Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Expanding knowledge in Indigenous studies'

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stevens Point, 2009.
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree Master of Science in Natural Resource Management, College of Natural Resources. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 167-176).

Certain teaching and learning strategies are appropriate in the context of exposing learners to modern science in situated cognition (SC) - the theory that posits that knowing is inseparable from doing - during, for example, visits to industrial operations. The distance and cost of travel, however, excludes most rural teachers and their learners from such SC exposure to Science and technology in industrial settings. To fill this gap between knowledge and practice in the curriculum experience for rural schools, this research investigated the extent to which a SC approach could be used in relation to indigenous knowledge practices (IKP) that have relevance to science teaching for rural science teachers. The study was conducted in three schools in the Zambezi Region of Namibia whereby six science teachers participated in the study. Also, to generate data from the community, the study included Indigenous community members as participants. Only three selected members from the community participated as representatives of the whole community. Essentially, the study explored and expanded possibilities for rural school teachers to use IKP as sites of SC in relation to concepts of pressure in particular and other science concepts. The research thus studied teaching practices as activity systems related to concepts in the school curriculum and the activity system of Indigenous community members. The patterns, regularities and irregularities provided the framing which was used to view SC through the lens of IKP. This framing of SC within the school curriculum was explored using cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) and Engestrom’s expansive learning cycle (ELC). The study was organized into two phases; exploration and the expansive phase. In the exploration phase, interviews, community analysis, document analysis, brainstorming, reflections and audiovisual evidence were used to generate data. The expansive stage used brainstorming, reflections, and interviews, an experimental test, audio-visual evidence, and interviews. Inductive and abductive modes of inference were used to come up with explanations of the research questions. Explanations proceeded using the frameworks of socio-cultural theory and social realism. Some findings from the data generated from the exploration phase revealed that science teachers in the schools studied do not always engage in a SC approach on account of a lack of Western modern science (WMS) resources and factors related to economic marginalization of the learners. Data generated in the same phase revealed that science teachers can engage the SC approach through embracing indigenous knowledge practices (IKP) reflecting Science whereby they can apprentice learners. Some of the other findings from the expansive learning phase show that science teachers in under-resourced schools can engage the SC approach if IK practices are used as mediational tools which can be used as models, icons/symbols, vocabulary, patterns, case studies and practical activities anchored in IKP. From the findings obtained the contribution which the study made was to come up with some methods of infusing indigenous knowledge systems in science teaching. The trend in research related to IK is more aligned to policies rather than how IK can be usefully used for the benefit of science teaching. As the study only looked into the IKP reflecting Science which the participating teachers brainstormed, it provides an insight into how and which other IK practices can be woven into WMS to encourage social transformation accommodative of Afrocentric world views which allows scientific literacy to be achieved.

The study examines non-Indigenous pre-service teacher responses to the authorisation of Indigenous knowledge perspectives in compulsory Indigenous studies with a primary focus on exploring the nature and effects of resistance. It draws on the philosophies of the Japanangka teaching and research paradigm (West, 2000), relationship theory (Graham, 1999), Indigenist methodologies and decolonisation approaches to examine this resistance. A Critical Indigenist Study was employed to investigate how non-Indigenous pre-service teachers managed their learning, and how they articulated shifts in resistance as they progressed through their studies. This study explains resistance to compulsory Indigenous and how it can be targeted by Indigenist Standpoint Pedagogy. The beginning transformations in pre-service teacher positioning in relation to Australian history, contemporary educational practice, and professional identity was also explored.

Environmental education in the U.S. has been slow to incorporate Indigenous knowledges, with most pre-university curriculum centering around Western science. I believe incorporating Indigenous knowledges into environmental education can promote reciprocal, critical, and active human-nature relationships. While Indigenous knowledges should infiltrate all levels of environmental education, I argue that alternative forms of education which operate outside the formal school system might present the fewest immediate obstacles.

The thesis is a culmination of my research which drew on tyangi wedi tjan Rak Mak Mak Marranunggu and Marrithiel knowledge systems. These awa mirr spiritual knowledge systems have guided our Pilu for millennium and have powerful spiritual affiliation to the land and our continued presences. The understandings of the spiritual connectedness and our practices of relatedness have drawn on Pulitj, our deep awa mirr spiritual philosophy that nourishes us on our country. This philosophy gave us our voice and our presence to act in our own ways of knowing and being on the landscapes created by the Western bureaucratic systems of higher education in Australia to bring forth our Tyikim knowledge systems to serve our own educational interests. From this spiritual ‘Puliyana kunun’ philosophical position the thesis examines colonising constructions of Tyikim peoples, Tyikim knowledge systems in education, Tyikim research and access to higher education for Tyikim students. From the research, it is argued that the paradigm, within which the enclave-derived approach to Indigenous higher education is located, is compatible with the normalising imperialistic ideology of higher education. The analysis of the Mirrwana/Wurrkama participatory action research project, central to the research, supported an argument for the Mirrwana/Wurrkama model of Indigenous higher education. Further analysis identified five key pedagogical principles embedded within this new model as metaphorically equivalent to wilan~bu of the pelangu. The thesis identifies the elements of the spirituality of the narrative exposed in the research-in-action through the “Marri kubin mi thit wa!”. This is a new paradigm for Tyikim participation in higher education within which the Mirrwana/Wurrkama model is located. Finally, the thesis identifies the scope for Tyikim knowledge use in the construction of contemporary ‘bureaucratic and institutionalised’ higher education ngun nimbil thit thit teaching and learning experiences of Tyikim for the advancement of Tyikim interests. Here the tyangi yigin tjan spiritual concepts of narrative and landscape are drawn upon both awa mirr metaphorically and in marri kubin mi thit wa Tyikim pedagogical practice.

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In some contemporary discourses, a new dimension of knowledge is increasingly being recognised. Sustainable development is no longer the exclusive domain of western science and technology. There is a growing interest in the role that indigenous people and their communities can play in sustainable development. The integration of indigenous knowledge (IK) into formal school curricula, especially environmental education (EE), is seen as a key approach to making education relevant to rural students. This will also promote the intellectual diversity required to manage the scope, complexity and uncertainty of local and global environmental issues. This study is guided by constructivist approaches and postcolonial perspectives that recognise the differences between IK and western sciences but at the same time concerned with ways in which the two can work together. In particular, this study uses a qualitative case study of selected schools in the Northern part of Namibia to investigate how IK can be used to support EE in rural schools. The National (Namibian) Curriculum for Basic Education and the Life Science curriculum documents have been analysed, focusing specifically on how IK is coupled with EE at school level. The review of the curriculum documents revealed that IK is not only ignored and underutilised in schools, but also systematically undermined as a potential source of knowledge for development. The curriculum continues to reinforce western values at the expense of IK. To gain more insight into existing EE practices in schools and the role that local knowledge can play in school syllabi, six teachers, two advisory teachers and two traditional leaders were carefully selected and interviewed. The basis for this was to possibly challenge and address the needs that learners and their environment have. The participants in this study embraced the inclusion of IK in EE. However, the processes of combining IK with science may be constrained by challenges related to: teachers‟ attitudes, the design of the curriculum, and the way learner-centered education is conceptualised and practiced in schools. The study suggests that, to incorporate IK into EE effectively may require a shift away from the current strong subject-based, content-focused and examination driven EE curriculum. A cross-cultural Science Technology and Society (STS) curricula that includes a broad range of disciplines and provides a context within which all knowledge systems can be equitably compared and contribute to our understanding of the environment is proposed as an alternative curricula framework.

Indigenous peoples worldwide are engaged in the process of rebuilding and re-empowering their communities. They are faced with challenges emerging from a history of physical, spiritual, emotional, and economic colonization, challenges including a degraded resource base, lack of infrastructure, and consistent pressure on their land tenure and ways of life. These communities, however, continue demonstrating profound resilience in the midst of these challenges; working to re-empower and provide for the contemporary needs of their people in a manner grounded in supporting bio-cultural integrity; the interconnected relationship of people and homeland. At the same time, in response to contemporary environmental degradation, the fields of resilience science, adaptive management, and ecological engineering have emerged, the recommendations of which bear remarkable similarity to Indigenous ontologies, epistemologies, and governance structures. The relationship between these fields and Indigenous epistemology, underscored by experience in the field, has led to the conceptualization of bio-cultural engineering design; design that emerges from the inter-relationship of people and ecology. The biocultural engineering design methodology identifies the unique cosmological relationships and cultural underpinnings of contemporary Indigenous communities, and applies this specific cultural lens to engineered design and architecture. The development of resilience principles within the fields of architecture and engineering have created avenues for biocultural design to be translatable into engineering and architectural design documents, allowing access to large scale financial support for community development. This method is explored herein through literature and analysis of practical application in several different Indigenous communities and nations. This method lends itself to future research on biocultural design processes as a source of technological and design innovation as Indigenous communities practice placing their values and cosmologies at the center of development decisions, as well as comprehensive start-to-finish documentation of the methodology applied to diverse engineered applications, including water systems, energy systems, and building construction.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In recent decades increasing attention has been paid to the idea of sustainable development and in particular to sustainable agricultural practices. Studies in the seventies, eighties and nineties indicated that many resource-poor farmers were practising low external input sustainable practices by virtue of their resource-poor status. Despite this status these farmers were developing sustainable practises that enabled them to survive even the harshest conditions. It was believed that an understanding of their local practices and associated knowledge, called indigenous technical knowledge by conventional scientists, could provide agricultural development workers with a greater understanding of how to achieve sustainable agricultural development. This awareness would ensure the optimal and sustainable use of local livelihood sources. Following this interest a number of complementary research methods were developed to generate and record indigenous knowledge. Many of these methods fall within the participatory research paradigm of the Social Sciences. Using one of the earlier complementary methods, Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA), this study considers its value as a method to collect indigenous knowledge about the local cultivation and use of indigenous vegetables in a parish in Uganda. The basic RRA tools are described and the position of RRA within the participatory research paradigm is discussed, indicating that the method probably has a lower-middle of the road position when placed on a continuum of participation. In this study the use of the method enabled the generation of information relating to the context in which agriculture was practised in the parish; specifically the production and use of plants known as indigenous vegetables. At the same time the tools enabled a broad understanding of indigenous knowledge regarding the production, associated practises and beliefs, as well as the use of indigenous vegetables in the parish. This information included technical and socio-cultural information indicating that indigenous knowledge is not only about technical knowledge. In recent years debate has emerged with regard to the value, use and misuse of indigenous knowledge. The debate has questioned the ability of various participatory complementary methods to accurately generate and record this knowledge. One of the main concerns is that most of these methods, like those associated with the quantitative and qualitative paradigms, tend to have inherent biases which detract from their value. Reflection on the use of RRA in the Ugandan study indicated that it was subject to a number of contextual constraints, namely: the assumption and treatment of indigenous knowledge as a stock of knowledge which can neatly conform to scientific categorisation; the unawareness of the powerladen interactions in which knowledge is generated; the consequences of local power struggles on the generation of knowledge; the significance that the presence of researchers during the knowledge generating process has on the resultant knowledge; the relevance of the time, timing and location where knowledge is generated; and the effect that local social differences, such as gender, age, wealth, class, etc. have on who has access to what sort of knowledge. More recently developed and refined methods such as Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Participatory Technology Development (PTD) include some tools and strategies that overcome some of these constraints. However, these methods are often subject to similar constraints, given the context in which they are used. In the final analysis, the use of the RRA method in Uganda is considered to be a useful tool for collecting contextual data and indigenous knowledge given the circumstances in which it was used. These circumstances included financial constraints, a lack of skills in the complementary methods within the research team, insufficient time and other resources. These hindrances are common in many agricultural development contexts. Based on the results of the study it is recommended that where circumstances permit it, participatory methods such as PRA and PTD should be used. However, users must remain aware that these methods can suffer from some contextual constraints if they are not used with care and if this use is not regularly reflected upon. Despite a number of shortcomings, the use of the RRA method indicated that it is a suitable method in certain contexts. It also indicated that indigenous knowledge is extremely important for agricultural development, but that care must be taken as to how it is generated, understood, recorded and subsequently used. The data generated by means of the RRA method enabled some preliminary reflections on the current understanding of indigenous knowledge. These were reflections on the following: it is a system of knowledge; it originates in and is exclusive to a particular location; it has the ability to include knowledge developed in other locations; and it is deeply entwined within the context in which it is developed. In conclusion a number of possible areas for future research on indigenous knowledge and participatory methods are identified which will allow us to develop a deeper understanding of the value of participatory methods and the significance of indigenous knowledge.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Gedurende die afgelope dekades is verhoogde aandag geskenk aan die idee van volhoubare ontwikkeling en spesifiek aan volhoubare landboupraktyke. Studies gedurende die sewentigs, tagtigs en negentigs wys daarop dat verskeie hulpbronbeperkte boere lae eksterne inset, volhoubare praktyke be-oefen het na aanleiding van hulle hulpbronbeperkte status. Nieteenstaande hierdie boere se stand van sake het hulle nietemin standhoudende praktyke ontwikkel wat hulle in staat gestel het om selfs die moeilikste omstandighede te oorleef. Daar was geglo dat deur van hulle plaaslike praktyke en die daarmee saamgaande kennis, bekend as Inheemse Tegniese Kennis onder konvensionele wetenskaplikes, te begryp, dit landbouontwikkelingswerkers kan voorsien van ‘n beter begrip rakende, hoe om standhoudende landbou-ontwikkeling te bereik. Hierdie bewustheid sal die optimale en volhoubare gebruik van plaaslike lewens- en huishoudingsbronne verseker. As gevolg van hierdie belangstelling is ‘n hele aantal komplimenterende navorsingsmetodes ontwikkel om inheemse kennis in te win en op te teken. Verskeie van hierdie metodes val binne die deelnemende navorsingsparadigma van die Geesteswetenskappe. Deur gebruik te maak van een van die vroeëre aanvullende metodes, Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA), lê die waarde van RRA daarin dat dit ‘n metode is om inheemse kennis in te samel rakende die plaaslike verbouïng en gebruik van inheemse groentes in ‘n wyk in Uganda. Die basiese RRA tegnieke word omskryf asook die posisie van RRA binne die deelnemende navorsings paradigma en dan word daar aangedui dat die metode heel moontlik ‘n lae-middelposisie het wanneer dit geplaas word in terme van ‘n kontinuüm van deelname. In hierdie studie het die metode dit moontlik gemaak om inligting in te win wat verband hou met die konteks waarbinne landbou be-oefen is in die wyk; spesifiek wat produksie en die gebruik van plante, bekend as inheemse groentes, aanbetref. Terselfdertyd het die tegnieke ‘n breër begrip daargestel van inheemse kennis rakende die produksie, daarmee saamgaande praktyke en plaaslike menings, sowel as die gebruik van inheemse groentes in die wyk. Hierdie inligting het ingesluit die tegniese en sosio-kulturele inligting en aangedui dat inheemse kennis nie net oor tegniese kennis handel nie. In die pas afgelope jare het die debat ontstaan rakende die waarde, gebruik en misbruik van inheemse kennis. Die debat het die vermoë van die verskeie deelnemende komplimentêre metodes om akkuraat hierdie kennis in te win en op te skryf, bevraagteken. Een van die hoof bekommernisse is dat die meeste van hierdie metodes, soos die verbonde aan kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe paradigmas, daarna neig om inherent bevooroordeeld te wees wat hulle van hul waarde laat verminder. ‘n Refleksie op die gebruik van RRA in die Uganda-studie wys daarop dat dit onderhewig was aan ‘n aantal kontekstuele beperkings naamlik: die aanname en hantering van inheemse kennis as ‘n inventaris van kennis wat netjies omgeskakel kan word in wetenskaplike katagorisering; onbewustheid van die magsonewewigtigheid interaksies waarbinne kennis ingewin word; die gevolge van plaaslike magstryde op die insameling van kennis; die effek wat die teenwoordigheid van navorsers tydens die proses van kennis insameling het op die resultaatgewende kennis, die relevansie van tyd, tydsberekening en plek waar kennis ingewin word; en die effek wat plaaslike sosiale verskille, soos geslag, ouderdom, rykdom, klas, ens. het op wie toegang het tot watter soort van kennis. Meer onlangs ontwikkelde en verfynde metodes soos Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) en Participtory Technology Development (PTD) sluit van die tegnieke en strategieë in wat sommige van hierdie beperkings oorkom. Maar sommige van hierdie metodes is gereëld onderworpe aan soortgelyke beperkings, gegewe die konteks waarbinne dit gebruik word. In die finale analise is die gebruik van die RRA metode in Uganda beskou as ‘n bruikbare tegniek vir die insameling van kontekstuele data en inheemse kennis, gegewe die omstandighede waarbinne dit gebruik is. Hierdie omstandighede sluit in, finansiele beperkings, ‘n gebrek aan vaardigheid met die komplimentêre metodes binne die navorsingspan, onvoldoende tyd en ander bronne. Hierdie hindernisse is algemeen in verskeie landbouontwikkelingskontekste. Gebasseer op die resultate van die studie word aanbeveel dat waar omstandighede hul daartoe leen, deelnemende metodes soos PRA en PTD, gebruik moet word. Maar gebruikers moet daarvan bewus bly dat hierdie metodes kan ly aan kontekstuele tekortkomings indien hulle nie met sorg gebruik word en daar nie gereeld oor die gebruik daarvan gereflekteer word nie. Ten spyte van ‘n aantal tekortkomminge het die gebruik van die RRA metode aangewys dat dit ‘n toespaslike metode binne ‘n sekere konteks is. Dit het ook aangewys dat inheemse kennis uiters belangrik is vir landbouontwikkeling, maar dat sorg gedra moet word rakende hoe dit ingewin, verstaan, opgeskryf en daarna gebruik word. Die data wat ingewin is deur middel van die RRA metode het voorlopige refleksies moontlik gemaak rakende die huidige begrip van inheemse kennis. Hierdie was refleksies op die volgende: dit is ‘n stelsel van kennis, dit ontstaan in en is eksklusief aan ‘n spesifieke gebied, dit het die vermoë om kennis in te sluit wat in ander gebiede ontwikkel is, en dit is diep ingeweef in die konteks waarbinne dit ontwikkel is. Ten slotte ‘n hele aantal moontlike areas vir toekomstige navorsing rakende inheemse kennis en deelnemende metodes is geidentifiseer wat ons in staat sal stel om ‘n beter begrip te ontwikkel van die waarde van deelnemende metodes en die belangrikheid van inheemse kennis.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The study focuses on tracking the developments accompanying the rise of indigenous knowledge (IK) and its positioning on the science policy and national research agenda in South Africa (SA). The historical occasion, the variety of policy developments in a diverse ‘new’ SA and how IK evolved, presented the impetus and context of the study. The objectives of the study were to consider more closely the roles and actions of the participants in the overall process, how they interacted and to identify broad patterns that occurred. Other areas included positioning IK as strategic science and how it was refracted through the national research system. To achieve these objectives, a significant part of the methodology involved a historical reconstruction of developments in IK. The data obtained from this reconstruction provided the basis for further analysis and closer scrutiny of the issues. Reconstructing the history assisted with providing some answers regarding the sources of concern and motivation which led to formulating policy on IK, the processes that advanced IK to its position in 2002, looking at how the various players in the research system were mobilized and how the prelegislative stage of activity determined the outcome of the IK legislative process. In addition to these questions, there was an opportunity to consider Wally’s Serote’s role as ‘moral entrepreneur and to try to understand both his personal trajectory and the role he played in the system. The historical reconstruction provided a periodization comprising three chronological phases, namely • Genesis (1994 – 1996) • Awareness Creation (1997 – 1998) • Programmes and Implementation (1999 – 2002) New policy directions in SA provided a context for positioning IK within strategic science. The leadership and passion displayed by Serote also required an understanding of his personal trajectory and the role he played in the system. IK as strategic science is positioned within framework of the moral entrepreneur’s cycle in a changing system. The historical reconstruction raised the issue of how easy or difficult it is to embed processes and how these processes co-evolve in the system. It also showed how IK was refracted through the national research system. The broad ‘success’ of the IK initiative is discussed with respect to its legislative and policy journey in SA and its current position in the research system. The ‘lesser successful’ side is also discussed in terms of the intended objectives and the eventual outcomes. Protecting IK, a central issue throughout the process, led to struggles and tensions that required rethinking both the policy and epistemic aspects of both western science and IK.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie fokus daarop om dié ontwikkelinge te volg wat deel was van die opkoms van inheemse kennis (IK) en die posisionering daarvan op die agenda vir wetenskapsbeleid en nasionale navorsing in Suid-Afrika (SA). Die historiese gebeurlikhede, die verskeidenheid in beleidsontwikkelinge in 'n diverse "nuwe" SA en die manier waarop IK ontwikkel het, het die stukrag en die konteks vir hierdie studie verskaf. Die doelwitte van die studie was as volg: om die rolle en die aksies van die deelnemers aan die proses as geheel in meer detail te oorweeg; om hulle interaksie waar te neem en om die breë aksiepatrone te identifiseer. Ander ondersoekareas was om IK as strategiese wetenskap te posisioneer en om vas te stel hoe dit deur middel van die nasionale navorsingstelsel gerefrakteer is. Om hierdie doelwitte te kan bereik, het 'n belangrike deel van die metodologie die historiese rekonstruksie van ontwikkelinge in IK behels. Die data wat deur middel van hierdie rekonstruksie verkry is, het die basis voorsien vir die verdere analise en nadere beskouing van die relevante kwessies. Deur die geskiedenis te rekonstrueer kon sommige van die vrae oor die volgende beantwoord word: die oorsprong van sake wat kommer gewek het en die motivering wat gelei het tot die formulering van beleid oor IK; die prosesse wat IK tot die posisie daarvan in 2002 bevorder het deur te kyk hoe die onderskeie rolspelers in die navorsingstelsel gemobiliseer is; en hoe die pre-wetgewende fase van aktiwiteite die uitkoms van die IK-wetgewende proses bepaal het. Bo en behalwe die beantwoording van hierdie vrae, kon Serote se rol as morele entrepreneur ook ondersoek word om sodoende beide sy persoonlike trajektorie en die rol wat hy in die stelsel gespeel het te probeer verstaan. Die historiese rekonstruksie het 'n periodisering, bestaande uit drie chronologiese fases, verskaf, naamlik 􀂃������� Genesis (1994 – 1996) 􀂃������� Skepping van 'n Bewussyn (1997 – 1998) 􀂃������� Programme en Implementering (1999 – 2002) Nuwe beleidsrigtings in Suid-Afrika het 'n konteks verskaf vir die posisionering van IK binne die strategiese wetenskap. Die leierskap en passie wat Serote geopenbaar het, het ook begrip vir sy persoonlike trajektorie en die rol wat hy in die stelsel gespeel het, gevra. IK as 'n strategiese wetenskap is geposisioneer binne-in die raamwerk van die morele entrepreneur se siklus in 'n veranderende stelsel. Die historiese rekonstruksie het die kwessie geopper van hoe maklik of hoe moeilik dit is om prosesse in te bed, en hoe hierdie prosesse saam in die stelsel ontwikkel. Dit het ook gewys hoe IK deur middel van die nasionale navorsingstelsel gerefrakteer is. Die breë "sukses" van die IK-inisiatief word bespreek met betrekking tot die pad wat dit geloop het in die wetgewende en die beleidsvormende proses in Suid-Afrika en die huidige posisie daarvan in die navorsingstelsel. Die "minder suksesvolle" kant word ook bespreek met betrekking tot die vooropgestelde doelwitte en die uiteindelike uitkomste. Die beskerming van IK, 'n sentrale kwessie regdeur die proses, het gelei tot worstelinge en spanninge wat vereis het dat die beleids- én die epistemiese aspekte van beide die westerse wetenskap en IK herbedink moes word.

This study examines learning interactions around indigenous ways of knowing associated with fermented grain foods (the making of umqombothi) and the concept of alcoholic fermentation in the Grade 11 Life Sciences curriculum. As an environmental education study it also investigates the cultural significances of the fermented grain food and how learners might make better lifestyle choices. The inclusion of indigenous ways of knowing in the Life Sciences curriculum (FET band) created spaces and opportunities for the use of both knowledge's in sociocultural context and the structured propositions of the learning area in order to construct knowledge. This stimulated learners' understanding of fermentation and also led to a valuing of social context as well as the cultural capital embedded in the indigenous ways of knowing. The study suggests that parental involvement contributed to this valuing of intergenerational ways of knowing. Learners also deliberated how colonial interpretations of Nguni culture and the religious beliefs of Christians had served to marginalise and foster a widening urban rejection of isiXhosa cultural practices related to fermented foods. In their learning and discussion, learners developed new insights and respect for isiXhosa fermentation practices (ukudidiyela) that bring out the food value and nutrition in the grain. The data illustrates that lesson activity that drew on relevant Learning Outcomes and Assessment Standards to integrate Indigenous Knowledge practices in a Life Sciences learning programme, served to enhance learner understanding of alcoholic fermentation. They also document a revaluing of cultural heritage and learners bringing up the problem of alcohol abuse in the community. Curriculum work with Indigenous Knowledge thus not only assisted learners to grasp the science but to use this alongside a valued cultural knowledge capital to deliberate and act on a local concern.

This thesis is about the role of local knowledge and indigenous agency in histories of nineteenth-century exploration. Focusing especially on the archival collections of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), it examines four case studies in order to consider the nature and significance of European dependence on local inhabitants during exploratory expeditions. Following traces of non-European intermediaries who contributed to the 'work' of exploration, but seldom received any recognition, the thesis also engages with the methodological challenge of reading metropolitan scholarly collections 'against the grain' in the hope of retrieving marginalised voices or experiences. The theme of archival visibility is thus as important as that of erasure. The first case study reconsiders of one of the most celebrated examples of nonEuropean participation, i.e. the pandits of the Survey of India. Focusing especially on published accounts, it questions the concept of a 'heroic indigene'. The second case study develops the idea of archival visibility with a discussion of Thomas Baines' oil paintings and sketches from the North Australian Expedition of 1855- 57. Considering the functions of expeditionary picture making, it highlights the diverse relationships that brought explorers together with indigenous and local inhabitants. The third case study attends to the role of local informants through a discussion of the Nile controversy, 1850s-70s. Examining a set of sketch maps, this chapter highlights the significance of trust and testimony within the production of knowledge. Finally, the fourth case study considers a collection of photographs of British Guiana, which were donated by Everard im Thurn in 1892. Together these case studies reveal something of the negotiated and sometimes collaborative aspects of scientific exploration and travel in the context of colonial encounters. Concurrently, it suggests routes through such collections of published, manuscript, picture, map and object collections as housed at the RGS-IBG.

Introduction. This thesis is set in the field of critical knowledge organization and indigenous knowledge organi- zation. Building on the theory of domain analysis I chose the Saami Library in Sweden as the domain for this thesis. The purpose was to identify the structures of power affecting how the lives and experiences of the Saami people are represented in the library catalogue and in the classification systems used, and to examine the views on knowledge expressed in the classification systems. Theory and method. This thesis builds upon the writings on deconstruction. I seek to deconstruct the cata- logue and the classification system using tools derived from the writings of Jacques Derrida. Analysis. Nine posts from the catalogue, and the classification codes entered there were analysed. Emphasis was put on analysing the DDC classification as this is the primary classification system used. Results. From analysing the classifications and the catalogue posts I found that the representations of the Saami experiences varied depending on which subject class the book belonged to. A majority of the posts analysed were classified as social sciences in DDC whereas the classifications were more varied in the Swedish SAB- system. Conclusion. Two structures have been identified. The first structure places the Saami experiences as some- thing that is other, in relation to which the mainstream is defined. The second structure places the Saami experi- ences as part of a diversity, separate from the unity of the mainstream society. This structure only acknowledges the existence of diversity if this means that the position of the unity is strengthened. Concerning the second purpose of the thesis I find that a western knowledge perspective has got a hegemonic position in the DDC, which means that other knowledge systems such as indigenous knowledge is not seen as such but as something only related to a specific group. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.

In a world on the brink of climate apocalypse the question if modern conceptions on the moral worth of nature are failing is no longer rhetorical. During this time of reckoning questioning core ideologies and the places where they originate from is necessary. In matters of ecology, Eurocentric colonial paradigms dominate the scientific and philosophical narrative. Increasing in reach and exposure, Indigenous people and the environmental movements they support, point to a coherent body of knowledge which teaches humans how to live in better relationship to the natural world. This inquiry will be comparing, contrasting, re-evaluating these radically different worldviews and value sets, while seeking to understand the differences between Indigenous knowledge and Eurocentric environmental ethics. The tool with which this will be attempted is decolonization, chosen for its radical questioning of the entrenched colonial and Eurocentric status quo. Perhaps by showing how Indigenous knowledge challenges and contrasts the dominant ecological culture, it can then guide and inform Eurocentric environmental ethics toward a new ecological epistemology and the work of decolonizing ecology can begin in earnest.

The aim of this study is to explore if Western researchers with different academic backgrounds comply with requests articulated by Indigenous scholars in establishing relationships with Indigenous Sámi reindeerherders. I examine if the researchers’ motivations, attitude and their possible decolonizing approaches are in accordance with the requests of Indigenous scholars, and how these differ between social and natural scientists.The results illustrate that the researchers’ general mind set,as well as their decolonizing approaches-ifexisting-only partly meet the requests of Indigenous scholars. However,the herders are still interested in participating in research projects,even though the outcomes of these projects often do not seem to have direct positive effects on the reindeerherding community.The differences between social and natural scientists are not strongly pronounced and may possibly be caused by other factors than the academic background only

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the extent to which multicultural science education, including indigenous knowledge representations, had been infused within the content of high school biology textbooks. The study evaluated the textbook as an instructional tool and framework for multicultural science education instruction by comparing the mainstream content to indigenous knowledge perspectives portrayed in the student and teacher editions of 34 textbooks adopted in Florida within the last four adoption cycles occurring from 1990 to 2006. The investigation involved a content analysis framed from a mixed methods approach. Emphasis was placed, in consideration of the research questions and practicality of interpreting text with the potential for multiple meanings, within qualitative methods. The investigation incorporated five strategies to assess the extent of multicultural content: 1) calculation of frequency of indigenous representations through the use of a tally; 2) assessment of content in the teacher editions by coding the degree of incorporation of multicultural content; 3) development of an archaeology of statements to determine the ways in which indigenous representations were incorporated into the content; 4) use of the Evaluation Coefficient Analysis (ECO) to determine extent of multicultural terminologies within content; and 5) analysis of visuals and illustrations to gauge percentages of depictions of minority groups. Results indicated no solid trend in an increase of inclusion of multicultural content over the last four adoption cycles. Efforts at most reduced the inclusion of indigenous representations and other multicultural content to the level of the teacher edition distributed among the teacher-interleafed pages or as annotations in the margins. Degree of support of multicultural content to the specific goals and objectives remained limited across all four of the adoption cycles represented in the study. Emphasis on standardized testing appeared in the six textbooks representing the most recent adoption cycle. Recommendations included increased efforts to identify quality of content by including input from scholars in the field of multicultural education as well as indigenous peoples in the creation of textbook content. Recommendations also included further clarification of the definition of science within multicultural science education frameworks, indigenous knowledge as compared to Western science and pseudoscience, and scientific literacy as a central focus to a multicultural science education meant to address the needs of an increasingly diverse student population and prime-age workforce.

Thesis: S.M. in Science Writing, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies/Writing, 2019
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (page 28).
Farmacia Viva Indigena, the Living Indigenous Pharmacy, is five hectares of primary forest in the Amazon preserved as an intact library of indigenous plants, many of them medicinally useful, near the river village of Paoyhan in Ucayali, Peru. The library is an indigenous climate adaptation strategy in the rainforest, and an effort to revive the Shipibo-Conibo culture of healing with medicinal plants. The pharmacy was established last year by Alianza Arkana, an NGO in Pucallpa. They have divided the land into sub-parcels, and are categorizing and archiving each of the medicinal plants contained inside. In Ucayali, the main environmental concern is deforestation. Land-use change also changes patterns of rainfall, as water is transported in the atmosphere through aerial rivers. The Living Library is an archive and repository of plants in a rainforest that is rapidly disappearing-an attempt to revitalize and preserve indigenous knowledge systems of medicinal plant life in Shipibo culture. The living library of plants in Paoyhan provides an economic alternative to deforestation. They also hope to attract ecotourism, scientists, and possibly pharmaceutical companies. Making the land useful by extracting medicines is one way of protecting it from loggers who enter legally or illegally.
by Devi Lockwood.
S.M. in Science Writing
S.M.inScienceWriting Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies/Writing

This thesis investigated the restoration of mauri (life-force) to Ōkahu Bay, Auckland New Zealand. Ōkahu Bay is part of the land and waters of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, a Māori hapū (sub-tribe). Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei has been driving the restoration, restoring Ōkahu Bay based on their worldview, visions, and concerns. This vision and control of the restoration process allows them to bring in the hapū in sustainable engagement and have the long-term vision and commitment necessary for self-determination. However, while there has been progress with projects and improved decision-making authority, hapū members are still not seeing their whānau (family) swimming in and caring for Ōkahu as much as they would like. Interviewees wanted to see an explicit focus on encouraging hapū members to use the bay, such as more educational programs and water-based activities, and continued efforts to improve water quality. Shellfish populations have also not recovered after a decade of monitoring due to structural aspects such as existing stormwater pipes. Changing these requires Auckland City Council to make stronger commitments to supporting Ngāti Whātua’s restoration. Overall, this investigation showed that in this restoration, a clean environment is essential to build community and a community is essential to build a clean environment. This community-driven restoration, while not perfect, has great potential to truly reconnect people with their environments, decolonize the land and the people, and create thriving ecosystems and people that benefit themselves, their communities, and the wider Auckland community.

The use of indigenous knowledge (IK) and indigenous bio-resources by pharmaceutical and herbal industries has led to concerns about the need to protect IK in order to prevent biopiracy and the misappropriation of indigenous knowledge and resources. While some commentators believe that intellectual property rights (IPR) law can effectively protect IK, others are more sceptical. In order to contribute to the growing debate on this issue, this study uses the relatively new and as yet largely critically unanalysed Masakhane Pelargonium case to address the question of whether or not IPR law can be used to effectively protect IK. It is argued here that discussion about the protection of IK is a matter that must be located within broader discussions about North-South relations and the continued struggle for economic and political freedom by indigenous people and their states. The Masakhane case suggests that IPR law in its current form cannot provide sufficient protection of IK on its own. Incompatibilities between IPR law and IK necessitate that certain factors, most important of which are land, organised representation, and what are referred as 'confidence and network resources', be present in order for IPR law to be used with any degree of success. The study also reveals various factors that undermine the possibility of using IPR law to protect IK. In particular, the study highlights the way in which local political tensions can undermine the ability of communities to effectively use IPR law to protect their knowledge. The thesis concludes with several recommendations that will enable indigenous communities and their states to benefit more substantially from the commercialisation of their bio-resources and associated IK.

Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) have inhabited the southern Great Basin for thousands of years, and consider Nuvagantu (where snow sits) in the Spring Mountains landscape to be the locus of their creation as a people. Their ancestral territory spans parts of Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and California. My research identifies and describes the heterogeneous character of Nuwuvi ecological knowledge (NEK) of piñon-juniper woodland ecosystems within two federal protected areas (PAs) in southeastern Nevada, the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (SMNRA) and the Desert National Wildlife Refuge (DNWR), as remembered and practiced to varying degrees by 22 select Nuwuvi knowledge holders. I focus my investigation on four primary aspects of NEK. First, drawing from data obtained through ethnoecological research, I discuss how Nuwuvi ecological knowledge evolved through protracted observation and learning from past resource depletions, and adapted to various environmental and socio-economic drivers of change induced since Euro-American incursion. Second, I argue that Nuwuvi management practices operate largely within a framework of non-equilibrium ecology, marked by low to intermediate disturbances and guided by Nuwuvi conceptions of environmental health and balance. These practices favor landscape heterogeneity and patchiness, and engender ecosystem renewal, expanded ecotones, and increased biodiversity. I then consider the third and fourth aspects of NEK as two case studies that consider NEK at the individual, species, population, habitat, and landscape scales. These case studies operationalize NEK as a relevant body of knowledge and techniques conducive to collaborative resource stewardship initiatives with federal land management agency partners. In the first case study I suggest that the Great Basin piñon pines are Nuwuvi cultural keystone species (CKS), evaluating their central importance to Nuwuvi according to several criteria including number of uses, role in ritual and story, and uniqueness relative to other species. In the second case study I contend that local social institutions regulated Nuwuvi resource use in the past and in some cases continued to do so at the time of study. These local social institutions included a system of resource extraction and habitat entrance taboos that may have mitigated impacts and supported sustainable resource use and conservation. The implications of this research are that Nuwuvi ecological knowledge, disturbance-based adaptive management practices, and resource and habitat taboos are relevant to contemporary land management concerns in piñon-juniper woodlands, offering complementary approaches to adaptive management as practiced in the SMNRA and the DNWR despite divergent epistemological foundations. My research contributed to the Nuwuvi Knowledge-to-Action Project, an applied government-to-government consultation, collaborative resource stewardship, and cultural revitalization project facilitated by The Mountain Institute among seven Nuwuvi Nations, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Extensive research suggests that the collective behavior of humanity is on an unsustainable path. As the evidence mounts and more people awaken to this reality, increased attention is being dedicated to the pursuit of answers for a just and sustainable future. This dissertation grew from the premise that effectively moving towards sustainability requires change at all levels of the dominant Western culture, including deeply held worldviews. The worldviews of many indigenous cultures offer alternative values and beliefs that can contribute to addressing the root causes of problems related to sustainability. In the bioregion defined by the Pacific Salmon runs of North America there is a rich heritage and modern day presence of diverse indigenous cultures. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 indigenous leaders from within this bioregion to explore their mental models of sustainability. These interviews followed a general structure that covered: (a) the personal background and community affiliation of each interviewee; (b) the meaning of the concept of sustainability from their perspective; (c) visions of a sustainable future for their communities; and, (d) how to achieve such a future. A content analysis of the interviews was conducted and summarized into a narrative organized to correspond with the general interview structure. A process oftestimonial validity established that most participants found the narrative to be an accurate representation of their perspectives. Participant feedback led to several phrasing changes and other identified issues are discussed, including one participant's critique of the narrative's use of a first-person plural voice. Major themes from the interviews include the role of the human being as caretaker actively participating in the web of life, the importance of simultaneously restoring culture and ecology due to their interdependence, the need to educate and build awareness, and the importance of cooperation. Understanding who we are as a living species, including our profound connection with nature, along with a holistic and intergenerational perspective are suggested as prerequisite for balancing and aligning human modes of being with the larger patterns of life. The closing discussion addresses the importance of social action and going beyond a conceptual understanding to an embodiment of sustainability.

This thesis explores the ways that colonisation has resulted in Maori being cast as different and the other in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It challenges perceptions of relationships between Maori and western knowledge and between science and practice, drawing on a range of theorists, scholarly writings and multiple research and evaluation projects. The study examines how these perceptions, and the definitions arising from them, tend to compartmentalise Maori knowledge and research and, in doing so, serve non-Maori agendas more than they serve Maori aspirations. The thesis looks at the impacts that the world of the coloniser has had on our ways of knowing and ways of practising. Through illustrating initiatives that operate within Maori paradigms and collaborations between Maori and non-Maori, the development of equitable relationships is explored. Key findings are the need for a more inclusive understanding of knowledge and research practice in order to reframe the way we (coloniser and colonised) look at and express our understandings of the world and how these might be operationalised through research relationships. Part of the contribution of this thesis is to provide a framework for more equitable research relationships, focusing on non- Maori development. This is suggested as a counter to the constant examination and defining of Maori as different and in need of development.

The threat of global climate change increasingly influences the actions of human society. As world leaders have negotiated adaptation strategies over the past couple of decades, a certain discourse has emerged that privileges Western conceptions of environmental degradation. I argue that this framing of climate change inhibits the successful implementation of adaptation strategies. This thesis focuses on a case study of the Maldives, an island nation deemed one of the most vulnerable locations to the impacts of rising sea levels. I apply a postcolonial theoretical framework to examine how differing knowledge systems can both complement and contradict one another. By analyzing government-enforced relocation policies in the Maldives, I find that points of contradiction between Western and indigenous environmental epistemologies can create opportunities to bridge the gap between isolated viewpoints and serve as moments to resist the dominant climate change discourse.

Food deserts are low-income areas lacking access to nutritious and affordable food. Such limited access has various implications for public health, particularly diet-related diseases such as diabetes. Among American Indian communities, diabetes is particularly rampant at nearly twice the rate of white populations in the U.S. On the Navajo Nation, diabetes incidence has been estimated to be as high as 1 in 3. According to the USDA, the majority of the Navajo Nation is considered a food desert. This paper utilizes food sovereignty as a lens for decolonization to identify the underlying causes of hunger and nutrition-related diseases within Diné communities. This paper will explore the histories of the change in the Diné diet and how colonial processes and the loss of traditional food systems affects current food and health patterns on the Navajo Nation. By expanding the scope of public health issues such as obesity and diabetes in Native American communities from food access and nutrition to power relations embedded in colonial structures that have resulted in the loss of indigenous sovereignty and power, I hope to pinpoint entry points for future indigenous researchers to develop and enact policies that will expand access to healthy and culturally significant foods on the Navajo Nation and contribute to efforts to restore food sovereignty of the Navajo Nation by rebuilding local food economies.

Following the Enlightenment, Western adherence to positivist theory influenced practices of Western research and documentation. Prior to the introduction of positivism into Western scholarship, innovations in printing technology, literary advancements, and the development of capitalism encouraged the passing of copyright statutes by nation-states in fifteenth century Europe. The evolution of copyright and positivism in Europe influenced United States copyright and its protection of the author, as well as the practice of archiving and its role in interpreting history. Because Native American cultures practiced orality, they suffered the loss of their traditional knowledge and cultural expressions not protected by copyright. By incorporating postmodern perspectives on archiving and poststructuralist views on the formation of knowledge, this thesis argues that Native American tribes now use Western forms of digital technology to create archives, record their histories, and reclaim control of their traditional cultural expressions.

In the arid landscapes of the southern Great Basin and northern Mojave Desert, issues surrounding water resource management are often politically contentious. Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) have known and managed these resources for thousands of years prior to Euro-American arrival in the region. A variety of factors, including federal policies that resulted in the creation of reservations and forced placement in boarding schools, as well as contemporary resource commodification, have influenced Nuwuvi knowledge and practice. In this thesis, I examined the character of Nuwuvi ethnohydrological knowledge, including management knowledge, of two protected areas: Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (SMNRA), managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Desert National Wildlife Refuge (DNWR), managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). In addition, I investigated perceptions of water health and restoration among participants from the two managing agencies and six Nuwuvi Nations. I addressed these topics using the theoretical framework of political ecology and a methodology that included semi-structured interviews and demographic questionnaires with 16 Nuwuvi knowledge holders and four federal agency participants. I conducted text analysis of partial interview transcripts using the inductive coding method in order to identify recurring themes and concepts related to hydrology, management, and restoration. My results illustrated that Nuwuvi ethnohydrological knowledge, which developed incrementally over time, conceptualized water as a sentient being that required human interaction to remain healthy. There was also evidence that Nuwuvi knowledge of water was changing as a result of political, economic, and social forces. Furthermore, these findings suggest that Nuwuvi and agency approaches to hydrological management and restoration were built upon differing epistemologies, though there was convergence among specific management and restoration techniques. Based on these results, a report of findings from the Nuwuvi Knowledge-to-Action project, including recommendations for collaborative stewardship approaches, was delivered to participants in August 2013.

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Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos
The selectivity concerning the access of indigenous students to Brazilian higher education have been due to the practices formed racially and the understanding of the political strategy of the education for the recognition of the otherness has appeased the definition of public policies of Affirmative Actions (AA) for groups historically considered subaltern. Affirmative action is often conceptualized as strategic mechanism when both racial tension and socio-economic inequality exist in order to counter the effects of a colonial history of discrimination and disadvantaging that has left huge silences and deformations in the historical narratives about indigenous people and their knowledge, philosophies, bodies and cultures. Therefore, we also can think about affirmative action in its epistemological dimension. A post-colonial reading of affirmative action policies in Brazilian universities focused on indigenous people provided the basis for our analysis. We argue that AA policies have a potential force to produce epistemological disruptions in university contexts. The goal of this research is both to analyze and to describe sociologically the experiences of indigenous students from different ethnic groups in the context of Affirmative Action Policies Program at Federal University of São Carlos. This study ends presenting discussions on how we can epistemologically rethink AA policies in Brazilian universities, especially regarding to indigenous people.
O presente trabalho debruça-se sobre a política de ação afirmativa para acesso ao ensino superior no Brasil, num cenário em que diferentes argumentos que a justifica se encontram e se tensionam. Numa perspectiva de analítica pós-colonial buscamos discutir a crescente presença dos povos indígenas nas universidades, tendo em vista que o pós-colonial constrói sua crítica ao modo como o conhecimento científico tem sido produzido e posto em circulação. Observamos que, no geral, as universidades públicas brasileiras operam em função de concepções e representações forjadas nas relações coloniais, de modo que em seus espaços, formas de produção, validação, aplicação e circulação de conhecimentos ainda são definidas a partir de uma matriz epistemológica ocidental, eurocentrada, racializada. Ao considerar o racismo inscrito nas matrizes das ciências e o fato de que houve e há hierarquização dos conhecimentos, a crítica póscolonial leva a cabo o exercício epistemológico de desfamiliarização das experiências antes racializadas e de desconstrução do vocabulário colonial a partir do qual elas têm sido nomeadas, conhecidas e inscritas nos imaginários. Nesse sentido, temos nos perguntado se as presenças indígenas podem provocar algum tipo de deslocamento (epistemológico, metodológico, cultural, político) no contexto da universidade. Mais especificamente, as presenças indígenas nas universidades podem constituir-se em possibilidade de deslocar o espaço-tempo dos signos, deslocar os contextos de significação? Podem constituir-se como possibilidade de produção de novos sentidos e de novos arranjos das diferenças? Tendem a provocar mudanças na própria institucionalização dos programas de ação afirmativa das universidades? A experiência em curso na Universidade Federal de São Carlos nos tem permitido conceber a política de ação afirmativa como estratégia que pode possibilitar deslocamentos nas representações acerca da diferença e, em alguma medida, levar a desarranjos epistemológicos.

The occupation of Moutoa Gardens in 1995 highlighted efforts by Whanganui iwi to draw attention to the non-settlement of long-standing land grievances arising out of land confiscations by the Crown in New Zealand in the 1860s. Maori attitudes to land have not been well understood by successive New Zealand governments since that time, nor by many Pakeha New Zealanders. In an effort to overcome that lack of understanding, this thesis studies a particular genre of Maori composition; namely, waiata tangi or songs of lament, which contain a strong indigenous sense of place component. The waiata used in this study derive from my tribal area of Taranaki, which is linked historically and through whakapapa with Whanganui iwi. These waiata were recorded in manuscript form in the 1890s by my great-grandfather Te Kahui Kararehe, and are a good source from which to draw conclusions about the traditional nature of Maori feelings for place. Two strands run throughout this thesis. The first examines the nature of Maori feelings for place and land, which have endured through primary socialisation to the present day. By focusing upon a form of expression that reveals the attachment of Maori towards their ancestral homelands, it is hoped that the largely monocultural Pakeha majority in New Zealand will be made aware of that attachment. It is also hoped that Pakeha may be suitably informed of the consequences of colonialist intervention in the affairs of the Maori people since 1840, which have resulted in cultural deprivation and material disadvantage at the present day. In the current climate of government moves to address the problems bequeathed them by their predecessors, it is important that the settlement of land claims and waterways under the Treaty of Waitangi should proceed unhindered by misapprehension and misinformation on the part of the public at large. The second strand of my thesis concerns the waiata texts themselves, which I wish to bring to the attention of the descendants of the composers of those waiata, who may or may not know of their existence. Since so much of value has been lost to the Maori world it is important that the culturally precious items that remain should be restored as soon as possible to those to whom they rightfully belong. Key themes examined in this thesis are the nature of Maori "feelings" for place and a "sense" of place; Maori research methodologies and considerations, including Maori cosmology and genealogical lines of descent; ethical concerns and intellectual property rights; ethnographic writings from the nineteenth century which tried to make sense of Maori imagery and habits of thought; the Kahui Papers from which the waiata were drawn; and the content and imagery of the waiata themselves. I also discuss the use of hermeneutics as a methodological device for unlocking the meanings of words and references in the waiata, and present the results both from a western sense of place perspective and a Maori viewpoint based on cultural concepts and understandings.

Customary land ownership, recording and registration are complex issues in the Solomon Islands. At present, 87% of the land is held under customary laws. Almost all (some 99%) of the land held under customary law is not surveyed, recorded or registered to the tribes. Customary land disputes have been inhibiting rural development initiatives, which is partly responsible for the ill-being of the people. The Family Tree Approach (FTA) is a process being used within the To'abaita region of the Malaita Province to help address problems in the dilemmas of land ownership, land disputes, land recording, land registration and rural development in land held under customary laws in To’abaita. The FTA is a blend of indigenous epistemology, modern practices and Christian principles. Indigenously, the tribes identify with their land by tracing their origins through genealogies, historical narrations, tribal epics and chants, shrines and properties. Rev. Michael Maelia’u, a Church Minister and a former Parliamentarian, promotes the FTA. The FTA has four pillars (principles) – recognition, reconciliation, recording and registration – which are covered within five sequential phases. For instance, recognition is done in phase one of the process, enabling all members of a tribe to recognize each other. Reconciliation is part of the process, promoting forgiveness and acceptance of tribal members. Recording is an important pillar of the FTA, as its role is to produce documents that will be accepted by the law. Research results show that land registration is also a pillar of the FTA; once customary land is registered to the tribes, land disputes will be resolved, thereby enabling sustainable rural development that improves the people’s well-being. The FTA, however, is currently not formally recognized in the country. It has been used by 12 of approximately 20 tribes within the To'abaita region. Some of the To'abaita tribes have not adopted the FTA for various reasons. The FTA has enabled the disintegrated generations to recognize or identify with one another. It enables public recognition of existing tribes, tribal genealogies, tribal tales, tribal epics, the tribal iii shrines, and the tribal land. Reconciliation has been carried out at both intertribal and intra-tribal levels. The FTA enables identification of people who are residing on land and utilizing resources they do not have a right to. It makes people aware of their roots or the land of their origin, which would then lead to reduced land disputes that constrained development initiatives and the well-being of the people. The results, however, indicated that the FTA has problems either in the approach itself or in its management. It is incapable of achieving its objectives (reducing land disputes, enable rural development, enable tribal land registration, and resettling land that was wrongly acquired). People have split perception of the FTA and the legislation; this therefore reduces potential motivation that is needed to advance the approach. Results of the research also indicated that no proper and serious documentation has been done, despite knowing that it is one of the pillars. In To'abaita, gender and culture are contributing issues, which cause difficulties to the FTA. Also, the FTA lacked financial support. Those that have experience with the FTA believe that the FTA objectives need to be made known to promote motivation to the illiterate people of To'abaita. Adequate communication of issues to improve the FTA is essential. Forming a committee that oversees the design and management of the FTA is necessary for its improvement, and adequate financial support will bring the FTA forward. Chief empowerment by the legislation is essential to enable the FTA to achieve its objectives in the future.

This study investigates how Yoruba migrants make meaning of Yoruba Indigenous knowledges in the African Diaspora, specifically within the geopolitical space of dominant Canadian culture. This research is informed by the lived experiences of 16 Africans of Yoruba descent now living in Toronto, Canada, and explores how these first and second generation migrants construct the spiritual and linguistic dimensions of Yoruba Indigenous identities in their everyday lives. While Canada is often imagined as a sanctuary for progressive politics, it nonetheless is also a hegemonic space where inequities continue to shape the social engagements of everyday life. Hence, this dissertation situates the historical and contemporary realities of colonialism and imperialism, by beginning with the premise that people in diasporic Yoruba communities are continuously affected by the complicated interplay of various forms of oppression such as racism, and inequities based on language, gender and religion. This study is situated within a socio–historical and cosmological context to effectively examine colonialism’s impact on Yoruba Indigenous knowledges. Yet, inversely, this study also involves discussion of how these knowledges are utilized as decolonizing tools of navigation, subversion and resistance. The central focus of this research is the articulation of colonial oppression and how it has reconfigured Yoruba Indigenous identities even within a purportedly ‘multicultural’ space. First, the historical dis/continuities of the Yoruba language in Yorubaland are investigated. This strand of the research considers British colonization, and more specifically, the Church Missionary Society’s (CMS) efforts at translating the Bible into Yoruba as pivotal in the colonial project. What kinds of categories does missionary education create that differ from pre-colonial categories of Yoruba Indigenous identity? How are these new identities shaped along lines of race and gender? In other words, what happens when Yoruba cosmology encounters colonialism? The second strand of this research investigates how these historical colonialisms have set the framework for enduring contemporary colonialisms that continue to fracture Yoruba Indigenous knowledges. This dissertation offers insights relevant to diversity and equitable pedagogy through careful consideration of the complicated strategies used by participants in their negotiations of Yoruba identities within a context of social inequity and colonialism.

Documented value of indigenous knowledge (IK) in the lives of communities raises the need to facilitate its accessibility. Public libraries in South Africa can play an important role in facilitating access to this knowledge by integrating it into their services. Apart from positively contributing to the quality of lives of indigenous communities, integration of IK would result in the provision of inclusive and transformed library services. The purpose of this study was to explore how public libraries in South Africa may integrate IK into their services. Located within the critical theory paradigm, a qualitative multiple-case study was conducted among four purposefully selected provincial library services in South Africa. Directors of the selected provincial library services were interviewed. Collection development policies of the selected libraries were also analysed to determine the extent of their alignment with the provision of IK. Atlas.ti. was used to analyse data thematically. Findings revealed that libraries have not integrated IK into their services. Furthermore, collection development policies were not aligned to the provision of IK. Factors contributing to non-integration of IK in public libraries included the perception that librarians did not seem to regard IK as within their purview but rather an aspect for archival institutions. Non- alignment of policies to IK integration, content that is not accessible to indigenous communities and dwindling funding for library services provision also emerged as contributory factors. It was concluded that the hegemony of western knowledge continued to marginalise IK, possibly contributing to its non-integration. A framework based on principles of community involvement, inclusivity, access and transformation was recommended for integrating IK into services of public libraries. It was recommended that public librarians, as stakeholders in the transformation of library services need to engage in the IK discourse in order to enhance their ability to provide inclusive services. The importance of involving communities in defining IK according to their contexts to enable meaningful integration into library services was highlighted. A need to expand the study to other provinces in South Africa to determine librarians’ understanding and views regarding integration of IK was identified.
Information Science
D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

Indigenous Knowledge (IK) is in danger of being obliterated due to a number of factors, such as the lack of interest from younger generations, low life expectancy where people die before transferring it to the next generation and it not being documented. This is due to the fact that IK, by its very nature, is generally known to have been passed on from generation to generation through oral tradition. This qualitative study utilised the organisational knowledge conversion theory to investigate the acquisition, transfer and preservation of IK by traditional healers in the Limpopo Province of South Africa with the view to develop a framework to provide understanding on how IK is acquired, transferred and preserved by traditional healers. The study adopted hermeneutic phenomenology research method and utilised snowball sampling technique to determine the population of this study which consisted of indigenous healers from the Limpopo Province. Data were collected through interviews with traditional healers, observations, as well as document analysis. Data were analysed and interpreted thematically according to the objectives of the study. The study revealed that knowledge of traditional healing is mainly acquired through observations, imitations, following orders and performing tasks practically. In addition to that, collaboration was highlighted as one of the driving forces behind effective transfer and acquisition of knowledge among healers. The major finding to this study was that ancestors are believed to be the ones preserving this knowledge of traditional healing and they pass it down to the chosen ones through dreams, visions and so on. The study concludes that traditional healers also preserved their knowledge orally and commonly shared and acquire knowledge during interactions with other healers. Furthermore, traditional healing is marginalised and not properly regulated in South Africa. It is recommended that key stakeholders should play an active role in ensuring that traditional healing is incorporated into the country’s healthcare system. This way traditional healing can help reduce a heavy burden on public health sector in terms of treating patients. A further study on integrating traditional healing into mainstream healthcare system in South Africa is recommended.
Information Science
D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

This thesis exposes the dichotomies and binaries that have characterised theoretical and political discourses in the provision of remote Indigenous education in Australia. The research finds that ideological tensions and over simplified notions of biculturalism in Indigenous affairs have dominated policy settings, resulting in compromised pedagogy at the classroom level. The research also finds that a structural disconnect exists in remote Indigenous education between schools, community and work at a local level. This disconnect is perpetuated by a failure of remote educational provision to develop pedagogic frameworks that are able to be inclusive of Indigenous knowledge and remote Indigenous development aspiration. The thesis demonstrates that remote Indigenous developments, and their associated employment roles, have specific pedagogic needs that cannot be met solely through generic pedagogy, nor can they be met through the provision of education based solely in ‘culturalism’. Rather, the research shows that there is a need for pedagogic frameworks that can cater for inherent tensions and complementarities in the transmission of knowledge. This is based in a notion that all knowledge is contested and, as such, it is the way that pedagogy is designed and which sets of knowledge are valued that ultimately decides what is learned. Towards this end, an analysis of the knowledge foundations of a remote Indigenous development is used to generate a model that can be used to assess educational and training requirements. Through detailed ethnographic and qualitative data, this thesis also provides an analysis of the social, physical and economic characteristics of one of the largest remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory, Maningrida in Western Arnhem Land. This is then used to develop a ‘pedagogic device’ that can link ‘place based pedagogy’ with generic pedagogy. Finding that ‘Country’ forms a basis for social organisation and knowledge transfer in the region, the thesis describes the development of a localised ‘Learning through Country’ program which uses land as a ‘pedagogic device’. The thesis then moves from ‘Learning through Country’ to development and employment in ‘working on Country’ and ‘caring for Country’ programs. This section of the thesis analyses the development of Indigenous land and sea management programs in the Northern Territory. It also details their place in remote employment, as well as a quantification of activity and a training history of a large Indigenous land and sea management program. Finally, the preceding research is combined with research on land and learning models of education in the NT to create an applied pedagogic framework that has the potential to provide space for Indigenous knowledge in learning, as well as mediating the dichotomies in pedagogic provision for remote Indigenous students. Ultimately, this framework has the ability to reconnect remote Indigenous education with local communities and work.

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
This research presents a grounded interrogation of students’ perceptions and experiences of teaching and learning in two mandatory stand-alone Critical Indigenous Australian Studies subjects at an Australian university. The study proffers rare empirical insight into the student experience of teaching and learning about colonialism, racism, whiteness and privilege. It contributes to building a better understanding of the complexities, opportunities, challenges and risks of four specific pedagogical approaches: critical anticolonialism, critical race theory, critical whiteness and intersectional privilege studies. The research was conducted by way of a critical ethnographic process involving in-depth interviews with students and teachers, focus group discussions with students and classroom observations. The research design was built on critical social constructionist foundations informed by poststructural and critical hermeneutical theoretical perspectives. The study produced two key findings. The first is that learning in Critical Indigenous Australian Studies is inherently affective. Affectivity plays a determinant role in the opportunities, challenges and risks of teaching about colonialism, racism, whiteness and privilege. This finding signposts the need to take into serious consideration the emotionally onerous task of teaching and learning in Critical Indigenous Australian Studies and the need for compassionate pedagogical approaches and strategies that can productively navigate and manage affectivity. The second key finding is that if Critical Indigenous Australian Studies is to inspire and motivate students to act for social justice and social change, teaching and learning must focus equally on both the ‘know-what’ and the ‘know-how’. Knowing what the urgent matters are without the cultivation of practical skills to engage in social change action falls short of meeting teaching and learning objectives. A dedicated and substantive focus on cultivating practical social change skills such as discursive counter-narrative skills is a pedagogical pathway toward empowering, inspiring and motivating students to act for social change.

In Resurrection Flowers and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge Kaden C. Milliren seeks to evaluate and analyze differences in perspectives and perceptions of the environment between Western and Indigenous worldviews and, consequentially, the different attitudes and ways-ofbeing with the world that emerge as a result. In so doing, Milliren discusses the sacredness of local landscape for Indigenous peoples and the role its spiritually-significant elements impact an entire cosmology. These important elements of sacred local ecologies are socially, materially, and symbolically rhetorical, ascribing meaning onto all elements of worldview from faith to ceremony, oratory to cultural tradition, physical sustenance to ancestral connection. In feedback and feedforward loops, these aspects of cosmology continue to ascribe meaning onto one another, affecting and being affected by each other, continually weaving together meaning and, therefore, rhetorical mattering.

This thesis reports on the outcome of a Kanaka Maoli culture based teacher education class initiated as a research project through the University of Hawaii in the summer of 2004. With the aim to identify and engage pedagogical and curricular approaches derived from the cultural perspectives, values and aspirations of Kanaka Maoli people, this experimental class utilized image making as the principle basis for investigation and the representation of knowledge from a Kanaka Maoli perspective. This research project set out to actively engage Kanaka Maoli approaches to teaching and knowledge construction so as to describe a viable alternative to National and State mandated education practices in Art Education which have historically overlooked and marginalized indigenous knowledge through the school curriculum in Hawai'i.(Benham & Heck, 1998) Limaloa's Kauhale, an educational model grounded in a Kanaka Maoli cultural metaphor, was developed and applied through this research project as a way of offering students the chance to learn within an educational setting where Kanaka Maoli knowledge, ways of knowing and ways of expressing that knowledge was prioritized as the principle medium of investigation. The results of student work - images and written journal responses - were examined as a part of this research to identify the principle effects and understandings students identified as the effect of working through the Kanaka Maoli educational setting. The complete work of this thesis identifies from the experiences of students working through the Kauhale Metaphor a set of learning outcomes that arise out of a Kanaka Maoli culture based approach for education through image making.

Abstract in English, Swati and Ndebele
This single descriptive case study explored the integration of indigenous graphics knowledge and skills into the Technology curriculum of a school in the Ehlanzeni District of the Mpumalanga Province with a Grade 9 Technology teacher and the learners. The integration of indigenous knowledge and skills can help promote Grade 9 learners’ understanding of graphic design, which forms part of the content taught in Technology Education. The graphics knowledge and skills existent in the indigenous contexts from which most of learners come can make the learning of graphic design relevant and more understandable to learners. Hence, there was a need to research this issue. One Grade 9 Technology teacher was purposively selected for an interview and observed while teaching the class. Seven learners from this teacher’s class were also selected to be interviewed. The data analysed in the present study were obtained from the teacher and seven learners. The constructivist theory of learning framed this study. The findings revealed that, although the teacher had some understanding of technology, (i) she battled with the concept of indigenous knowledge; (ii) she was unaware that indigenous knowledge is even mentioned in the subject’s Curriculum, Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS); and, (iii) her limited understanding of the concept of indigenous knowledge meant that she did not to know how she could integrate indigenous knowledge into the teaching of graphic design. She also did not capitalise on indigenous knowledge as a resource in a resource-hungry teaching environment that she faced. While she acknowledged the importance of the learners’ culture, she did not take full advantage thereof in her teaching. Her adoption of demonstration as her predominant teaching approach provided an opportunity for integrating indigenous knowledge and skills but, again, she did not capitalise on that opportunity fully. This study can help transform the teaching of Technology by ensuring the integration of indigenous knowledge into the teaching of graphic design, a much-needed approach to education in the (South) African context.
Lesifundvo sinye, lesichazako sihlola kufakwa kwelwati lwebuchwepheshe nemakhono eluhlelwenitifundvo Lwebuchwepheshe esikolweni seSigodzi saseNhlanzeni eSifundzeni saseMpumalanga. Kuloku, thishela nemfundzi wesifundvo sebuchwepheshe welibanga 9 babe nencenye kulesifundvo lesifuna kubona kutsi kufakwa kwelwati lwendzabuko nemakhono kungatfutfukisa kuvisisa kwemfundzi likhono lekuhlanganisa titfombe nemfanekiso, lokuyincenye yengcikitsi lefundziswa eSifundvweni seBuchwepheshe Technology teacher and learners participated in a study seeking to determine how the integration of indigenous knowledge and skills can help to promote learners’ understanding of graphic design, which forms part of the content taught in Technology Education. Lwati lwebuchwepheshe nemakhono losekuvele kukhona encenyeni yendzabuko leyo linyenti lebafundzi lebeta, baphindza bayisebentisa lokwenta kufundza ngemakhona etitfombe nemifanekiso kwekubili kufaneleke kuphindze kuvisiseke kakhulu. Ngenca yalesizatfu, thishela munye wesifundvo seBuchwepheshe weLibanga 9 wakhetfwa ngenhloso kute ahlolwe ngemibuto, aphindze acashelwe lapho afundzisa. Bafundzi labaSikhombisa kuleliklasi lalothishela bakhetfwa kute bahlolwe ngemibuto, lokwatsi emva kwaloko ledatha yahlatiywa. Ngekusebentisa ithiyori yemcambititayela yekufundza kute kwetiwe luhlaka lwalesifundvo, lokutfoliwe kuveta kutsi, nakuba thishela anekuvisisa lokutsite ngebuchwepheshe, (i) unebumatima ngemcondvo welwati lwendzabuko; (ii) bekangati nekutsi lwati lwendzabuko kukhulunywa ngalo esifundvweni seCurriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS); nekutsi (iii) lwati lwakhe lolulinganiselwe ngemcodvo welwati lwendzabuko kusho kutsi akakwati kukufaka lapho afundzisa likhono lekuhlanganisa titfombe nemifanekiso. Amange asebentise lwati lwendzabuko kutsi lumsite njengemtfombo wesimondzawo sekulambela kufundzisa lebekabukene naso. Nakuba akuvuma kubaluleka kwemasiko ebafundzi bakhe, amange akusebentise kutsi kumsite ekufundziseni kwakhe. Kusebentisa kufanekisa njengendlela legcame kakhulu ekufundziseni kwakhe kumnike litfuba lekufaka lwati lwendzabuko nemakhono, kodvwa, futsi, amange akusebentise kute kumsite. Lokutfolwe kulesifundvo kungasita ekushintjeni kufundzisa sifundvo seBuchwepheshe, ngekuciniseka kutsi kufakwa lwati lwendzabuko ekufundziseni emakhono ekuhlanganisa titfombe nemifanekiso – lokuyintfo ledzingeka kakhulu emfundvweni nemcodvo we (Ningizimu) ne-Afrika.
Leli rhubhululo elilodwa elihlathululako elisasibonelo beliphenya ngokuhlanganiswa kwelwazi kanye namakghonofundwa wendabuko asagrafu kukharikhyulamu yeThekinoloji yesikolo esisesiPhandeni seHlanzeni esiFundeni seMpumalanga. Ukufika lapha. utitjhere wakwaGreyidi 9 kanye nabafundi bazibandakanye kurhubhululo elifuna ukuthola ukobana ukuhlanganiswa kwelwazi namakghonofundwa kungasiza bunjani ekuthuthukiseni ilwazi labafundi malungana nokudizayinwa kwamagrafiki (graphic design), okuyinto eyingcenye yommongo ofundiswa eFundweni yeThekonoloji. Ilwazi kanye namakghonofundwa wegrafiki sele akhona ngaphakathi kobujamo bendabuko, kukulapho abafundi abanengi beza khona, kanti bangasebenza ukobana benze ukufundwa kwedizayini yegrafiki ukobana kukhambisane neendingo zabafundi begodu kuzwisiseke. Yeke-ke ngalesi sizathu, utitjhere munye wakwa Greyidi 9 weThekinoloji wakhethwa ngehloso ukobana abuzwe ngehlolombono, ngemva kwalokho idatha yoke yahlathululwa. Ngokulandela ithiyori i-constructivist theory yokufunda ngokwesakhiwo serhubhululo leli, okutholakeleko kwaveza ukobana, nanyana utitjhere bekanelwazi lethekinoloji, y, (i) bekakalukana nokuzwisisa amagama amalungana nelwazi lendabuko; (ii) bekangakatjheji ukobana ilwazi lendabuko khelavezwa kuSitatimende soMthethomgomo seKharikhyulamu yezokuHlola (Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS)) yesifundo; begodu (iii) ukuzwisisa kwakhe kancani igama lelwazi lendabuko bekutjho ukobana bekangazi ukobana ilwazi leli bekangalihlanganisa bunjani nokufundisa ukudizayinwa kwegrafiki. Njengombana wabuka ukuqakatheka kwesikopilo labafundi, akhange asebenzise ngokuzeleko ithuba eliveleko lokha nakafundisako. Ukulandela kwakhe indlela yokufundisa ngokukhombisa njengendlela ejayelekileko yokufundisa kulethe ithuba lokuhlanganisa ilwazi kanye namakghonofundwa wendabuko, kanti, begodu, akhange abambelele kilokho. Okutholakeleko kileli rhubhululo kungasiza ukutjhugulula ukufundiswa kweThekinoloji, ngokuqinisekisa ukuhlanganiswa kwelwazi lendabuko ngokudizayinwa kwegrafiki – okuyindlela edingeka khulu efundweni ngaphasi kobujamo beSewula Afrika.
Curriculum and Instructional Studies
M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

The research study focused on the integrating of indigenous African knowledge systems in teaching and learning at the Catholic University of Zimbabwe. The curriculum of the Catholic University of Zimbabwe offers a number of degree courses. The study sets out to address the problem with the curriculum of the Catholic University of Zimbabwe, namely, that it is to a large extent dominated by Western knowledge and gives little priority to indigenous African knowledge systems. The majority of the courses offered at the CUZ are Eurocentric in nature and give little regard to the indigenous African knowledge systems. The study was undergirded by the Afrocentric theory which focuses on giving the African world view in terms of knowledge. The research study was informed by the constructivist paradigm which focuses on how individuals analyse and construct meanings of social situations. The research approach is qualitative in nature that means it is based on social interpretation and not numerical analysis of data. The data in the study was generated through face-to-face interviews, focus group discussion and document analysis. The data was presented under different themes. The study found out that they are few courses in the CUZ curriculum which include IAKS. Most of the knowledge and theories in the courses offered at the Catholic University of Zimbabwe curriculum are Western oriented. The knowledge in most of the courses is reminiscent of the colonial education system and gives no regard to indigenous African knowledge systems. The recommendation is for the inclusion of indigenous African Knowledge systems in the CUZ curriculum.
Educational Foundations
D. Ed. (Philosophy of Education)

abstract: In this dissertation, I focus on a subset of Native American theatre, one that concentrates on peoples of mixed heritages and the place(s) between worlds that they inhabit. As it is an emergent field of research, one goal of this project is to illuminate its range and depth through an examination of three specific points of focus - plays by Elvira and Hortencia Colorado (Chichimec Otomí/México/US), who create theatre together; Diane Glancy (Cherokee/US); and Marie Clements (Métis/Canada). These plays explore some of the possibilities of (hi)story, culture, and language within the theatrical realm across Turtle Island (North America). I believe the playwrights' positionalities in the liminal space between Native and non-Native realms afford these playwrights a unique ability to facilitate cross-cultural dialogues through recentering Native stories and methodologies. I examine the theatrical works of this select group of mixed heritage playwrights, while focusing on how they open up dialogue(s) between cultures, the larger cultural discourses with which they engage, and their innovations in creating these dialogues. While each playwright features specific mixed heritage characters in certain plays, the focus is generally on the subject matter - themes central to current Native and mixed heritage daily realities. I concentrate on where they engage in cross-cultural discourses and innovations; while there are some common themes across the dissertation, the specific points of analysis are exclusive to each chapter. I employ an interdisciplinary approach, which includes theories from theatre and performance studies, indigenous knowledge systems, comparative literary studies, rhetoric, and cultural studies.
Dissertation/Thesis
Ph.D. Theatre 2011

In the past, the indigenous knowledge of soils of small-scale farmers in South Africa has been largely ignored in scientific research. Hence the use of scientific approaches to land evaluation has often failed to improve land use in rural areas where understanding of the prescriptive scientific logic is lacking. Despite this, it is clear that local people and smallscale farmers have knowledge of their lands based on soil and land characteristics that remain largely unknown to the scientific community. It is therefore important for researchers to understand farmers’ knowledge of soil classification and management. To address this issue, a study was conducted in the uMbumbulu area of KwaZulu-Natal to investigate the use of indigenous knowledge as well as farmers’ perceptions and assessments of soil fertility. A preliminary questionnaire was designed to explore indigenous knowledge in a group interview that was conducted prior to the study. Another questionnaire was used to elicit indigenous knowledge from 59 randomly chosen homesteads representative of the population of Ezigeni and Ogagwini villages. Six homesteads were chosen for further detailed information on the cropping history, knowledge specific to the cultivated lands, detailed soil description and fertility. Soil samples were taken from these homesteads under different land uses (taro, fallow, veld and vegetable) at 0-30 and 30-60 cm depth for laboratory analysis. This was done to determine the effect of land use on soil physical and chemical properties and soil microbial activity. For scientific evaluation a general purpose free soil survey was conducted to produce land capability and suitability maps. Farmers identified ten soil types using soil morphological characteristics, mainly soil colour and texture. These soil properties were also used in the farmers’ land suitability assessment. In addition, slope position, natural vegetation and village location were used to indicate land suitability. The amount of topsoil was also used in land evaluation. However, slope position was considered the most important factor as it affects the pattern of soils and hence their suitability. Soils on the footslope were considered more suitable for crops than those found on the midslope and upslope. The yield difference observed between villages, which were higher in Ogagwini than Ezigeni, was also used as a criterion for evaluation. Farmers attributed these yield differences for various crops to the effect of soil type on productivity. In support, scientific evaluation found that Ezigeni village had a number of soils with a heavy textured, pedocutanic B horizon and hence a relatively shallow effective rooting depth. Moreover, the Ezigeni village land suitability was limited in places by poor drainage and stoniness. These limitations were rarely found for the Ogagwini village soils. Farmers had a total of six comprehensive and well defined soil fertility indicators, namely crop yield, crop appearance, natural vegetation, soil texture, soil colour and presence of mesofauna. Results showed that farmers’ fertility perceptions are more holistic than those of researchers. However, despite this, their assessment correlated with soil analysis. There was a close relationship between scientific and indigenous suitability evaluation for three commonly cultivated crops (taro, maize and dry beans). This was further substantiated by yield measurements which were significantly higher for Ogagwini as rated by both farmers and scientific evaluation as the more suitable. The significant agreements between the scientific and indigenous approaches imply that there are fundamental similarities between them. Recognizing this and subsequently integrating the two approaches will produce land use plans relevant and profitable for both small-scale farmers and scientists.
Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

abstract: This dissertation explores complex representations of spiritual, social and cultural ways of knowing embedded within engraved ivory drill bows from the Bering Strait. During the nineteenth century, multi-faceted ivory drill bows formed an ideal surface on which to recount life events and indigenous epistemologies reflective of distinct environmental and socio-cultural relationships. Carvers added motifs over time and the presence of multiple hands suggests a passing down of these objects as a form of familial history and cultural patrimony. Explorers, traders and field collectors to the Bering Strait eagerly acquired engraved drill bows as aesthetic manifestations of Arctic mores but recorded few details about the carvings resulting in a disconnect between the objects and their multi-layered stories. However, continued practices of ivory carving and storytelling within Bering Strait communities holds potential for engraved drill bows to animate oral histories and foster discourse between researchers and communities. Thus, this collaborative project integrates stylistic analyses and ethno-historical accounts on drill bows with knowledge shared by Alaska Native community members and is based on the understanding that oral narratives can bring life and meaning to objects within museum collections.
Dissertation/Thesis
Ph.D. Art 2013

abstract: This dissertation explores how historical changes in education shaped Diné collective identity and community by examining the interconnections between Navajo students, their people, and Diné Bikéyah (Navajo lands). Farina King investigates the ongoing influence of various schools as colonial institutions among the Navajo from the 1930s to 1990 in the southwestern United States. The question that guides this research is how institutional schools, whether far, near, or on the reservation, affected Navajo students’ sense of home and relationships with their Indigenous community during the twentieth century. The study relies on a Diné historical framework that centers on a Navajo mapping of the world and earth memory compass. The four directions of their sacred mountains orient the Diné towards hózhǫ́, the ideal of society, a desirable state of being that most translate as beauty, harmony, or happiness. Their sacred mountains mark Diné Bikéyah and provide an earth memory compass in Navajo life journeys that direct them from East, to South, to West, and to North. These four directions and the symbols associated with them guide this overarching narrative of Navajo educational experiences from the beginning of Diné learning in their home communities, to the adolescent stages of their institutionalized schooling, to the recent maturity of hybrid Navajo-American educational systems. After addressing the Diné ancestral teachings of the East, King focuses on the student experiences of interwar Crownpoint Boarding School to the South, the postwar Tuba City Boarding School and Leupp Boarding School to the West, and self-determination in Monument Valley to the North. This study primarily analyzes oral histories and cultural historical methodologies to feature Diné perspectives, which reveal how the land and the mountains serve as focal points of Navajo worldviews. The land defines Diné identity, although many Navajos have adapted to different life pathways. Therefore, land, environment, and nature constituted integral parts and embeddedness of Diné knowledge and epistemology that external educational systems, such as federal schools, failed to overcome in the twentieth century.
Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation History 2016

This study was undertaken to explore the indigenous religious identities of African adolescents in selected secondary schools in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The empirical investigation used a qualitative, phenomenological collective case study design. The framework for the study was provided by constructivist theory and African indigenous knowledge and was justified by an extensive literature study. Purposive sampling was used to select forty-two learners from Grades 8 to 11, thirty- three of whom were from African initiated churches, eight belonged to various Christian denominations and one was an atheist. The most significant finding was that the indigenous religious identities of adolescents are not adequately accommodated and supported in South African secondary schools. Accordingly, recommendations were made for affirming adolescents’ indigenous religious identities in the implementation of RE in the classroom.
Lolu cwaningo lwenziwa ngenhloso yokuhlaziya nokuhlolisisa izimo nezici zobunjalo bentsha empisholo esesigabeni sokuthomba (adolescents) elandela izinkolo zomdabu noma zendabuko efunda ezikoleni ezingamasekhondari ezikhethiweyo esifundazweni saseMpumalanga, eNingizimu Afrika. Lolu cwaningo obelugxile ezintweni eziphathekayo nezibonakalayo lwasebenzisa idizayini yocwaningo lwezigameko ekhwalithethivu ebhekisisa isigameko ngasinye ngenhloso yokuhlaziya izimo kanye nezinto ezinokufana okuthile phakathi kweqoqwana lwezigameko ezimbadlwana (phenomenological collective case study design). Uhlaka locwaningo kwahlinzekwa yitiyori egxile ekutheni abantu bakha ulwazi kanye nokuqonda kwabo ngokususela ezimweni abadlule kuzona futhi abahlangabezane nazo ezimpilweni zabo (constructivist theory) kanye nolwazi lwendabuko lwase-Afrika, futhi lokhu kwasekelwa kwaphinde kwafakazelwa ngohlaziyo olubanzi lwemibhalo ephathelene nezihloko ezihlobene nalokhu. Kwasetshenziswa indlela yokukhetha ababambiqhaza ngokubheka izimo nezici zabo kanye nezinhloso zocwaningo (purposive sampling) futhi ngaleyo ndlela kwaqokwa abafundi abangama-42 abafunda iBanga lesi-8 kuya kwele-11; futhi abangama-33 kulaba bafundi ngabalandeli bamabandla endabuko ase-Afrika, kanti abayisishiyagalombili bebevela emabandleni obuKhrestu ahlukahlukene, futhi bekunomfundi oyedwa ongumhedeni (ongakholelwa kuNkulunkulu). Umphumela osemqoka kakhulu owatholwa ocwaningweni wukuthi azibhekelelwa futhi azisekelwa ngokwanele nangokugculisayo izimo nezici zobunjalo bentsha esesigabeni sokuthomba elandela izinkolo zendabuko efunda ezikoleni ezingamasekhondari eNingizimu Afrika. Ngenxa yalokho-ke kwenziwa izincomo zokuthi kumele zibhekelelwe izimo nezici zobunjalo bentsha esesigabeni sokuthomba elandela izinkolo zomdabu ekufundisweni kwesifundo sezenkolo (RE) ekilasini.
Psychology of Education
M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Content removed due to copyright restriction: Nixon, M. (2001). What are the potential benefits of eel consumption for Maori health? Te Taarere aa Tawhaki 1, 132-135.
This ground breaking doctoral thesis brings together science, history and the values derived from lore and tikanga to address a significant health issue for contemporary Maaori. The specific contribution of this research thesis is the combination of knowledge bases from two perspectives. The thesis first presents a scientific view, then a Maaori view, discovered through an interface of customary and contemporary knowledge. The method first examines Western academic theoretical methodologies, then, Kaupapa Maaori methodologies, then introduces and develops the concept of inherited knowledge supported by the mandatory Standards required in an academic context. Therefore the major findings present the syntheses of the two approaches. The framework used is reproducible through an accepted or approved example of something against which others are judged or measured. At this point the thesis explores the theoretical framework for a health intervention by surveying whether it is possible to combine knowledge traditions in a contemporary setting. Thus the accessed inherited traditional and scientific knowledge discovered in this thesis has been adapted for the nine point health intervention designed for Maaori participation. This thesis hypothesises that the staple long finned eel diet contained the essential fatty acid omega-3 and is presented as a metaphor for Hauora, thus being consistent with modern scientific knowledge where the scientific findings presented. The long finned eel was chemically assayed for the presence of the unsaturated essential fatty acid omega-3, and assayed again to assess the stability and quality of fresh and smoked eel. Type II diabetes mellitus is offered as a story and why it has suddenly occurred in Maaori subsequent to urban migration and thereafter. In addition a ten year study of Waikato hapuu supports the research that regular consumption of the long finned eel prevents Type II diabetes. And that prior to urban migration holistic practice, through established lifestyle choices and inherited knowledge, provided nutritional, other physiological benefits and broader wellness outcomes. The double vowel has been used for all te reo Maaori words in the thesis because that is the kawa or protocol of the Tainui Kiingitanga.

Based on the lessons learned from the participating communities, the findings of this study confirm that the Tanzanian Government's aspirations for developing Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) policies and programmes that build on the strengths of indigenous child-rearing knowledge and practices are not only viable but achievable. What is required is a serious commitment from government to negotiated policy and programme development processes starting with families and communities. As indicated by the study community members, rural families and communities are eager to work together with government as equal partners in finding local solutions to improving the quality of care and early education of their young children in home and community settings as well as through the local services of clinics and schools.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Information and Communications Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016.
Existing literature indicates that the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKSs) in the school curriculum have the potential to increase academic performance. However, formal education is still unable to integrate ICTs into the teaching and learning of school subjects, especially, those that are related to IKSs. This research therefore aims to construct a model of the factors shaping learners’ perceptions on the usefulness of ICTs for the teaching and learning of IKSs. This aim is sub-divided into four research objectives: (a) to identify appropriate technology diffusion theories for the investigation of the factors shaping learners’ perceptions on the usefulness of ICTs for the teaching and learning of IKSs, (b) to construct a theoretical model of the factors shaping learners’ perceptions on the usefulness of ICTs for the teaching and learning of IKSs, (c) to perform an empirical confirmation of the above announced theoretical model of the factors shaping the perceptions of learners on the usefulness of ICTs for the teaching and learning of IKSs, and (d) to suggest new ideas for future research on learners’ perceptions on the usefulness of ICTs for the teaching and learning of IKSs. A review of existing literature on eLearning adoption by students and learners was conducted in order to achieve objectives a, b, and d. As for objective c, it was achieved through the survey of 115 Hospitality studies learners from the ILembe and UMgungundlovu municipality districts in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province of South Africa. The study’s findings can be summarized as follows: (a) The Technology Adoption Model (TAM) is the backbone of the model designed by this study on the factors affecting learners’ perceptions of the usefulness of ICTs for the teaching and learning of IKSs; (b) Learners’ perceived usefulness of ICTs is hypothetically affected by the following factors: demographics, computer self-efficacy, trust in ICTs, and level of conscientiousness, (c) All these factors were empirically confirmed through a survey conducted by the current study, except that the only validated demographics were : school location, cell phone access, class grade and preferred subject; (d) This research recommends further investigation on the factors affecting learners’ perceived usefulness of ICTs for the teaching and learning of IKSs, mainly because of the insufficient literature on this subject.
M

The drinking water contamination tragedy in Walkerton, Ontario during the spring of 2000 led to many changes in water management for the province. Among these changes has been the increased use of the multiple barrier approach (MBA) to safe drinking water as the basis of water management for communities throughout Ontario. The MBA is also used in the management of water for First Nations communities throughout Ontario and Canada. Literature on water quality management for First Nations suggests that despite these changes, many communities continue to face challenges for ensuring the safety and quality of their drinking water supplies. Fort William First Nation, Gull Bay First Nation, and Mattagami First Nation, were selected for this study in order to investigate the use of the MBA in these communities. Data was collected using key informant interviews with representatives of institutions that affect water management for the case study communities, direct observations during visits to two of the communities and attendance at a First Nations water policy forum, and through a review of recent reports and publications on safe drinking water for First Nations. The research has provided insight into the challenges that the case study communities face for ensuring safe drinking water under the MBA, as well as opportunities that exist to address those challenges. The findings suggest that the MBA currently does not meet the unique needs of some First Nations communities. They also suggest that specific adaptations of existing water management strategies to the MBA framework may lead to a more effective approach to ensure safe drinking water for First Nations communities. This thesis focuses on several key ways to make these changes: Strengthen public involvement and awareness; Introduce effective legislative and policy frameworks; Encourage research, science and technology for First Nations’ water management; Allocate sufficient financial resources to First Nations to recruit, train and retain qualified water managers and maintain drinking water infrastructure, and; Increase efforts to ensure that water management goals are supported by local and indigenous traditional knowledge, beliefs and perspectives.