Indigenous knowledge , Art , Science, Culture & Technology

Indigenous knowledge , Art , Science, Culture & Technology

Indigenous knowledge , Art , Science, Culture & Technology
Hello, I am an artist and a student working on the final project for my master degree in First Nations Education. I am Algonquin and my tribe is the Timiskaming Nation in Quebec. One of the reasons I decided to take up the masters program was that I knew that accessibility to my people and culture and language would play an important role in how I could live out my true identity. I also knew that art could be a tool that could bridge understandings between Indigenous ways of seeing and doing things and Western ways of seeing and doing things. It was during one of my courses that an instructor asked us to design an indigenous learning space. I had read the Bohm on Creativity and immediately made the connection between the Implicate Order as one theory that could fill the gap of understanding between Indigenous ways of knowing and Western ways of knowing. For the same reason that research is most necessary in identifying the reasons that Aboriginal students are under-represented, we need to develop creative ways of knowing that engage youth into a path of inquiry with confidence. Indigenous knowledge must become a visible, implicit and accepted science. Elders hold the key to vast amounts of knowledge that parallel scientific knowledge today and some would say knowledge that goes beyond current accepted scientific knowledge. Elders must have a central role in all areas of education and in particular science. If all students are able to relate to Indigenous knowledge as scientific knowledge that is a contributing science, only then will Indigenous students feel confident to contribute to scientific knowledge as a whole. Above all there needs to be an acknowledgement in the scientific community that Indigenous knowledge is valid. One place that science can intersect with indigenous knowledge is on the topic of quantum physics. It is our responsibility as Indigenous people to point out that Indigenous knowledge has existed since time immemorial; and in that time one concept that has been a challenge to negotiate has been the notion that ‘spirit’ and matter are one and the same. Quantum theory relates that all matter is energy or particles. Indigenous people call this energy ‘spirit’. The Indigenous notion that all things are animate challenges the perspective and confidence of an Indigenous student’s physical and intellectual environment when they are asked to accept Western science as the only accepted science. Therefore the curriculum must adapt to the students’ physical and spiritual environment in order that it reflect a meaningful space. This can be accomplished by introducing curriculum that acknowledges Indigenous science and employs a curriculum that reflects this acknowledgment. In addition to the need for relevant curriculum there is a need to design a physical space that reflects an Indigenous learning space. One of the missing parts in the buildings where people learn is the connection with the elders and the land. I argue that we must first build a space in the mind and then we can build around that space instead of building structures that we must try to fit into. Indigenous people knew how to use technologies in their environment in ways that sustained a reciprocal relationship. The building didn't go up first. The people established themselves by examining what needed to be done and brought whatever technology that was needed to where they were situated on the land. Today we build schools that don't necessarily reflect what we need. We need accessibility to our language, cultures and people. In the technological revolution of this millennium we have a chance to create spaces that bring forth sustainable learning spaces. It is well known that many Indigenous languages are verb based and this interested me as I thought about learning physical spaces reflected this verb language; we would likely incorporate our language in meaningful way. One way to create this verb based space is to create a living space that embodies movement and motivation to contribute simultaneously through all the senses. This would imply interdisciplinary measures of art, science, culture, technology that is informed by the people where they stand and then technology must adapt to them not people adapting to technology. Perspective in an individual sense and a collective sense must be maintained in order to achieve a balanced global community. I would like to draw a connection between my Indigenous worldview and Bohm's analogy of the "implicate order' or the hologram. First this provides a space where Indigenous knowledge and Western scientific knowledge have an opportunity to share an intellectual space through imagery. Secondly, the notion of the implicate and explicate order provide a view that identity and diversity are possible within our world. I imagine all worldviews as the explicate order and the Indigenous worldview as the implicate order. We belong simultaneously to both the individual and the collective universe where we go in and out and back again without ever becoming static. How we negotiate our place in science and technology depends on how we view our place in the implicate order. If we are not motivated to move beyond the individual space to the collective space or beyond then we have truly not evolved our way of knowing. I would be interested in learning how other people would finish this story: I must acknowledge that Dr.David Peat influenced my thoughts on this question.

How would you finish this story: "When Indigenous people reclaim technology...

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