Devil’s Claw Proboscidia parviflora Family: Martyniaceae Cultivated for basket materials by Tohono O’odam in Arizona PoD

Indigenous Knowledge

Terms and abbreviations …as contrasted with Western Knowledge Western Scientific Knowledge Global Knowledge IKIndigenous Knowledge ISKIndigenous Scientific Knowledge TKTraditional Knowledge TEKTraditional Ecological Knowledge LEKLocal Ecological Knowledge EKEcological Knowledge TSKTraditional Scientific Knowledge Rural Peoples’ or Farmers’ Knowledge Every one of these terms has problems.

What is Indigenous Knowledge? Indigenous knowledge (IK) is the local knowledge - knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society. IK contrasts with the international knowledge system generated by universities, research institutions and private firms. It is the basis for local-level decision making in agriculture, health care, food preparation, education, natural-resource management, and a host of other activities in rural communities. (Warren 1991) Indigenous Knowledge is (…) the information base for a society, which facilitates communication and decision- making. Indigenous information systems are dynamic, and are continually influenced by internal creativity and experimentation as well as by contact with external systems. (Flavier et al. 1995: 479) Both definitions quoted at

Why study IK, TEK, LEK? Some of IK may be useful for global knowledge (e.g., medicinal plants, ecological relationships, resource management) Effective communication between conservationists and local people (e.g., Tzeltal forest conceptions studied by Casagrande 2004) Relationship to participatory research and collaborative plant breeding (consult community about goals of project & they carry out some of research). Hypotheses for further study in “scientific” research (e.g., oca use- categories turn out to have biological basis)

Possible collaboration in species re-introduction plans?

Variation in knowledge among members of a community Knowledge may vary according to gender roles age (youth or elders) specialists (e.g., healers) less formal education (vs. more schooling) monolingual (vs. bilingual) participation in market economy (vs. subsistence only)

Variation in knowledge among members of a community Knowledge may vary according to age, but relationship is not necessarily linear (Zent, 2001).

Variation in knowledge among members of a community Knowledge may vary according to level of formal schooling and bilingual ability, but relationship is not necessarily linear, and correlation may be negative (Zent, 2001).

How is knowledge transmitted to younger generations? “(1) From parents (vertical); (2) From age peers (horizontal); (3) from older generations (oblique).” Results among Tsimané in Bolivian Amazon (642 adults in 13 villages) Strongest association was with parents and especially others of older generation (oblique transmission). REYES-GARCIA, et al Cultural transmission of ethnobotanical knowledge and skills: an empirical analysis from an Amerindian society. Evolution and Human Behavior 30:

How is knowledge transmitted to younger generations? REYES-GARCIA, et al Cultural transmission of ethnobotanical knowledge and skills: an empirical analysis from an Amerindian society. Evolution and Human Behavior 30:

Is traditional/indigenous/local knowledge being lost? Often assumed some studies show loss, others show surprising levels of retention often depends on how “knowledge” is measured Loss of languages worldwide  knowledge encoded in specific languages How do you measure how “modernized” or “linked to markets” a community is? See Benz et al “Losing knowledge about plant use…” optional paper for more information

Is traditional/indigenous/local knowledge being lost? Zarger and Stepp 2004 – Persistence of Botanical Knowledge among Tzeltal Maya Children – repeated plant identification assessment in 1999 that had been done previously in 1968