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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/04/indigenous-knowledge-western-science-climate-ecosystems>
"“I’m a glorified clam counter.”
So said Marco Hatch, a marine ecologist at Western Washington University and an
enrolled member of the Samish Indian Nation. Hatch has been conducting surveys
of mollusks growing in and around clam gardens in the Pacific north-west, as he
collaborates with seven Indigenous communities to build or rebuild these
rock-walled, terraced beaches once created and tended by their ancestors.
Hatch’s surveys in service of this reclamation are rooted in western scientific
methodology and increase understanding about beach ecology and clam health.
But, just as important, the data Hatch provides can help these nations obtain
the local, state and federal permits they need to maintain or re-engineer these
structures. And that helps them assert greater control over their heritage and
regain food sovereignty for their communities.
Rather than dismissing Indigenous knowledge, more western scientists are
discovering its viability for themselves and adjusting their research goals to
embrace it.
That represents a “massive shift”, according to Kyle Whyte, a professor of
environmental justice at the University of Michigan and a member of the Citizen
Potawatomi Nation. Historically, western scientists have considered themselves
rigorous and empirical, while they have classified traditional Native thought
as mythic, religious or plain made-up, he said.
In fact, a long-overdue “braiding” of Native and western knowledge is becoming
ever more common. Prominent Native authors such as Vine Deloria Jr have pointed
out Native environmental practices in books for popular audiences. They’ve
theorized, as the Alaskan native scholar Oscar Kawagley described it, “native
ways of knowing”. More Indigenous people – Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of
Braiding Sweetgrass, is a notable example – are entering academia and
changing it from the inside, while some tribal nations have hired their own
scientists. Non-Native institutions are seeking to undo their erasure of
Indigenous cultures; the Brooklyn Botanic Garden has started to include
labeling that highlights Lenape names and uses for food plants like persimmons.
International environmental organizations also increasingly recognize the
importance of including Indigenous voices in discussions around the climate
crisis. Since 2022, there’s even been federal funding to study ways to combine
Indigenous and western sciences, so each part remains distinct while being
strengthened by the other."
Via Susan ****
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*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
