සයන්ස් හා පඬි නැට්ටෝ
පහත පළවන්නේ මෙවර (ජනවාරි 19) සයන්ස් සඟරාවේ කතුවැකිය ලෙස පළ වූ ලිපියයි. මෙහි දේශීය විද්‍යා ගැන කියනවා. ලිපියේ අවධාරණය කෙරෙන්නේ දේශගුණය හා පරිසරය පිළිබඳ ප්‍රශ්නයයි. බටහිර විද්‍යාව එක ම දැනුම් පද්ධතිය ලෙස සලකන පඬි නැට්ටන්ට හා අනෙක් අයට දැන ගැනීමට කරුණු කිහිපයක් ලිපියේ තියෙනවා.
බහු සංස්කෘතින් ගැන කියවන පඬි නැට්ටන්ට තේරෙන්නේ නැහැ බටහිර රටවල විවිධ ක්‍රිස්තියානි සංස්කෘති එක්කෝ විශේෂිත සංස්කෘතිය නැත්නම් අධිපතිවාදී සංස්කෘති ලෙස පවතින බව. ඔවුන් කිසි විටෙක බහුවිධ දැනුම් පද්ධති ගැන කතා කරන්නේ නැහැ. අද ඔවුන්ගේ බටහිර ස්වාමිවරුන්ගේ ප්‍රධාන ම සඟරාවක් වන සයන්ස් සඟරාවේ (අනෙක් සඟරාව නේචර්) දේශීය විද්‍යා ගැන කියනවා.
ඊයේ මා මෙරට පාරම්පරික වෙදකම ගැන ලිවුවා. අපට දේශගුණය ගැන පමණක් නොව වෙනත් අංශ ගැන ද කතා කරන්න පුළුවන්. අපේ ආර්ථික විද්‍යාවක් දේශපාලනයක් ගැන අප උනන්දු වෙන්න ඕන.
මා කියන්නේ නැහැ එක් ලිපියකින් සියල්ල විසඳෙනවා කියා. මේ ලිපිය බටහිරයන් සම්බන්ධයෙන් ගත් කල ආරම්භයක් පමණයි. බටහිරයන්ට වෙනත් දැනුම් පද්ධති පිළිගැනීමට තව බොහෝ කලක් ගත වේවි. එතෙක් මෙරට පඬි නැට්ටන් මට මිථ්‍යා මතධාරියා මැන්ටල් පිස්සා සහ තවත් දේ කියාවි. මා මිය යෑමට පෙර බටහිරයන් දේශීය දැනුම් පද්ධති නිල වශයෙන් පිළිගනීවි යැයි හිතන්න බැහැ.
මෙරට මෙටාවේ හා මොටාවේ ජාත්‍යන්තර කීර්තියට පත් විද්වතුනට තව කාලයක් බටහිර දැනුම් ආධිපත්‍යයෙන් මිදෙන්න සිදු වෙන එකක් නැහැ. ඔවුන්ට තම උපාධි සහතික ආරක්‍ෂා කර ගන්න පුළුවන්. විද්වත් ජනමාධ්‍යවේදීන්ට තව කාලයක් ධම්මික පැණිවලට පහර ගසා තම පාණ්ඩිත්‍යය ප්‍රදර්ශනය කරන්න පුළුවන් වේවි.
Time
to support Indigenous science
IN SECTION EDITORIAL
Faced with the profound challenges of a rapidly
changing environment, society needs other ways of knowing to illuminate a
different way forward. Thanks to the leadership of Indigenous scholars and
allied collaborators, Indigenous knowledge is receiving long overdue
recognition for its potential to provide solutions for the mutual thriving of
lands and cultures. An urgent question is how institutions can appropriately
support (and not hinder) Indigenous science’s key role in creating a
sustainable future.
After years of marginalization by Western
science, regard for Indigenous knowledge is reaching high places. For example,
in 2022, the White House called for elevating such knowledge in research,
policy, and land management. This is extraordinary given the United States’
track record of attempted erasure of Indigenous thought through policies of
removal and forced assimilation.
There is a global groundswell of
Indigenous-led research on stewardship of lands and waters, providing
opportunities for Indigenous and Western knowledges to flourish together. A
major step in this direction was announced last September by the US National
Science Foundation, in its establishment of the Center for Braiding Indigenous
Knowledges and Science (CBIKS). Led by a team of 54 predominantly Indigenous
scholars and headquartered at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, CBIKS
aims to focus on complex issues at the nexus of nature and culture. The
research teams, which span the globe, will address climate disruption, food
insecurity, and cultural survival through learning from Indigenous
community-based approaches. The goal is to identify and advance models of
ethical and effective integration of Indigenous and Western sciences by
creating mutually respectful and reciprocal relationships between them. CBIKS
will develop generalizable approaches for a diversity of scientific
communities.
“…a
climate must be created that values pluralism while protecting sovereignty…”
CBIKS is a prime example of a model that
supports research guided by the worldview and priorities of Indigenous peoples
around the world. Similar initiatives in Australia, Canada, Aotearoa/New
Zealand, and elsewhere are also leading the way. For too long, Indigenous
peoples have been fighting for a voice in decisions regarding their lands,
waters, and lives. Indigenous-led research efforts will point to different
paths forward—those in which Indigenous peoples do not merely have a seat at
Western science’s table but are setting research agendas that reflect their
priorities and protocols.
While celebrating these developments, the
responsibility of institutions should not be overlooked. It is crucial that new
enthusiasm not take the form of “knowledge mining,” akin to a company suddenly
recognizing the value of a previously overlooked mineral, rushing in to extract
the ore for its own benefit, and leaving behind toxic tailings. Supporting and
engaging Indigenous knowledge first and foremost involves supporting Indigenous
communities. Attempts of outside actors to “incorporate” Indigenous knowledge
into their own work without full consent of Indigenous communities is highly
extractive and undermines the sovereignty of these communities over their own
knowledge. Collaborators intent on supporting Indigenous knowledge systems
might instead listen, learn, and, if requested, contribute their own knowledge
or research resources to communities. They might support local governance
sovereignty, the return of expropriated land, and the rematriation of ancestral
remains and cultural treasures held in museums, universities, or private
collections.
Supporting Indigenous-led research also
requires addressing the well-documented institutional barriers that limit full
participation and visibility of Indigenous worldviews. Certain embedded
protocols may be at odds with Indigenous ethics, values, and processes. For
example, Indigenous-led research is supported by environments where the metrics
of success not only include the number of scholarly papers published, but also
recognize the enhanced well-being of land and culture. Countries must advance
policies that support, rather than infringe upon, the wisdom, sovereignty, and
rights of Indigenous peoples. To realize the transformative potential of this
approach, a climate must be created that values pluralism while protecting
sovereignty of diverse knowledges. In this way, solutions can emerge from the
symbiosis between Western and Indigenous knowledges that benefit everyone.
For centuries, Indigenous scientists have
had to adapt to, and develop fluency in, Western modes of knowledge making.
It’s now Western scientists’ turn to learn from, and respect, Indigenous
science.
–Robin
Wall Kimmerer and Kyle A. Artelle
10.1126/science.ado0684
Robin Wall Kimmerer is a SUNY
Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology at the Center for
Native Peoples and the Environment, State University of New York College of
Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), Syracuse, NY, USA. rkimmer@esf.edu
Kyle A. Artelle is an assistant
professor in the Department of Environmental Biology and the Center for Native
Peoples and the Environment, SUNY-ESF, Syracuse, NY, USA. kaartell@esf.edu
