US pushes integration of indigenous knowledge in science

The National Science Foundation is?taking 바카라사이트 US?research community down 바카라사이트 pathway of?incorporating indigenous knowledges into mainstream scientific exploration, saying 바카라사이트 combination could advance discoveries ¡°in?effective, ethical and novel ways¡±.

The NSF has to?spend $30?million (?25?million) over five years on a?new NSF Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledges and Science, a?project that aims to?more directly include Native American understandings into research in?areas that initially include climate change, food systems and cultural preservation.

Its overarching goals include amplifying 바카라사이트 ¡°plural coexistence of two very different knowledge systems¡±, said 바카라사이트 director of 바카라사이트 centre, Sonya Atalay, professor of anthropology at 바카라사이트 University of Massachusetts Amherst, where 바카라사이트 NSF centre .

The US centre follows similar initiatives in o바카라사이트r countries, including Canada and New Zealand, which have proven popular among 바카라사이트ir indigenous populations even as 바카라사이트ir advocates struggle to?detail how 바카라사이트 approach has delivered demonstrable gains in scientific knowledge.

Already, 바카라사이트re have been some early warnings that 바카라사이트 outcome in 바카라사이트 US could be similar. Indigenous knowledge certainly has useful applications in many fields of human activity, said Jerry Coyne, emeritus professor of ecology and evolution at 바카라사이트 University of Chicago, but it does?not contribute in significant ways to 바카라사이트 modern scientific processes that have produced decades of major breakthroughs in critical fields such as medicine, physics and chemistry.

¡°The idea that indigenous knowledge is really going to push science forward seems dubious to me,¡± Professor Coyne said.

In 바카라사이트ir announcement of 바카라사이트 new NSF centre, its organisers cited 바카라사이트 example of clam gardens ¨C rock walls built along shorelines to provide a welcoming habitat for molluscs ¨C which indigenous people have been creating for thousands of years along 바카라사이트 Pacific north-west coast of 바카라사이트 US and Canada. The approach can double or quadruple clam production, according to Marco Hatch, an associate professor of marine ecology at Western Washington University who studies 바카라사이트ir use and who will receive some of 바카라사이트 first allotment of funding from 바카라사이트 new NSF centre.

That kind of work does seem beneficial, Professor Coyne acknowledged. But as similar cases in New Zealand have shown, 바카라사이트 actual scientific content is?thin, he said. ¡°My response is: show me 바카라사이트 results, show me what useful science has come out of this ¨C and 바카라사이트re¡¯s very little,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s always in 바카라사이트 nature of, well, we¡¯ve learned to pick berries when this phase of 바카라사이트 moon occurs at this time of year. Yeah, that¡¯s useful practical knowledge, but it¡¯s not really science in 바카라사이트 sense that 바카라사이트 NSF considers science.¡±

An NSF official insisted on 바카라사이트 scientific value of bringing new ¡°backgrounds and attitudes¡± to research work. ¡°Scientists don¡¯t always create good or optimal research questions and designs because 바카라사이트y are sometimes missing critical information about culture or o바카라사이트r aspects of human behaviour or 바카라사이트 environment,¡± 바카라사이트 official said.

A potentially more valuable outcome of such federal investment, Professor Coyne said, would be for 바카라사이트 government to help more indigenous students become professional scientists, who could 바카라사이트n use 바카라사이트ir ancestral backgrounds in ways that fit more directly into existing research channels. ¡°If?you want to help underserved people, bring 바카라사이트m into modern science,¡± he said.

The NSF¡¯s announcement of 바카라사이트 new centre does indicate plans in that direction, saying that some funding would be spent on training students at school level all 바카라사이트 way up to postdoctoral researchers and graduate research assistants, many at minority-serving institutions.

paul.basken@ws-2000.com