Indigenous science is the application and intersection of indigenous knowledge and

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

. In

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...

this is sometimes termed

traditional ecological knowledge Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) describes indigenous and other traditional knowledge of local resources. As a field of study in Northern American anthropology, TEK refers to "a cumulative body of knowledge, belief, and practice, evolving by ...

Traditional and scientific

Indigenous knowledge and experiences have traditionally been passed down orally from generation to generation. The concept of indigenous science promotes the idea that every culture has its own science and understanding of the world. This point of view has been employed by scientists and policy makers to adopt new paradigms for the interpretation and human management of natural processes. While there are differences in the use of and structure between indigenous science and scientific knowledge, indigenous science has an empirical basis and has traditionally been used to predict and understand the world.

In ecology

Indigenous science has helped to address ecological challenges including the restoration of

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

, management of

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

harvests, outbreaks of

hantavirus ''Orthohantavirus'' is a genus of single-stranded, enveloped, negative-sense RNA viruses in the family '' Hantaviridae'' within the order ''Bunyavirales''. Members of this genus may be called orthohantaviruses or simply hantaviruses. Orthohantav ...

, and addressing

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

In other sciences

Climatology Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "place, zone"; and , ''-logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. This modern field of study ...

studies have made use of traditional knowledge (''Qaujimajatuqangit'') among the

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

when studying long-term changes in sea ice. As well as in ecology, indigenous knowledge has been used in biological areas including

animal behaviour Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objectiv ...

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

, life history,

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

wildlife conservation Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats in order to maintain healthy wildlife species or populations and to restore, protect or enhance natural ecosystems. Major threats to wildlife include habita ...

, wildlife health, and

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

Indigenous science scholars

* Nancy C. Maryboy *

Karlie Noon Karlie Alinta Noon is the first Indigenous woman in Australia to graduate with a double degree in maths and physics, an astronomer, of the Gamilaraay people, multiple award winner, 2019 Eureka Prize nominee, and one of the 2017 BBC's 100 Women. S ...

* Lydia Jennings *

Ian Saem Majnep Ian Saem Majnep (c. 1948 – September 2007) was a naturalist from the Kalam people of Papua New Guinea who wrote about the plants, animals and the belief systems of the Kalam people while collaborating with the British anthropologist and ethnobiol ...

References

{{Reflist, refs = {{Cite book , first=Gregory , last=Cajete , url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/610678710 , title=Native science : natural laws of interdependence , date=2000 , publisher=Clear Light Publishers , isbn=1-57416-035-4 , oclc=610678710 {{Cite journal , last=Huntington , first=Henry P. , title=Using Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Science: Methods and Applications , date=2000 , journal=Ecological Applications , language=en , volume=10 , issue=5 , pages=1270–1274 , doi=10.1890/1051-0761(2000)010 270:UTEKIS.0.CO;2 , issn=1051-0761 {{Cite journal , last=Cajete , first=Gregory A. , date=17 November 2020 , title=Indigenous Science, Climate Change, and Indigenous Community Building: A Framework of Foundational Perspectives for Indigenous Community Resilience and Revitalization , journal=Sustainability , language=en , volume=12 , issue=22 , pages=9569 , doi=10.3390/su12229569 , issn=2071-1050, doi-access=free {{Cite journal , last1=Reynolds , first1=Nathaniel , last2=Romano , first2=Marc , date=2013 , title=Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Reconstructing Historical Run Timing and Spawning Distribution of Eulachon through Tribal Oral History , journal=Journal of Northwest Anthropology , volume=47 , issue=1 , pages=47–70 {{Cite journal , last1=Nimmo , first1=Evelyn R. , last2=Carvalho , first2=Alessandra I. de , last3=Laverdi , first3=Robson , last4=Lacerda , first4=André E. 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Meeting, Common Property Conference , isbn=9780889366831 , location=Ottawa, Ont., Canada , oclc=137342338 {{Cite journal , last1=Kadykalo , first1=Andrew N. , last2=Cooke , first2=Steven J. , last3=Young , first3=Nathan , date=2021 , title=The role of western‐based scientific, Indigenous and local knowledge in wildlife management and conservation , url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10194 , journal=People and Nature , language=en , volume=3 , issue=3 , pages=610–626 , doi=10.1002/pan3.10194 , s2cid=233643643 , issn=2575-8314 {{Cite web , last=Footen , first=Brian , title=Darkness to Dawn: Columbia River Native Tribes' Science and Salmon Restoration Success , url=https://nativecases.evergreen.edu/collection/cases/darkness-to-dawn-columbia-river-native-tribes-science-and-salmon-restoration-success , access-date=7 August 2022 , website=Native Case Studies {{cite journal , last1=Moller , first1=H. , last2=Berkes , first2=F. , last3=Lyver , first3=P. O. B. , last4=Kislalioglu , first4=M. , year=2004 , title=Combining science and traditional ecological knowledge: monitoring populations for co-management , journal=Ecology and Society , volume=9 , issue=3 , doi=10.5751/ES-00675-090302 , jstor=26267682 , url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26267682 {{Cite web , last=Stumpff , first=Linda , title=Hantavirus and the Navajo Nation: A Double Jeopardy Disease , url=https://nativecases.evergreen.edu/collection/cases/hantavirus-navajo , access-date=7 August 2022 , website=Native Case Studies {{Cite web , last=Stumpff , first=Linda , title=Your Tribal Land is Not Secure: Traditional Knowledge and Science Face Wildfire in the Valley of the Wild Roses , url=https://nativecases.evergreen.edu/collection/cases/your-tribal-land-is-not-secure-traditional-knowledge-and-science-face-wildfire-in-the-valley-of-the-wild-roses , access-date=7 August 2022 , website=Native Case Studies Oral tradition History of science Traditional knowledge Indigenous culture

Traditional and scientific

In ecology

In other sciences

Indigenous science scholars

See also

References