Indigenous Science
"Traditional systems of Indian education represent ways of learning and doing through a Nature-centered philosophy. They are among the oldest continuing expressions of "environmental" education in the world." (pg. 20) Gregory Cajete from Look to the Mountain An Ecology of Indigenous Education (2003).
The History of Medicine in Mexico by Diego Rivera (1886-1957). 1953
"Indigenous science includes exploration of basic questions such as the nature of language, thought and perception, the movement of time, the nature of human feeling, the nature of human knowing, the nature of proper human relationship to the cosmos and a host of other questions about natural reality" (Cajete, p. 81)
"In the structure of the Tribal universe no body of knowledge exists for its own sake outside a moral framework of understanding. Humans are co-creators with the higher powers of nature so that everything we do has importance for the rest of the world. Also, everything that we experience has importance. All of our experience is a circle of learning, living, and relationship. Education from this standpoint is totally inclusive of information from every source needed to make a decision in a moral and ethical relationship. All relationships have a history. People have a history of relationships with each other and with plants, animals, a land and the forces of Nature" (Cajete, p. 83).
From Igniting The Sparkle by Indigenous author and educator Gregory A. Cajete, Ph.D.
Journal Prompts:
After reading the passage compare Indigenous Science to Western Science or the science you have been taught in school.
Go to the Worldview Chart shared with me by 4 Arrows and pick 5 aspects that are compared that stand out to you. Explain why you picked them and the differences between the two worldviews.
Native Truths: Our Voices, Our Stories
