# data[].attributes.headline
"Interfacing indigenous knowledge and climate change education" by Pasang Dolma Sherpa

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"Interfacing indigenous knowledge and climate change education" by Pasang Dolma Sherpa

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This article examines climate change education in Nepal, specifically through the narrative lens of the experiences of three schoolteachers in the Lamjung District.

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Abstract

Read online

This paper is part of my PhD thesis. In this study, using the narrative inquiry methodology, lived experiences of schoolteachers who have been teaching the topics of climate change were collected mainly through interviews in Lamjung District. This paper reflects how teachers have been teaching climate change education and how they have been balancing indigenous knowledge to deal with climate change concerns. Generally teachers have been following implemented and experienced school curricula and accumulating the factual knowledge of climate change science, which has often been linked with the empirical interest of Habermas, especially, with his theory of knowledge and human interest in education. However, the stories of six schoolteachers were not limited to what they have been teaching but also how they have been teaching, how they have been linking environmental concerns with the indigenous knowledge and cultural practices that have been contributing to sustainable management of the natural resources and climate change resilience. Thus the stories of the teachers were also analysed through Habermas's practical and emancipatory interests and indigenous worldviews by reflecting on my own stories while working on the theme of climate change and indigenous peoples at community, national and global levels since 2009.

Keywords

Published in Journal of Education and Research

ISSN

2091-0118 (Print)

2091-2560 (Online)

Publisher

Kathmandu University

Country of publisher

Nepal

LCC subjects

Education: Education (General)

Website

http://kusoed.edu.np/journal

About the journal

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Read online This paper is part of my PhD thesis. In this study, using the narrative inquiry methodology, lived experiences of schoolteachers who have been teaching the topics of climate change were collected mainly through interviews in Lamjung District.

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"Indigenous, post-colonial, and decolonizing perspectives on place and environmental education research" by Eve Tuck, Marcia McKenzie, & Kate McCoy

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"Indigenous, post-colonial, and decolonizing perspectives on place and environmental education research" by Eve Tuck, Marcia McKenzie, & Kate McCoy

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In this introductory chapter of a journal issue on land education, Tuck, McKenzie, & McCoy give an overview of differing practices of education related to land, including its engagement with settler colonialism and Indigenous agency and thought, as well as provide summaries of each of the nine articles in the issue.

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This editorial introduces a special issue of Environmental Education Research titled 'Land education: Indigenous, post-colonial, and decolonizing perspectives on place and environmental education research.' The editorial begins with an overview of each of the nine articles in the issue and their contributions to land and environmental education, before outlining features of land education in more detail. 'Key considerations' of land education are discussed, including: Land and settler colonialism, Land and Indigenous cosmologies, Land and Indigenous agency and resistance, and The significance of naming. The editorial engages the question 'Why land education?' by drawing distinctions between land education and current forms of place-based education. It closes with a discussion of modes and methods of land education research.

Acknowledgment

We extend our deeply felt thanks to Alan Reid and Claire Drake, to the editorial board, to all of the participating authors, to all of our reviewers, to all of those who spread word about this special issue, and to all of those who have taught us that it's about the land, it's about the land, it's about the land.

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indigenous perspectives on land and place

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Land education: Indigenous, post-colonial, and decolonizing perspectives on place and environmental education research

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This editorial introduces a special issue of Environmental Education Research titled 'Land education: Indigenous, post-colonial, and decolonizing perspectives on place and environmental education research.' The editorial begins with an overview of each of the nine articles in the issue and their contributions to land and environmental education, before outlining features of land education in more detail.

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"Exploring youth development through an environmental education program for rural indigenous women" by Lilly Briggs, Marianne Krasny & Richard C. Stedman

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"Exploring youth development through an environmental education program for rural indigenous women" by Lilly Briggs, Marianne Krasny & Richard C. Stedman

# data[].attributes.body
This article describes and critically analyzes an educational program designed for you Q’eqchi’ Maya women in the highlands of rural Guatemala.

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"Rethinking Environmental Education with the Help of Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Traditional Ecological Knowledge" By Yulia Nesterova

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"Rethinking Environmental Education with the Help of Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Traditional Ecological Knowledge" By Yulia Nesterova

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This paper outlines an environmental education program designed by the Bunun Indigenous group in Taiwan to support environmental learning and reconnection with the natural world in their community.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Abstract

In recent years, Indigenous ecological knowledge has been receiving increased attention due to its potential to help address the devastating impacts of climate change and environmental degradation. Indigenous peoples in various contexts have become engaged in collaborative research projects with scientists and other experts to build environmentally sustainable societies. Environmental education has been another site for incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems and ways of knowing. This paper presents one such programme designed by the Bunun Indigenous group in Taiwan to support environmental learning and reconnection with the natural world of their group as well as other Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals willing to participate. While the programme's objective is learning with and from the natural environment (the lessons that can be adopted by non-Indigenous groups), its other objectives include re-building and strengthening Indigenous identities, cultures and ways of life, and potentially contributing to decolonisation of settler societies and reconciliation between groups.

INTRODUCTION

For a long time, Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing were deemed worthless and irrelevant, leading to the erosion of Indigenous knowledge systems. Combined with abuses of Indigenous rights, disregard for their knowledge and contribution to our collective human heritage have restricted Indigenous peoples' abilities and opportunities to lead a sustainable life and protect the environment. One result of this is the destruction of the Land (everything that encompasses the Earth, including land, air, water, non-human world, but also spiritually and culturally infused aspects) Indigenous peoples inhabit and their own heightened vulnerability to environmental degradation caused by climate change and other shocks and crises. It is only recently that Indigenous peoples have become viewed as the guardians of the Earth; and their historically sustainable lifestyles, closeness to nature and belief in interdependence between living and non-living world were acknowledged as having great significance and value. Since then, there have been attempts to integrate their knowledge systems into environmental education. Still, despite the lessons Indigenous knowledges hold 'for teaching environmental stewardship and sustainability behaviour in mainstream classrooms', they have largely been overlooked and marginalised in environmental education (Beckford, Jacobs, Williams, and Nahdee, , p. 239). Drawing on ethnographic work with Taiwan's Indigenous communities, this paper showcases an educational programme that can contribute to viewing environmental education from an Indigenous, more transformative, perspective.

INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS

UNESCO (n.d.) defines 'Indigenous knowledge' as 'the understandings, skills and philosophies developed by societies with long histories of interaction with their natural surroundings.' Such societies include Indigenous peoples for whom these 'unique ways of knowing' are integral to their cultures, languages, social interactions, spirituality, decision-making processes, day-to-day lives and locally appropriate sustainable development (UNESCO, n.d.).

'Indigenous knowledge' is not one monolithic system. As each Indigenous group inhabits a unique natural community, they all have developed place-specific epistemological processes including relationships with the Land, knowledge systems and approaches to learning, to respond to their local needs. Despite the diversity of Indigenous groups and their knowledges, histories and experiences, there is a common thread that runs across all Indigenous knowledge systems. That thread is a spiritual socio-environmental identity Indigenous peoples sustain and transmit from generation to generation. Unlike the exploitative and short-sighted character of human-nature relationships practiced in many non-Indigenous cultures that has led to the current degradation of the environment, Indigenous identity prescribes them to view all entities as being of equal importance and act non-destructively towards everything that inhabits the Earth. As a result, their knowledge systems are built on the idea of harmonious relationships with others, on understanding that the Earth has ecological limitations and on history of adaptive practices that can help to overcome environmental crises (Harvey, ).

Socio-environmental identity is nurtured through traditional land-based learning. Such learning does not simply include a transmission of a particular universal content or knowledge about the environment, but centres on lived experiences, praxis and shared meaning- and knowledge-making. In such spaces, elders are respected guests passing down their knowledge and experience to younger generations and learning takes place indoors and outdoors to give opportunities for intergenerational exploration and understanding of their physical environment (Nesterova and Jackson, ). This way, the Land acts as a teacher and a classroom: it supports its learners' development of a spiritual connection to their surroundings and teaches them to listen to nature. Ultimately, listening, understanding and connecting to the Land will teach learners to be protective of the health and wellbeing of the natural environment.

THE PROGRAMME

The programme is called 'Facing the Mountain Education' and was developed by an Indigenous group for Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples (see Nesterova and Jackson, ). It is part of a community-based education project intended to support the revitalisation of Indigenous cultures, lifestyles and the natural environment. Unlike the rigid system of formal education that primarily focuses on textual literacy and testing, the programme values the process of developing an understanding through dialogue with others and with nature and building relationships that emphasise the value of obligation to the living and non-living world.

The programme is built around the intersection of cultural, social and environmental responsibilities and identities of the Indigenous peoples. Meetings take place in Indigenous homes, followed by activities outside in nature. They rely on what Korteweg and Root call 'intergenerational cultural strength' (, p. 189): Indigenous people of all ages, from children to elders, engage in collaborative experiential learning and meaning-making in order to work together for and make collective decisions to protect the Land. Participants collectively discuss and remember the knowledge they received from their elders and ancestors and learn from their diverse experiences. At the same time as they learn, they also engage in social and community-building activities such as cooking and sharing meals, caring for children and grandparents present or being outside in the mountains. They start by discussing their local landscape, with a specific focus on local plants, what they consist of and how they are used in traditional medicine and cooking, with students recalling their own experiences and stories shared by their elders and family members. As the concepts of 'Land', 'living' and 'ancestors' are introduced, the discussion leads to the topics of Indigenous connection to ancestral Land and learning from and through connection to Land.

As the programme teaches, sustainable life can be achieved through developing a comprehensive awareness of oneself; one's roots, past, present and future; and one's duties as well as their reliance on what a person already has. Technical skills and knowledge are not sufficient for this. The programme thus focuses on defining and connecting one's cultural identity as an Indigene with the environment, to establish a strong identity grounded in the culture and environment a person comes from, and an obligation to both. For this, along with group activities, the participants are guided to communicate with the environment on their own and to face themselves (face the mountain), their shattered identity, past and fears, and reflect on their relationships and connection between themselves and the Earth. Only in this way, by developing a strong connection between the cultural and environmental identities, is it believed that moral responsibility to protect, respect and relate to everyone and everything around them can be restored and reignited. With a secured, healthy identity and understanding of themselves and their place - locally, nationally, globally, they then feel empowered to protect their environment and transmit the necessary knowledge and values for a sustainable life.

Such programmes set Indigenous people on a path to reform their environmental learning. By fortifying their ecological and cultural identities they are able to transform their individual and collective lives. The programme embraces a biocentric approach linking Indigenous people to 'the mountain' that signals the nourishing Land they traditionally come from. It also signifies that they themselves are 'the mountain' and it is only by going back to 'the mountain', to nature, and facing it, that they will be able to face their past and fears, develop self-respect and strengthen identities.

LESSONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

The programme has core principles that can be adopted across contexts to benefit differing groups of people and their needs beyond Taiwan. Principle One is the need to nurture a solid interconnection between the varied individual, group and ecological identities a person possesses, the Land and place they inhabit and their conceptions of individual and collective social, ecological, economic and political life, duty and progress. Principle Two is the focus on collaborative, shared meaning- and decision-making between individuals and generations to draw on the diversity and complexity of their knowledge and experiences. As informal discussions and formal interviews after a whole day of the programme showed, the process of building a shared understanding and project for recovery brings a sense of accomplishment, humbleness and spiritual comfort to the participants. As the focus is placed on participants' lives, Principle Three includes localisation of any such programmes to not only (re-)build on Land-based knowledge and needs but to also develop love for and obligation to protect and care for the local context. Localisation also means reliance on local or Indigenous pedagogies, knowledge systems and educational structures that are familiar and relatable for the people involved, as well as local Indigenous ownership and control over such programmes. Finally, the objective should not be to measure the knowledge and skills acquired through testing, but instead to centre the process of learning, teaching, collaborating and interacting.

The programme encourages us to rethink environmental education. It sets out to transform and nurture a new kind of lifestyle, learning, relationality, obligation and way to connect with the world by developing a personal duty to change one's habits and behaviours, work towards inner peace and listening, as well as learning with others. The focus, however, is not solely on personal responsibility to others and a spiritual life. Rather, a personal and collective shared obligation to the living and non-living world is developed from learning to feel, think, relate, care and love with others to initiate and lead change.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Learning programmes such as those profiled above are critical for Indigenous people, whether they live inside or outside their communities; although some Indigenous groups have maintained strong knowledge of, relationships with, and connection to the natural world, many others have not been so fortunate and need to reestablish and strengthen their commitment. This is not all that such land and environmental education offers to Indigenous peoples: it also supports their awareness and strengthening of their agency and identity as well as their knowledge and assertion of Indigenous and land rights to be able to resist harmful practices directed at them and the Land and to work towards decolonisation and reconciliation.

It is important to note that programmes built on Indigenous knowledge and values by and in collaboration with Indigenous people would also be beneficial in teaching non-Indigenous learners. As Beckford et al. () point out, exposure to Indigenous ways of thinking and interactions with the environment would help non-Indigenous learners to see caring for and respect of the natural world as moral obligations. In the long run, they would be able 'to forge healthy relationships with the environment' and challenge the anthropocentric approach to engaging, learning and living prevalent in the Western world if learning drawing on Indigenous approaches occurs (Beckford et al., , p. 246). This is a lesson for non-Indigenous environmental educators too, Korteweg and Root () suggest. Engaging with Indigenous communities to respectfully learn from them and construct a curriculum with them, environmental educators will be able to not only support the revitalisation of Indigenous knowledges and value systems, and, consequently, the sustainability of the environment, they will also support 'justice and reparation towards Indigenous peoples and their Land' (Ibid., p. 185).

Incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems into environmental education and education as a whole is essential for at least two reasons. First, it can help us to close some gaps in our knowledge about the environment that will enable us to counter the threats to the natural environment. Second, in settler societies like Taiwan, Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Canada and others, introduction of Indigenous knowledge into education can support the processes of transitional and historical justice to heal the damage inflicted on Indigenous peoples during colonialism and reconciliation and the building of new, just and equal relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups.

While being involved in this process, the challenge for education professionals is to be constantly aware and alert to how it is done. Indigenous knowledge should be approached with respect and a determination to be accountable and transparent in order to avoid appropriation and misrepresentation of Indigeneity. Another critical aspect is to avoid stereotyping and romanticising Indigenous knowledge systems, lives, experiences and identities as static, monolithic, primitive and performative (see, e.g. Beckford et al., ). Building trust, establishing relationships and collaborating with Indigenous communities to develop curriculum and teaching methods that draw on Indigenous knowledge systems and ways of knowing is thus vital for respectful and truthful inclusion and representation. In settler societies, environmental education should consider issues of decolonisation, of the society and its curriculum or pedagogy, striving for reconciliation between settler and Indigenous groups. The shared goal should be to counter the colonial legacy and build a shared future that validates and honours Indigenous knowledges, identities and lives.

Abstract

In recent years, Indigenous ecological knowledge has been receiving increased attention due to its potential to help address the devastating impacts of climate change and environmental degradation. Indigenous peoples in various contexts have become engaged in collaborative research projects with scientists and other experts to build environmentally sustainable societies. Environmental education has been another site for incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems and ways of knowing. This paper presents one such programme designed by the Bunun Indigenous group in Taiwan to support environmental learning and reconnection with the natural world of their group as well as other Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals willing to participate. While the programme's objective is learning with and from the natural environment (the lessons that can be adopted by non-Indigenous groups), its other objectives include re-building and strengthening Indigenous identities, cultures and ways of life, and potentially contributing to decolonisation of settler societies and reconciliation between groups.

INTRODUCTION

For a long time, Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing were deemed worthless and irrelevant, leading to the erosion of Indigenous knowledge systems. Combined with abuses of Indigenous rights, disregard for their knowledge and contribution to our collective human heritage have restricted Indigenous peoples' abilities and opportunities to lead a sustainable life and protect the environment. One result of this is the destruction of the Land (everything that encompasses the Earth, including land, air, water, non-human world, but also spiritually and culturally infused aspects) Indigenous peoples inhabit and their own heightened vulnerability to environmental degradation caused by climate change and other shocks and crises. It is only recently that Indigenous peoples have become viewed as the guardians of the Earth; and their historically sustainable lifestyles, closeness to nature and belief in interdependence between living and non-living world were acknowledged as having great significance and value. Since then, there have been attempts to integrate their knowledge systems into environmental education. Still, despite the lessons Indigenous knowledges hold 'for teaching environmental stewardship and sustainability behaviour in mainstream classrooms', they have largely been overlooked and marginalised in environmental education (Beckford, Jacobs, Williams, and Nahdee, , p. 239). Drawing on ethnographic work with Taiwan's Indigenous communities, this paper showcases an educational programme that can contribute to viewing environmental education from an Indigenous, more transformative, perspective.

INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS

UNESCO (n.d.) defines 'Indigenous knowledge' as 'the understandings, skills and philosophies developed by societies with long histories of interaction with their natural surroundings.' Such societies include Indigenous peoples for whom these 'unique ways of knowing' are integral to their cultures, languages, social interactions, spirituality, decision-making processes, day-to-day lives and locally appropriate sustainable development (UNESCO, n.d.).

'Indigenous knowledge' is not one monolithic system. As each Indigenous group inhabits a unique natural community, they all have developed place-specific epistemological processes including relationships with the Land, knowledge systems and approaches to learning, to respond to their local needs. Despite the diversity of Indigenous groups and their knowledges, histories and experiences, there is a common thread that runs across all Indigenous knowledge systems. That thread is a spiritual socio-environmental identity Indigenous peoples sustain and transmit from generation to generation. Unlike the exploitative and short-sighted character of human-nature relationships practiced in many non-Indigenous cultures that has led to the current degradation of the environment, Indigenous identity prescribes them to view all entities as being of equal importance and act non-destructively towards everything that inhabits the Earth. As a result, their knowledge systems are built on the idea of harmonious relationships with others, on understanding that the Earth has ecological limitations and on history of adaptive practices that can help to overcome environmental crises (Harvey, ).

Socio-environmental identity is nurtured through traditional land-based learning. Such learning does not simply include a transmission of a particular universal content or knowledge about the environment, but centres on lived experiences, praxis and shared meaning- and knowledge-making. In such spaces, elders are respected guests passing down their knowledge and experience to younger generations and learning takes place indoors and outdoors to give opportunities for intergenerational exploration and understanding of their physical environment (Nesterova and Jackson, ). This way, the Land acts as a teacher and a classroom: it supports its learners' development of a spiritual connection to their surroundings and teaches them to listen to nature. Ultimately, listening, understanding and connecting to the Land will teach learners to be protective of the health and wellbeing of the natural environment.

THE PROGRAMME

The programme is called 'Facing the Mountain Education' and was developed by an Indigenous group for Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples (see Nesterova and Jackson, ). It is part of a community-based education project intended to support the revitalisation of Indigenous cultures, lifestyles and the natural environment. Unlike the rigid system of formal education that primarily focuses on textual literacy and testing, the programme values the process of developing an understanding through dialogue with others and with nature and building relationships that emphasise the value of obligation to the living and non-living world.

The programme is built around the intersection of cultural, social and environmental responsibilities and identities of the Indigenous peoples. Meetings take place in Indigenous homes, followed by activities outside in nature. They rely on what Korteweg and Root call 'intergenerational cultural strength' (, p. 189): Indigenous people of all ages, from children to elders, engage in collaborative experiential learning and meaning-making in order to work together for and make collective decisions to protect the Land. Participants collectively discuss and remember the knowledge they received from their elders and ancestors and learn from their diverse experiences. At the same time as they learn, they also engage in social and community-building activities such as cooking and sharing meals, caring for children and grandparents present or being outside in the mountains. They start by discussing their local landscape, with a specific focus on local plants, what they consist of and how they are used in traditional medicine and cooking, with students recalling their own experiences and stories shared by their elders and family members. As the concepts of 'Land', 'living' and 'ancestors' are introduced, the discussion leads to the topics of Indigenous connection to ancestral Land and learning from and through connection to Land.

As the programme teaches, sustainable life can be achieved through developing a comprehensive awareness of oneself; one's roots, past, present and future; and one's duties as well as their reliance on what a person already has. Technical skills and knowledge are not sufficient for this. The programme thus focuses on defining and connecting one's cultural identity as an Indigene with the environment, to establish a strong identity grounded in the culture and environment a person comes from, and an obligation to both. For this, along with group activities, the participants are guided to communicate with the environment on their own and to face themselves (face the mountain), their shattered identity, past and fears, and reflect on their relationships and connection between themselves and the Earth. Only in this way, by developing a strong connection between the cultural and environmental identities, is it believed that moral responsibility to protect, respect and relate to everyone and everything around them can be restored and reignited. With a secured, healthy identity and understanding of themselves and their place - locally, nationally, globally, they then feel empowered to protect their environment and transmit the necessary knowledge and values for a sustainable life.

Such programmes set Indigenous people on a path to reform their environmental learning. By fortifying their ecological and cultural identities they are able to transform their individual and collective lives. The programme embraces a biocentric approach linking Indigenous people to 'the mountain' that signals the nourishing Land they traditionally come from. It also signifies that they themselves are 'the mountain' and it is only by going back to 'the mountain', to nature, and facing it, that they will be able to face their past and fears, develop self-respect and strengthen identities.

LESSONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

The programme has core principles that can be adopted across contexts to benefit differing groups of people and their needs beyond Taiwan. Principle One is the need to nurture a solid interconnection between the varied individual, group and ecological identities a person possesses, the Land and place they inhabit and their conceptions of individual and collective social, ecological, economic and political life, duty and progress. Principle Two is the focus on collaborative, shared meaning- and decision-making between individuals and generations to draw on the diversity and complexity of their knowledge and experiences. As informal discussions and formal interviews after a whole day of the programme showed, the process of building a shared understanding and project for recovery brings a sense of accomplishment, humbleness and spiritual comfort to the participants. As the focus is placed on participants' lives, Principle Three includes localisation of any such programmes to not only (re-)build on Land-based knowledge and needs but to also develop love for and obligation to protect and care for the local context. Localisation also means reliance on local or Indigenous pedagogies, knowledge systems and educational structures that are familiar and relatable for the people involved, as well as local Indigenous ownership and control over such programmes. Finally, the objective should not be to measure the knowledge and skills acquired through testing, but instead to centre the process of learning, teaching, collaborating and interacting.

The programme encourages us to rethink environmental education. It sets out to transform and nurture a new kind of lifestyle, learning, relationality, obligation and way to connect with the world by developing a personal duty to change one's habits and behaviours, work towards inner peace and listening, as well as learning with others. The focus, however, is not solely on personal responsibility to others and a spiritual life. Rather, a personal and collective shared obligation to the living and non-living world is developed from learning to feel, think, relate, care and love with others to initiate and lead change.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Learning programmes such as those profiled above are critical for Indigenous people, whether they live inside or outside their communities; although some Indigenous groups have maintained strong knowledge of, relationships with, and connection to the natural world, many others have not been so fortunate and need to reestablish and strengthen their commitment. This is not all that such land and environmental education offers to Indigenous peoples: it also supports their awareness and strengthening of their agency and identity as well as their knowledge and assertion of Indigenous and land rights to be able to resist harmful practices directed at them and the Land and to work towards decolonisation and reconciliation.

It is important to note that programmes built on Indigenous knowledge and values by and in collaboration with Indigenous people would also be beneficial in teaching non-Indigenous learners. As Beckford et al. () point out, exposure to Indigenous ways of thinking and interactions with the environment would help non-Indigenous learners to see caring for and respect of the natural world as moral obligations. In the long run, they would be able 'to forge healthy relationships with the environment' and challenge the anthropocentric approach to engaging, learning and living prevalent in the Western world if learning drawing on Indigenous approaches occurs (Beckford et al., , p. 246). This is a lesson for non-Indigenous environmental educators too, Korteweg and Root () suggest. Engaging with Indigenous communities to respectfully learn from them and construct a curriculum with them, environmental educators will be able to not only support the revitalisation of Indigenous knowledges and value systems, and, consequently, the sustainability of the environment, they will also support 'justice and reparation towards Indigenous peoples and their Land' (Ibid., p. 185).

Incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems into environmental education and education as a whole is essential for at least two reasons. First, it can help us to close some gaps in our knowledge about the environment that will enable us to counter the threats to the natural environment. Second, in settler societies like Taiwan, Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Canada and others, introduction of Indigenous knowledge into education can support the processes of transitional and historical justice to heal the damage inflicted on Indigenous peoples during colonialism and reconciliation and the building of new, just and equal relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous groups.

While being involved in this process, the challenge for education professionals is to be constantly aware and alert to how it is done. Indigenous knowledge should be approached with respect and a determination to be accountable and transparent in order to avoid appropriation and misrepresentation of Indigeneity. Another critical aspect is to avoid stereotyping and romanticising Indigenous knowledge systems, lives, experiences and identities as static, monolithic, primitive and performative (see, e.g. Beckford et al., ). Building trust, establishing relationships and collaborating with Indigenous communities to develop curriculum and teaching methods that draw on Indigenous knowledge systems and ways of knowing is thus vital for respectful and truthful inclusion and representation. In settler societies, environmental education should consider issues of decolonisation, of the society and its curriculum or pedagogy, striving for reconciliation between settler and Indigenous groups. The shared goal should be to counter the colonial legacy and build a shared future that validates and honours Indigenous knowledges, identities and lives.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rethinking Environmental Education with the Help of Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Traditional Ecological Knowledge

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In recent years, Indigenous ecological knowledge has been receiving increased attention due to its potential to help address the devastating impacts of climate change and environmental degradation. Indigenous peoples in various contexts have become engaged in collaborative research projects with scientists and other experts to build environmentally sustainable societies.

# data[].attributes.headline
"Rethinking environmental science education from indigenous knowledge perspectives: an experience with a Dene First Nation community" by Ranjan Kumar Datta

# data[].attributes.subject
"Rethinking environmental science education from indigenous knowledge perspectives: an experience with a Dene First Nation community" by Ranjan Kumar Datta

# data[].attributes.body
Datta outlines what he calls an auto-ethnography, drawing on the stories and experiences of Elders, knowledge-holders, teachers, and students from the Dene First Nation, as well as his own lived experiences, in order to offer critical suggestions for the reformation of Western Environmental Science Education (ESE).

# data[].attributes.headline
"Pollution is Colonialism" by Max Liboiron

# data[].attributes.subject
"Pollution is Colonialism" by Max Liboiron

# data[].attributes.body
Liboiron examines the ways that colonial thought and practice is buried in much of current science, and lays out a framework for the practice of anticolonial science. They also focus on their own anticolonial scientific practices in their lab, CLEAR, investigating patterns of pollution in fish in fishing communities in Labrador, Canada.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In Pollution Is Colonialism Max Liboiron presents a framework for understanding scientific research methods as practices that can align with or against colonial

# data[].attributes.headline
“A Viable Path for Education”—Indigenous-Language Immersion and Sustainable Self-Determination" by Teresa L. McCarty, Joaquín Noguera, Tiffany S. Lee, and Sheilah E. Nicholas

# data[].attributes.subject
“A Viable Path for Education”—Indigenous-Language Immersion and Sustainable Self-Determination" by Teresa L. McCarty, Joaquín Noguera, Tiffany S. Lee, and Sheilah E. Nicholas

# data[].attributes.body
This article examines Indigenous Language Immersion (ILI) schooling, a practice in which Indigenous children are taught mostly or entirely in their Indigenous language, coupled with a culturally-based curriculum.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
ABSTRACT
This article examines Indigenous-language immersion (ILI) schooling, an innovative approach in which most or all instruction occurs in the Indigenous language, with a strong culture-based curriculum. With the goals of promoting language revitalization, academic/holistic wellbeing, and cultural identity and continuance, ILI is a form of sustainable self-determination. We ground our analysis in a growing body of ILI scholarship and preliminary findings from our research in a mixed-method, multisite, US-wide study of ILI schooling. The study asks: What can ILI teach us to improve education practice for Native American learners? How can such a study inform research, theory, practice, and policy for Indigenous and other minoritized learners? We begin with a brief history of ILI movements in the US and then discuss ILI's de/anticolonial aims, highlighting connections to sustainable self-determination. We illustrate these processes with examples of pedagogical, communal, and nation-building goals and practices evident in our national study. We conclude with the broader implications of ILI as a "viable path for education" for sustainable enactments of Indigenous self-determination.

Acknowledgments

We express sincere gratitude to the Spencer Foundation for its generous financial award, which made possible the Indigenous-Language Immersion and Native American Student Achievement Study. To our partner sites and the many teachers, parents, Elders, school leaders, staff, and youth who gave their time and opened their ILI classrooms and stories to us, we say a heartfelt thank you. We hope the words here honor your commitment to ILI as a "viable path for education," and that this publication provides support for your ongoing language work.

Disclosure statement

The authors state they do not have any relevant interests to declare.

Additional information

Funding

Support for the research discussed here was provided by the Spencer Foundation of Chicago, Illinois.

Notes on contributors

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
"A Viable Path for Education"-Indigenous-Language Immersion and Sustainable Self-Determination

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
ABSTRACT This article examines Indigenous-language immersion (ILI) schooling, an innovative approach in which most or all instruction occurs in the Indigenous language, with a strong culture-based curriculum. With the goals of promoting language revitalization, academic/holistic wellbeing, and cultural identity and continuance, ILI is a form of sustainable self-determination.

# data[].attributes.headline
"Indigenous Environmental Education: The Case of Renewable Energy Projects" by Gregory Lowan-Trudeau

# data[].attributes.subject
"Indigenous Environmental Education: The Case of Renewable Energy Projects" by Gregory Lowan-Trudeau

# data[].attributes.body
Trudeau examines renewable energy development by Indigenous communities across Canada, focusing on projects that align with traditional philosophy while also providing increased opportunities for community members.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Indigenous Environmental Education: The Case of Renewable Energy Projects: Educational Studies: Vol 53, No 6

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This article presents insights from an inquiry into renewable energy development by Indigenous communities across Canada. The focus is on Indigenous leadership in developing renewable energy projec...

# data[].attributes.headline
"Gatekeeper or gardener? Exploring positioning, paradigms, and metaphors in indigenous environmental education research" by Gregory Lowan-Trudeau

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"Gatekeeper or gardener? Exploring positioning, paradigms, and metaphors in indigenous environmental education research" by Gregory Lowan-Trudeau

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In this article, Lowan-Trudeau uses his positionality as a Métis scholar of mixed Indigenous and European decent within a largely-white Academy to explore critical issues related to Indigenous environmental educational research, such as the role of non-Indigenous environmental educators and differing opinions among a growing population Indigenous environmental educators.

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"Ngā Waihotanga Iho: Self-determination through Indigenous environmental education in New Zealand" by Giles Dodson and Mikaera Miru

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"Ngā Waihotanga Iho: Self-determination through Indigenous environmental education in New Zealand" by Giles Dodson and Mikaera Miru

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This article examines the development and social implications of an estuary-monitoring toolkit and environmental education program developed by Maori leaders and implemented in in partnership with local schools in New Zealand.

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, & (2018) He Mahere Pāhekoheko Mō Kaipara Moana - Integrated Ecosystem-Based Management for Kaipara Harbour, Aotearoa New Zealand. Society and Natural Resources, 31, 1400-1418. CrossRef Google Scholar

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Ngā Waihotanga Iho: Self-determination through Indigenous environmental education in New Zealand | Australian Journal of Environmental Education | Cambridge Core

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(2018) He Mahere Pāhekoheko Mō Kaipara Moana - Integrated Ecosystem-Based Management for Kaipara Harbour, Aotearoa New Zealand. Society and Natural Resources, 31, 1400-1418. CrossRef Google Scholar

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"Transformative Sustainability Education and Empowerment Practice" on Indigenous Lands: Part One by Lewis Williams

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"Transformative Sustainability Education and Empowerment Practice" on Indigenous Lands: Part One by Lewis Williams

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In this article, Lewis Williams, a Maori scholar currently working in New Zealand, explores the ways that transformative sustainability education (TSE) can be used to affect cultural and relational transformation as well as policy shifts in colonial states situated on unceded Indigenous lands.

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"The Canadian Arctic Marine Ecological Footprint and Free Prior Informed Consent: Making the Case for Indigenous Public Participation through Inclusive Education" by Konstantia Koutouki, Paul Watts, and Shawn Booth

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"The Canadian Arctic Marine Ecological Footprint and Free Prior Informed Consent: Making the Case for Indigenous Public Participation through Inclusive Education" by Konstantia Koutouki, Paul Watts, and Shawn Booth

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This article examines the lack of Inuit public participation in forums concerning climate change in the Canadian Arctic, calling for a heightened focus on climate change-related issues in educational programs.

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"The possibilities and practicalities of professional learning in support of Indigenous student experiences in schooling: A systematic review" by Greg Vass, Kevin Lowe, Cathie Burgess, Neil Harrison, and Nikki Moodie

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"The possibilities and practicalities of professional learning in support of Indigenous student experiences in schooling: A systematic review" by Greg Vass, Kevin Lowe, Cathie Burgess, Neil Harrison, and Nikki Moodie

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This article examines professional development strategies for teachers that would help them to better support Indigenous students in their classrooms.

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The possibilities and practicalities of professional learning in support of Indigenous student experiences in schooling: A systematic review - The Australian Educational Researcher

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The import of professional learning in support of quality teaching is well established. Moreover, demonstrating active engagement with ongoing professional learning is now a requirement of maintaining teacher accreditation.

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An Obama-Era governmental report on a White House initiative designed to improve education for Indigenous children in the United States.

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"A ‘wicked problem’: rethinking history education in the Anthropocene" by Heather E. McGregor, Jackson Pind, and Sara Karn

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"A ‘wicked problem’: rethinking history education in the Anthropocene" by Heather E. McGregor, Jackson Pind, and Sara Karn

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This article reexamines our current practices of history and environmental education, calling for a more nuanced and holistic approach, including Indigenous cultural knowledge, colonial histories, and climate science.

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"Reflexive Shifts in Climate Research and Education: Toward Relocalizing Our Lives" by Timothy B. Leduc and Susan A. Crate

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"Reflexive Shifts in Climate Research and Education: Toward Relocalizing Our Lives" by Timothy B. Leduc and Susan A. Crate

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This article outlines the ways that even in attempting to combat the effects of climate change, Western culture focuses on globalization and technological advancement, and explores the potential ecological benefits of returning to a focus on local community and advancement instead.

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"Movement from the margins to global recognition: climate change activism by young people and in particular indigenous youth" by Jenny Ritchie

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"Movement from the margins to global recognition: climate change activism by young people and in particular indigenous youth" by Jenny Ritchie

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Ritchie examines the current global youth-led climate-change movement, as well as the incapacity of our current practices to allow Indigenous youth to fully advocate for themselves and their future.

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"A Systematic Review of the Deployment of Indigenous Knowledge Systems towards Climate Change Adaptation in Developing World Contexts: Implications for Climate Change Education" by Marcellus Mbah, Sandra Ajaps, and Petra Molthan-Hill

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"A Systematic Review of the Deployment of Indigenous Knowledge Systems towards Climate Change Adaptation in Developing World Contexts: Implications for Climate Change Education" by Marcellus Mbah, Sandra Ajaps, and Petra Molthan-Hill

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The authors investigate the ways in which Indigenous knowledge systems can be used in climate change adaptation and education in the context of the "developing world," including critical, place-based, participatory, and holistic methodologies.

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"Narratives of dynamic lands: science education, indigenous knowledge and possible futures" by Megan McGinty and Megan Bang

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"Narratives of dynamic lands: science education, indigenous knowledge and possible futures" by Megan McGinty and Megan Bang

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McGinty and Bang focus on the ways that settler-colonial ideologies permeate and are reproduced in much of Western science education. They also investigate the ways that Western science education promotes a sense of land permanence in youth, and contrasts it with a healthier sense of land dynamism present in Indigenous teachings.

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Narratives of dynamic lands: science education, indigenous knowledge and possible futures - Cultural Studies of Science Education

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We aim to share some of our work currently focused on understanding and unearthing the multiplicities of ways the denial of culture in relation to science and knowledge construction is embedded in issues of climate change and climate change education.

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"A Multi-Perspective Reflection on How Indigenous Knowledge and Related Ideas Can Improve Science Education for Sustainability" by Robby Zidny, Jesper Sjöström & Ingo Eilks 

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"A Multi-Perspective Reflection on How Indigenous Knowledge and Related Ideas Can Improve Science Education for Sustainability" by Robby Zidny, Jesper Sjöström & Ingo Eilks 

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This article examines Indigenous, Western, and other cultural worldviews, and offers frameworks for taking non-Western views into account when designing and teaching science curricula.

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A Multi-Perspective Reflection on How Indigenous Knowledge and Related Ideas Can Improve Science Education for Sustainability - Science & Education

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Indigenous knowledge provides specific views of the world held by various indigenous peoples. It offers different views on nature and science that generally differ from traditional Western science. Futhermore, it introduces different perspectives on nature and the human in nature.

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"Designing Pedagogies for Indigenous Science Education: Finding Our Way to Storywork" by Amanda Marin and Megan Bang

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"Designing Pedagogies for Indigenous Science Education: Finding Our Way to Storywork" by Amanda Marin and Megan Bang

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This article analyzes the sense-making process when teachers come together to design pedagogy, specifically surrounding issues of Indigenous environmental education.

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"Decolonization is not a metaphor" by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang 

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"Decolonization is not a metaphor" by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang 

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Tuck and Yang assert that "decolonization is not a metaphor," and only work that actively works toward the rematriation of Indigenous lands is counted as decolonization.

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Our goal in this article is to remind readers what is unsettling about decolonization. Decolonization brings about the repatriation of Indigenous land and life; it is not a metaphor for other things we want to do to improve our societies and schools.

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"The River is in Us" By Elizabeth Hoover

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"The River is in Us" By Elizabeth Hoover

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In this ethnography focusing on the Mohawk people living in the territory Akwesasne, Hoover outlines the environmental racism and degradation faced by the community, as well as the community-led research, revitalization, and resistance efforts.

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The website of the Akwesasne Freedom School, an Indigenous-run Mohawk-immersion school in the Akwesasne community.

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The Akwesasne Freedom School (AFS) was founded in 1979 by Mohawk parents concerned with the lack of cultural and linguistic services available in local public schools. As an independent elementary school, AFS has existed on a shoestring budget for over 25 years. In 1985, the parents who administer the school made a historic decision to adopt a total Mohawk immersion curriculum. It was a historic decision. AFS was the first to implement this curriculum and did so without approval or funding from state, federal or provincial governments. By focusing on our young people, we reverse the assimilation process and ensure that the Mohawk people do not lose their language, culture and identity.

The school continues to immerse its students in levels Pre-K to 8 in the Kanienkéha (Mohawk) language and culture. All instruction, as well as recess periods, outdoor activities, field trips, meals and extracurricular activities are conducted in the Mohawk language.

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The Akwesasne Freedom School (AFS) was founded in 1979 by Mohawk parents concerned with the lack of cultural and linguistic services available in local public schools. As an independent elementary school, AFS has existed on a shoestring budget for over 25 years.

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"These Indigenous educators are bringing Western and Native science together in the classroom" by Natalie Rademacher

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"These Indigenous educators are bringing Western and Native science together in the classroom" by Natalie Rademacher

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This article writes about college professors bringing together Western and Native science in their pedagogy

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These Indigenous educators are bringing Western and Native science together in the classroom

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Ensia is a solutions-focused nonprofit media outlet reporting on our changing planet. Published by the Institute on the Environment.