuntu is also a word with moral significance. It implies that an interconnected way of living is necessary to being human and stresses the importance of caring for others. The individualism of the West allows people to lose sight of how their actions affect other people, and how they may be implicated in larger systems of oppression, unsustainable growth, and planetary destruction. Ubuntu could be a powerful concept in the world of sustainability because it may allow people to rethink what it means to be human (Le Grange, 2019).
The Tukano People
The Tuknao people of the Colombian Northwest Amazon represent a self-regulating socio-ecological system that is able to adapt to changes in the environment based on the principles of shamanism. In the Tuknao community it is believed that their deity called Sun-Father placed all animals and plants “under the constant care of specific spirit-beings who were to guard and protect them against eventual abuses” (Reichel 309). Additionally, the Tukano believe that any illness in the community is a result of a disequilibrium that upset the spirit-beings. Therefore in order to not upset the spirit-beings, the cultivation of a culture of perpetual care for everything natural within their surroundings is essential. This practice of caring for the environment in order to please the spirit-beings is defined by a set of rules and cultural norms that not only regulate their consumption of resources but also regulate their population growth. For example: “to kill a game animal, the prospective hunter must undergo a rigorous preparation which consists of sexual continence, food restrictions, and purification rites ensuring cleansing the body by bathing and emetics” (Reichel 312). These rules are all followed in order to receive permission to hunt from the spirit being that guards the animals. Similarly one must receive permission from the spirit-beings in order to gather fruits, nuts, and insects which promotes the control of overconsumption. Overall, the Tukano people have found a way to live sustainably in their environment through the respect and care for all things natural. These practices draw from their collective belief in shamanism and earth spirituality. While applying their systems of shamanism would not be especially productive in cultures such as the United States, we can learn from their cultivation of highly adaptive rules that facilitate self-regulation out of respect for the environment and fear for the repercussions that a lack of respect will cause.
The Abenaki People
Middlebury College resides on the stolen land of the Abenaki people, the western tribe of the larger Wabanaki people whose land spanned from Lake Champlain to Maine. Like many natives of the American homeland, their relationship with the land and the environment is far different than the European principles of extraction and using nature for their economic benefit. The Abenaki’s relationship with the land can help us prepare for a more sustainable future, teaching us their perspective and the lost story of the Abenaki.
Central to the Abenaki’s sustainability and culture is their connection to water, or Nebi in Abenaki. For thousands of years, the Abenaki have been living in wigwams centered around streams leading to Lake Champlain, with canoeing as their main mode of transportation. In Abenaki culture water is the lifeblood which connects us all. The Abenaki story of Lake Champlain embodies the native attitudes of the importance of the protection and preservation of natural environments and resources. Taking or degrading the quality of the water is in essence taking life. The Abenaki believe that the creator made the dirt which is now fertile land. From this dirt, an important Abenaki spirit named Odzihozo formed himself. He pulled himself from the ground after the creator gave him legs, creating the Green and Adirondack Mountains. He scraped down with his fingers which created the rivers, and his body chasm which became Lake Champlain. When Odzihozo saw the beauty of the lake he vowed to protect it, and the Abenaki carry on that legacy of conserving this great watershed.
The story embodies everything beneficial to indigenous knowledge. Their respect and connection to nature emphasize the importance of self-sufficiency. From this story, we can learn and model off of the Abenaki’s appreciation of their land and waterways.
Sea Ontologies
Sea ontologies are indigenous knowledge owned by oceanic people, which can offer a perspective different from Western mainstream science. For example, Native Hawaiians see the ocean, wind, tides, sand, fish, birds, and seaweed as an interconnected system that allows navigators to move through the world in a distinct way. In this oceanic literacy, humans are inseparable from the land and ocean, which “fosters an acute spiritual awareness that can bring both joy and empowerment”. By linking his body and senses with nature, Blankenfeld finds his direction from extended imagination without using the “scientific tools”.
Indigenous knowledge and practices are developed and passed down from generation to generation within a culture or community. It often has strong connections with the local environment and provides insights into how human societies can live in harmony with nature. The examples above all demonstrate how indigenous communities’ strong connections with their cultural beliefs and local ecosystems make the human-nature relationship equal and inseparable. In contrast with the classification of natural elements as non-human resources in sustainability science, indigenous knowledge tends to “take into account the well-being, integrity, and even the dignity of all beings” (Eisenstein) so that it is immoral for humans to dominate over and exploit the nature without constraint. This characteristic of indigenous knowledge precludes the capitalist patriarchal economy and makes it indeed an anti-development knowledge system, which coincides with the necessity of degrowth and de-liberalism in transformative approaches.
Integration of Indigenous knowledge and beneficial elements of sustainability science is vital to creating a healthy world and taking steps to reverse the climate change trajectory. Indigenous populations have proved that it is possible to live in harmony with the environment. They have figured out ways to use natural resources and harvest adequate amounts of food without depleting them. By combining this Indigenous knowledge with scientific knowledge, it will be possible to develop more sustainable approaches to protecting the environment and curbing climate change. Overall, it is essential to recognize and respect the value of indigenous knowledge and incorporate it into sustainability efforts to ensure a more sustainable and equitable future. The Potawatomi’s technique of The Three Sisters is a small, yet, significant example of how Indigenous populations have worked in consonance with the environment, and how it would be beneficial to learn from their knowledge.
Overall, it is extremely valuable to explore different knowledge systems and apply them to one’s own way of thinking. In order for sustainability science to be a successful practical science, it must incorporate sustainable knowledge outside the realm of Western scientific thought. Clearly, some concepts from other knowledge systems have a high potential to help humanity preserve our planet for all people—present and future.
Works Cited
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Eisenstein, Charlie. “Earth Spirituality”. Pluriverse: A Post-Development Dictionary. Tulika Books, India. pp. 157-160.
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“Indigenous History of the Champlain Valley.” The View from Bicentennial Hall, 1 Dec. 2016, https://sites.middlebury.edu/bihallview/indigenous-presence/indigenous-history-of-the-champlain-valley/.
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Kimmerer, Robin W. (2013). Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Milkweed Editions.
Le Grange, Lesley. 2019. “Ubuntu.” In Pluriverse: A Post-Development Dictionary.
Nebi: Abenaki Ways of Knowing Water. Directed by Chief Don Stevens and Ashley Eaton, Vermont PBS. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8NP8qUPtPc. Accessed 17 Apr. 2023.
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