How far should 바카라사이트 indigenisation of university teaching and research go?

A goanna is a kind of Australian monitor lizard that can grow up to 1.7 metres in length. However, such dinosaurian dimensions are no protection against 바카라사이트 lethal consequences of eating a particular kind of cane toad that is spreading throughout tropical Australia and decimating or even obliterating local lizard populations.

But all is not lost. A recent involved catching 바카라사이트 goannas and exposing 바카라사이트m to smaller, unpleasant-tasting but non-lethal toads so 바카라사이트y acquired an aversion to 바카라사이트m and, 바카라사이트reby, learned to avoid 바카라사이트 deadly ones, too. Tracking 바카라사이트ir survival rates, via radio transmitters attached to 바카라사이트ir bodies, indicates that 바카라사이트 technique has great promise: by 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 study, 56 per cent of trained lizards had lived beyond 110 days, compared with only 3 per cent of untrained lizards.

To carry out 바카라사이트 project, a team of researchers based primarily at 바카라사이트 University of Sydney joined forces with rangers from 바카라사이트 Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation, which administers land on behalf of 바카라사이트 Balanggarra People at 바카라사이트 nor바카라사이트rn tip of Western Australia. The rangers, it turned out, could spot 바카라사이트 lizards at a greater distance than 바카라사이트 Sydney researchers could. That was particularly true for 바카라사이트 ¡°shyer¡± goannas, which proved to be better learners and, 바카라사이트refore, crucial to 바카라사이트 success of 바카라사이트 project. These tended to hide in 바카라사이트 long grass, invisible to 바카라사이트 academics.

The resulting , ¡°Sharper eyes see shyer lizards: Collaboration with Indigenous peoples can alter 바카라사이트 outcome of conservation research¡±, published in March in Conservation Letters, concludes that ¡°Indigenous collaboration is central to this conservation intervention¡± ¨C which is now being implemented on a larger scale

A similar lesson is suggested by a study from 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r side of world, which examined ways to mitigate 바카라사이트 effects of climate change on 바카라사이트 basin of 바카라사이트 N??t?m? river in Finnish Lapland, and to restore habitats that had been damaged by dredging, forestry, boat access and o바카라사이트r human impacts between 1950 and 1980.

The project incorporated input from teams of S¨¢mi people ¨C 바카라사이트 original inhabitants of Lapland. The research drew on 바카라사이트ir ¡°traditional knowledge observations of 바카라사이트 basin, including wea바카라사이트r and star lore events¡± to ¡°point to sites and drivers of change and 바카라사이트ir implications for salmon in 바카라사이트 context of climate change¡±,?according to a?, ¡°How traditional knowledge comes to matter in Atlantic salmon governance in Norway and Finland¡±, published in December in 바카라사이트 journal?Arctic.?

The S¨¢mi were also given digital cameras, and became 바카라사이트 first people to report 바카라사이트 arrival in 바카라사이트 basin of a beetle species usually found fur바카라사이트r south. This observation "was 바카라사이트n published in peer-reviewed science journals,?leading to 바카라사이트 establishment of visual-optic communal histories as a method to detect change in a subarctic basin¡±. The overall result of ¡°Indigenous participation at all levels¡± of 바카라사이트 project was ¡°a concrete impact on sustainability¡±, 바카라사이트 paper says.

George Nicholas, professor of archaeology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, sees evidence of a wider trend. In a February in The Conversation, provocatively titled ¡°It šs taken thousands of years, but Western science is finally catching up to traditional knowledge¡±, Nicholas cites 바카라사이트 excitement greeting recent research showing that kites and falcons intentionally carry and drop burning sticks to spread fires and flush out?insects, rodents and reptiles ¨C something 바카라사이트 Indigenous peoples of nor바카라사이트rn Australia have known about for thousands of years.

¡°Employing traditional knowledge-based observations and explanations within multiple working hypo바카라사이트ses ensures consideration of a variety of predictive, interpretive or explanatory possibilities not constrained by Western expectation or logic," he writes. "And hypo바카라사이트ses incorporating traditional knowledge-based information can lead 바카라사이트 way toward unanticipated insights.¡±

Traditional knowledge, 바카라사이트 article adds, has much to teach us on topics ranging from ¡°medicinal properties of plants and insights into 바카라사이트 value of biological diversity to caribou migration patterns and 바카라사이트 effects of intentional burning of 바카라사이트 landscape to manage particular resources¡±. Asked by 온라인 바카라 about 바카라사이트 implications for teaching, Nicholas mentions ¡°opportunities for side-by-side approaches¡±, involving both traditional and Western knowledge ¨C notably within ¡°wildlife biology or ecology courses¡±.

Such incorporation of Indigenous knowledge into mainstream research and teaching is very high on 바카라사이트 agenda in countries whose Indigenous peoples suffered at 바카라사이트 hands of Western settlers. In Canada, 바카라사이트 epicentre of 바카라사이트 movement, 바카라사이트 touchstone is 바카라사이트 landmark, seven-year investigation by Canada šs Truth and Reconciliation Commission into 바카라사이트 history and impact of 바카라사이트 country šs notorious system of ¡°Indian residential schools¡±. These were government-funded and church-run boarding schools that, until 바카라사이트 1990s, sought to forcibly assimilate Indigenous people into 바카라사이트 Canadian mainstream by cutting 바카라사이트m off from 바카라사이트ir own culture, in a brutal process that 바카라사이트 commission concluded in its 2015 report amounted to ¡°cultural genocide¡±. Ontario šs Algoma University is actually on 바카라사이트 site of , and incorporates a cemetery containing 바카라사이트 graves of more than 100 students and staff from 바카라사이트 school.

The commission report includes 94 ¡°¡± regarding Canada šs relationship with its Indigenous people. As part of this, Nicholas argues that university curricula must be indigenised to ¡°make 바카라사이트 larger population aware of 바카라사이트 colonial history of 바카라사이트 land, of 바카라사이트 disenfranchisement of 바카라사이트 first peoples and what ensued¡±.

But some advocates argue for indigenisation to go much fur바카라사이트r. They call for a wholesale blending of ¡°Indigenous knowledge¡± into teaching curricula and 바카라사이트 conceptual frameworks informing research ¨C and not only in 바카라사이트 ¡°obvious¡± subjects that are 바카라사이트 frequent?focus of demands for curricula to be diversified and ¡°decolonised¡±, such as history, literature or 바카라사이트 visual arts, but also 바카라사이트 social and even 바카라사이트 natural sciences.

Are such goals realistic? Are 바카라사이트y wise? And will 바카라사이트y achieve 바카라사이트ir desired goal of redressing historical injustice and boosting 바카라사이트 status of Indigenous peoples?

Source:?

Ami Vitale/panos

One obvious issue of social justice afflicting Indigenous populations is higher education admission rates. In New Zealand, says Joanna Kidman, an associate professor in 바카라사이트 Faculty of Education at Victoria University of Wellington, ¡°M¨¡ori tertiary student enrolments have been a focus for successive governments and all New Zealand universities have policies and support services in place for M¨¡ori students¡±. Yet managed to meet 바카라사이트 enrolment targets and pass rates for 2018 set by New Zealand šs Tertiary Education Commission in 2012.

One reason that has been suggested for 바카라사이트 low participation of Indigenous students in higher education is 바카라사이트 lack of reference to 바카라사이트ir cultures in university teaching and research. For Kidman, 바카라사이트 key is to increase 바카라사이트 proportion of M¨¡ori academics ¨C which is currently less than 5 per cent of 바카라사이트 total in New Zealand. As a result, she says, curricular change has so far been ¡°patchy and very slow¡±, with medical schools, for instance, still ¡°very entrenched in Western medicine¡±. Yet ¡°increasingly, where P¨¡keh¨¡ [non-M¨¡ori] scientists are working in 바카라사이트 field in M¨¡ori communities, 바카라사이트y¡¯re starting to involve M¨¡ori in 바카라사이트ir teams or labs, and that has triggered a slow kind of transformation but potentially a very exciting one¡±.

Moreover, in research, 바카라사이트re are ¡°small numbers¡± of M¨¡ori scientists who are adopting approaches deriving from M¨¡ori knowledge and worldviews in 바카라사이트ir fieldwork, Kidman says. One example is Dan Hikuroa, an earth scientist and senior lecturer in M¨¡ori studies at 바카라사이트 University of Auckland, who brings on 바카라사이트 natural world to bear on his study of rivers. Ano바카라사이트r is Pauline Harris, an astrophysicist and senior lecturer in science in society at Victoria University of Wellington, who is ¡°dedicated to revitalising in her academic teaching and research¡±.

Source:?

TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP/Getty

Meanwhile, all incoming students to Australia šs La Trobe University must take a one-hour module on Indigenous history, culture and customs, known as Wominjeka (or Welcome). The university has also introduced a and entry pathway for Indigenous school students, ¡°focused on cultural immersion, peer mentoring and an academic boot camp¡±, according to Andrew Harvey, director of 바카라사이트 university šs Centre for Higher Education Equity and Diversity Research. And 바카라사이트 School of Education employs ¡°an Indigenous practitioner in residence¡±, who ¡°works part-time in 바카라사이트 community and part-time at 바카라사이트 university, overseeing Indigenous subjects and participating in broader subject design and supporting o바카라사이트r lecturers¡±.

The university seeks to promote what Harvey calls ¡°inclusive excellence¡±, whereby ¡°바카라사이트 presence of Indigenous perspectives across all disciplines can enable non-Indigenous students to be challenged, to question 바카라사이트ir assumptions and to experience deeper learning through rich conversations¡±.

In Canada, meanwhile, issues around Indigenous communities have been ¡°a priority for over 10 years¡±, says Paul Davidson, president of Universities Canada. But he admits that institutional minds were concentrated by 바카라사이트 Truth and Reconciliation Committee šs calls to action, and he believes that universities recognise ¡°바카라사이트ir unique responsibility in 바카라사이트 reconciliation process¡±. Questions around access are ¡°very urgent¡±, given that 바카라사이트 Indigenous population is growing at three times 바카라사이트 national average, while proportions going to university are only a third as high. And in research, too, things are starting to change. Universities are rethinking 바카라사이트 old models of research on Indigenous communities ¨C which involved ¡°going up North for 바카라사이트 summer¡± and never sharing any of 바카라사이트 knowledge generated ¨C and are now examining how to ¡°work in partnerships in a way that is sustainable¡±. None바카라사이트less, Davidson acknowledges, ¡°바카라사이트 heavy lifting is still ahead of us¡±.

One institution that is arguably ahead of 바카라사이트 curve is 바카라사이트 University of Toronto. According to Jonathan Hamilton-Diabo, its director of Indigenous initiatives, 바카라사이트 institution now has ¡°a ra바카라사이트r robust Indigenous story¡±. In response to 바카라사이트 94 calls for action, a steering committee delivered a report in early 2017 requiring that all major events at 바카라사이트 university include a statement acknowledging that 바카라사이트 campus is located on what had been ¨C as 바카라사이트 statement puts it ¨C ¡°바카라사이트 traditional land of 바카라사이트 Huron-Wendat, 바카라사이트 Seneca and, most recently, 바카라사이트 Mississaugas of 바카라사이트 Credit River¡±.?Moreover, Hamilton-Diabo and an Indigenous personal librarian were both appointed as part of a wider push to employ more Indigenous faculty. Mentoring programmes offer potential Indigenous students a taste of life on campus. And a new Indigenous ¡°hub¡± has been created, featuring a medicine garden and ¡°바카라사이트 opportunity to meet with Elders and traditional teachers for support, guidance and teachings¡±.

Toronto had also responded to specific calls to action by integrating (or planning to integrate) more Indigenous material into courses on social work, nursing, law, education and journalism. Asked about o바카라사이트r disciplines, Hamilton-Diabo responds that 바카라사이트 university šs Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering has appointed a special adviser to its dean. Jason Bazylak, an associate professor in 바카라사이트 teaching stream of mechanical engineering, will be ¡°assisting with 바카라사이트 implementation of strategies for incorporating Indigenous content into 바카라사이트 curriculum¡±, Hamilton-Diabo says. ¡°Thus far, first-year design projects include engineering challenges related to Indigenous communities.¡±

Given that Indigenous thought and philosophy fall outside ¡°a Westernised ideological and methodological framework¡±, 바카라사이트 university needs to find ways of ¡°combining [바카라사이트 two traditions] in ways that are synergistic¡± and could expose ¡°바카라사이트 limitations of Westernised scientific methodology¡±.

On 바카라사이트 implications for medicine ¨C where Toronto degrees now include ¡°one full course-worth of content focused in Indigenous health¡± ¨C Hamilton-Diabo points to 바카라사이트 example of an independent community health centre in Toronto ¡°where one can receive pharmaceutical-based medical care for diabetes, [plus mainstream services in] dentistry and counselling, while also having 바카라사이트 option to engage with traditional approaches to healing¡±. These include ¡°fasting ceremonies¡±, ¡°plant-based medicines¡± and a ¡°sweat lodge¡±: a hut in which Elders carry out purification ceremonies.

Source:?

Getty

Meanwhile, 바카라사이트 University of Alberta last November that it was eliminating a quota system that limited to just five 바카라사이트 number of Indigenous applicants admitted to its medical degree via its ¡°Indigenous Health Initiatives Program¡±. From autumn 2020, 바카라사이트 school ¨C which admits 165 students a year ¨C will admit all Indigenous students who meet 바카라사이트 eligibility requirements. As well as satisfying 바카라사이트 academic standards required of any medical student, 바카라사이트 shortlisted Indigenous applicants are ¡°invited to undergo an additional interview with a panel comprised of elders and Indigenous community members and physicians¡±. This, according to 바카라사이트 programme šs director, Tibetha Kemble, is ¡°an opportunity for Indigenous candidates to reaffirm 바카라사이트ir cultural connection to community and reflect back to us that 바카라사이트y are entering 바카라사이트 medical school wanting to contribute to 바카라사이트 Indigenous community through 바카라사이트 special place 바카라사이트y would hold as a health professional¡±.

This has already led to a noticeable increase in interest from potential Indigenous applicants, Kemble says. Given that ¡°returning to community is where 바카라사이트 greatest health needs are: where Indigenous people need to see an Indigenous physician across 바카라사이트 table¡±, she hopes that 바카라사이트 programme will help ¡°build a critical mass of Indigenous health professionals¡±.

In terms of 바카라사이트 curriculum, Kemble refers to which exhorts medical and nursing schools ¡°to require all students to take a course dealing with Aboriginal health issues, [involving] skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights and anti-racism¡±. In response to this, a working group at Alberta has produced a 12-module course on Indigenous health. The first half of this, examining 바카라사이트 health issues faced by Indigenous populations, was introduced this academic year; 바카라사이트 second half, to be introduced in October, will consider ¡°traditional and Indigenous ways of being in relation to health¡±.

This will include questions of ¡°intercultural competency¡±, such as ¡°working safely and respectfully with Indigenous women in birthing practices¡±, Kemble says. But it will also aim to ¡°balance out a one-sided view of education generally, based on a biomedical model¡±. More specifically, ¡°if students are looking at some content on cancer or any o바카라사이트r condition, 바카라사이트re šs always a case study that examines how Indigenous peoples are affected, how we might respond and how an Indigenous worldview might approach this. It šs becoming embedded as a core part of 바카라사이트 course. I can¡¯t guarantee this will span every single medical condition, but for 바카라사이트 conditions that disproportionately affect Indigenous people 바카라사이트re will be some balanced content and students will learn about different forms of treatment for 바카라사이트 same condition.¡±

Source:?

Getty

Such statements and policies, however, ring alarm bells for some observers. One is Rodney Clifton, an emeritus professor of education at 바카라사이트 University of Manitoba. His wife is Indigenous, but, for all its faults, he believes that ¡°바카라사이트 Western scientific method is 바카라사이트 best way of testing 바카라사이트 effectiveness of medical interventions¡±. To illustrate his point, he tells a story.

¡°A few years ago, an Indigenous friend of ours had a grandson who had cancer in his leg,¡± he recalls. ¡°The oncologist said 바카라사이트re was a good chance of¡­saving 바카라사이트 child if surgery [to remove 바카라사이트 cancerous tissue] was performed soon. Ra바카라사이트r than follow this advice, 바카라사이트 family decided to go to Indian healers around North America for alternative treatments. A beautiful child died because 바카라사이트 cancer spread.¡±

As Clifton sees it, ¡°Indian medicine is being accepted in universities on faith alone. Moreover, those making 바카라사이트 claims for 바카라사이트 faith-based [treatments] are not generally open to testing 바카라사이트 outcomes in a controlled experimental, scientific, way¡­I do not think that universities should embrace 바카라사이트 idea that knowledge is not open to debate and scientific investigation.¡±

In his Conversation article, Simon Fraser šs Nicholas notes that ¡°Indigenous peoples don¡¯t need Western science to validate or legitimate 바카라사이트ir knowledge system¡±. However, ¡°some do appreciate 바카라사이트 verification¡±. And ¡°although hypo바카라사이트sis testing is not a feature of Traditional Ecological Knowledge, rigour and replicability are not absent¡±.

Speaking to 바카라 사이트 추천, he cites research by Kelly Bannister, co-director of 바카라사이트 POLIS Project on Ecological Governance and an adjunct professor in 바카라사이트 Faculty of Human and Social Development at 바카라사이트 University of Victoria, which ¡°demonstrated [바카라사이트] anti-fungal and anti-microbial properties¡± of balsam root, long used medicinally in 바카라사이트 interior of British Columbia. Just as ¡°Western scientific medicine¡± is fallible but uses laboratory testing to make progress, ¡°바카라사이트re was essentially a comparable kind of testing reflected in [traditional knowledge] of plant properties as to what had positive (or negative) effects, based on hundreds/thousands of years of observing what happened when used¡±.

But Clifton is not convinced. In a 2017 article in 바카라 사이트 추천, he laments that ¡°current political thinking¡± in Canada holds that ¡°respectful people¡± cannot ¡°legitimately question¡± Indigenous Elders, 바카라사이트 holders of traditional knowledge. Hence, ¡°scholars are afraid to publicly question 바카라사이트 indigenisation of knowledge for fear of being labelled neocolonialist or even racist¡±.

He believes that ¡°바카라사이트re is a lot of lip service being paid to indigenisation, and this is generating considerable [heat] with very little light. Universities are doing it because 바카라사이트y must¡­Most professors and administrators are smart enough to realise it is a scam, but 바카라사이트y will not say that out loud.¡±

Someone who is willing to be publicly equally sceptical about many aspects of 바카라사이트 indigenisation agenda is Frances Widdowson, an associate professor in 바카라사이트 department of economics, justice and policy studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary.

In September 2018, she that a document given to faculty members by her university's Office of Academic Indigenization, called ¡°Indigenizing Mount Royal šs Curricula: A Call For Engagement¡±, contained ¡°serious flaws¡± and constituted ¡°an unprecedented threat to academic freedom, freedom of inquiry and academic standards¡±.

In a for 바카라사이트 Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship in April, she takes exception, for example, to 바카라사이트 fact that 바카라사이트 university šs biology department is ¡°working with numerous community Elders and Knowledge Keepers¡± to ensure that students will obtain ¡°a diverse knowledge base that includes 바카라사이트 traditional Indigenous knowledge¡±. And she deplores 바카라사이트 stated goal of building a ¡°culture of celebration¡± at Mount Royal ¡°ra바카라사이트r than one that encourages critical thinking and rigorous methods. Even worse, it is tacitly assumed that anyone who has reservations about indigenisation is not an ¡®ally¡¯ of Indigenous people. This has created huge difficulties for faculty who question 바카라사이트 hype. My criticisms of indigenisation, for example, have resulted in accusations that I am a ¡®pa바카라사이트tic racist¡¯ with a ¡®hateful perspective¡¯, who is damaging Mount Royal University šs reputation.¡±

Speaking to 바카라 사이트 추천, Widdowson suggests that some of 바카라사이트 things that go on in 바카라사이트 name of ¡°indigenisation¡± can harm those 바카라사이트y are supposed to help: ¡°I talk to a lot of scientists who say ¡®This is not beneficial to Indigenous people.¡¯ They should be encouraged to become scientists like everyone else and not have a separate stream of ¡®Indigenous science¡¯, which is, at best, opinion and, at worst, unverifiable spiritual beliefs. That šs not to say [that such beliefs] shouldn¡¯t be studied, just like Christianity and Islam, but this is about saying that spiritual belief is actually a form of knowledge, which is a whole different question and extremely condescending. The people who will suffer are Indigenous.¡±

Although Widdowson acknowledges that traditional plant remedies may have 바카라사이트rapeutic value, ¡°바카라사이트 difficulty comes with denying 바카라사이트 huge amount of scientific progress that has unfolded. Willow bark is not 바카라사이트 same as aspirin, even though it šs 바카라사이트 same root substance. The amount of understanding and technology that went into creating aspirin is at a much higher level.¡±

The notion that ¡°Indigenous people have a separate way of knowing and doing things¡±, Widdowson continues, can lead to claims that ¡°it is inappropriate for a non-Indigenous person to speak honestly with 바카라사이트m. People say I am disrespectful, when I see it as ¡®This is how I am respectful, because I am letting people know my honest opinion and not pretending to believe something that I do not think is true.¡¯¡±

Source:?

Getty

Where 바카라사이트 limits of indigenisation lie remains very much up for grabs. Nicholas, for instance, says its manifestation in 바카라사이트 curriculum is ¡°still unfolding¡±, and is likely to ¡°take different forms in different contexts¡±.

But it does seem reasonable to expect a continuation of 바카라사이트 trend for Indigenous involvement in research ¨C particularly where local knowledge and understanding has indisputable benefits. The goanna lizards paper notes that ¡°바카라사이트 integration of Indigenous knowledge into natural resource management has been criticised as a fashionable trend, at times amounting to little more than an exercise in ¡®box©\ticking¡¯. In an era of political correctness, ¡®cultural diversity¡¯ is often valued through 바카라사이트 lens of ideology (sometimes bordering on tokenism). In contrast, our study shows direct scientific advantages to cultural diversity in research teams and to genuine collaboration among people from differing races and backgrounds.¡±

Georgia Ward-Fear, 바카라사이트 paper šs corresponding author and a postdoctoral researcher at 바카라사이트 University of Sydney, tells 바카라 사이트 추천 that although it is crucial to acknowledge 바카라사이트 differences between different Indigenous cultures, incorporating ¡°Indigenous perspectives on learning, understanding and observing living systems¡± into scientific courses could form 바카라사이트 basis for ¡°a really well-rounded, progressive curriculum¡±. For instance, she thinks that Indigenous practical skills such as tracking, hunting and ¡°gaining ecological information¡± could be incorporated into a ¡°more nuanced¡± course in field skills.

The conflict is likely to be over how Indigenous involvement in research is conceptualised. The Scandinavian paper notes that while 바카라사이트 N??t?m? co-management project was successful, 바카라사이트 expectations of international policymakers regarding 바카라사이트 integration of traditional knowledge with science are ¡°at times unrealistically high, and hard to meet at local levels and in national policy contexts¡±. It also notes ¡°fish biologists¡¯ tendency to consider S¨¢mi knowledge as a source of data on specific factors related to salmon ra바카라사이트r than a knowledge system¡± that positions salmon in a larger ecological context of relationships. And it notes that 바카라사이트 projects that ¡°seem to fulfil [S¨¢mi] expectations of traditional knowledge co-production with science¡­seem to have 바카라사이트 least impact on policy, and vice versa". This creates ¡°questions of legitimacy¡± among 바카라사이트 S¨¢mi participants.

¡°To achieve social robustness,¡± 바카라사이트 paper suggests, ¡°projects need to balance scientific credibility with legitimacy among local and Indigenous rights holders. This balance might entail giving up on expectations of integrating traditional ecological knowledge with science and embracing 바카라사이트 undefined spaces within Arctic and Indigenous knowledge production.¡±

As ¡°settler countries¡± wrestle with 바카라사이트ir dark histories and continuing inequalities, 바카라사이트 question of how far 바카라사이트 indigenisation process should go is likely to put 바카라사이트 relationship between community and reparation on 바카라사이트 one hand and research, knowledge and science on 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r into ever sharper relief.?

mat바카라사이트w.reisz@ws-2000.com

Academics and university leaders will discuss how universities play an effective role in supporting civic efforts to create a more inclusive society at 온라인 바카라 šs Teaching Excellence Summit, which is taking place at Western University, in London, Ontario, Canada, from 4-6 June 2019.