Research Guides: Braiding Sweetgrass Research Guide: Indigenous Wisdom & Scientific Knowledge

“In the Western tradition there is a recognized hierarchy of beings, with, of course, the human being on top—the pinnacle of evolution, the darling of Creation—and the plants at the bottom. But in Native ways of knowing, human people are often referred to as “the younger brothers of Creation.” We say that humans have the least experience with how to live and thus the most to learn—we must look to our teachers among the other species for guidance. Their wisdom is apparent in the way that they live. They teach us by example. They’ve been on the earth far longer than we have been, and have had time to figure things out.” - Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, "Skywoman Falling"

Definitions

Indigenous ways of knowing and seeing the world are inclusive of spirit, ancestral memory, respect, interconnectedness, storytelling, feelings, experiences and guidance. It reminds us that we do not need to know or understand everything and that it is perfectly acceptable and appropriate to be aware of things that we cannot explain. - Assembly of First Nations, Plain Talk 9: First Nations Holistic Lifelong Learning Model, "9.4: Ways of Knowing"

Scientific knowledge [is accumulated] through discovery, confirmation, and correction...[it] is built on previous studies and tested theories, and the progression is often not linear. Science is engaged in a continuous process of refinement to uncover ever-closer approximations to the truth.
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Reproducibility and Replicability in Science

Learn More

Indigenous Ways of Knowing

Image from: Centering Relationality: A Conceptual Model to Advance Indigenous Knowledge Organization Practices*
Sandra Littletree, Miranda Belarde-Lewis, and Marisa Duarte | Knowledge Organization, vol. 47 (5) | p. 410-426 | 2020
*This is a library resource that requires ARTIC login

Ways of Knowing
Assembly of First Nations | Plain Talk 9: First Nations Holistic Lifelong Learning Model | 2021
This resource reviews the eight ways of knowing: Body, Images, Logic, Music, Nature, People, the Self, and Words.

What is Indigenous Knowledge? What are Indigenous Knowledge Systems? [Podcast Episode]
Speaking Across Knowledge Systems | 24 January 2024
Please note: This podcast DOES provide transcripts.

Indigenous Wisdom x Scientific Knowledge

Knowledge Symbiosis: Can Biomimicry and Indigenous Science Harmonize? with Roxanne Swentzell and Anne LaFort [Podcast Episode]
The Native Seed Pod | 26 January 2024
Please note: This podcast does NOT provide transcripts.

Weaving Indigenous knowledge into the scientific method
Saima May Sidik | Nature [Career Feature] | 11 January 2022

Two Ways Of Knowing: Robin Wall Kimmerer On Scientific And Native American Views Of The Natural World
Leath Tonino | The Sun | April 2016

Weaving Traditional Ecological Knowledge into Biological Education: A Call to Action*
Robin Wall Kimmerer | BioScience vol. 52 (5) | 2002
*This resource requires ARTIC Login.

Bridging Worlds: Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Western Science with Kira Davis [Podcast Episode]
Indigenous Knowledges Project Podcast | 16 December 2024
Please note: This podcast does NOT provide transcripts.