Linking Indigenous Peoples’ Knowledge and Western Science in Natural Resource Management (paper)

“This two-day event, held in March 2001, brought together 110 people to talk about both the  practical and theoretical aspects of linking Indigenous Peoples’ Knowledge (IPK) and Western science in natural resource management. Participants were from both native and non-native communities, and represented Indigenous knowledge keepers, scientists, resource managers, elders, and academics. The conference consisted of observing cultural protocol, presentations from diverse perspectives, structured workshops, and informal discussions.”

In 2001, this conference took place near the Shuswap. Many different people attended the conference, from environmentalists, policy makers, people working in resource management sectors, Indigenous experts, etc. The conference seeked to find out more about IPK and how it can be applied to resource management in BC. This document will help guide me in writing my final paper, especially with discussing how TEK/IPK is different from western science. For instance, Henry Michael speaks about the challenges to this conference in his opening introduction,

“I realize that there are risks involved in linking IPK to Western science. For example, there has not been a lot of trust built between Indigenous people and the natural resources sector. Researchers, policy developers, and government and industry personnel have historically been lumped together as being opposed to or exploiting Indigenous people and threatening their traditional land use rights. Risks are particularly great for Indigenous organizations that have sought to participate in integration activities and have to justify their work to their suspicious Elders”.

Another worthy quote from the introduction is this:

“Indigenous participants pointed out another risk during the conference discussion table sessions: the scientific community’s misunderstanding of how IPK fits in a Western scientific paradigm. People acknowledge the danger in seeing IPK as the same as Western science, and likewise, Western science is not IPK. This misunderstanding occurs when Indigenous intellectual property is treated as a commodity, another bit of knowledge that becomes part of a larger scientific database.”