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Towards inclusive practices with indigenous knowledge

Nature Astronomy volume 3, pages 1035–1037 (2019)Cite this article

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Astronomy across world cultures is rooted in indigenous knowledge. We share models of partnering with indigenous communities involving collaboration with integrity to co-create an inclusive scientific enterprise on Earth and in space.

Astronomy is recognized as the oldest human science, connected worldwide for millennia by celestial cycles, objects, and events recorded in the calendars and rituals of our ancestors. Astronomy therefore has a unique grounding in the cultural and scientific practices of indigenous peoples through indigenous knowledge (IK). We use ‘indigenous’ as a general term designating the original inhabitants of any land, who existed or exist for thousands of years in an explicitly interconnected local system of relationships including community, environment, and sky1,2. By IK, we mean a living, language-rooted practice unique to each indigenous culture and adapted to their specific environment, framed through the lens of their cultural values and spiritual traditions. IK is inherently interdisciplinary, multigenerational, and expressed through sustainable practices3. Additionally, connection to place has been identified by numerous researchers, including traditional knowledge holders, as an essential component in indigenous education4,5.

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Fig. 1: Representation of what is required to co-create in collaboration with people with differing worldviews.

Aurore Simonnet, Sonoma State University / Education & Public Outreach

Fig. 2: Conference participants at the 2015 I-WISE meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.

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Acknowledgements

A.V. gratefully acknowledges support from the University of San Francisco Faculty Development Fund. We dedicate this Comment to the world’s wealth of indigenous knowledge and to two beloved indigenous colleagues who were taken too soon: Dr ‘Auntie’ Verlie Ann Malina-Wright, Hawaiian–Chinese–Irish educator of over 50 years and wise elder; and Dr Paul Coleman, cherished field mentor and the first Native Hawaiian to earn a doctorate in astrophysics. As Paul said to his family, “I offer the lesson of the stone mason; the greatest works require a tremendous effort with surprising patience, one stone at a time.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Aparna Venkatesan

  2. Indigenous Education Institute, Friday Harbor, WA, USA

    David Begay & Nancy Maryboy

  3. University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    David Begay & Nancy Maryboy

  4. University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Adam J. Burgasser

  5. San Francisco Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Isabel Hawkins

  6. ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai’i, Hilo, HI, USA

    Ka’iu Kimura

  7. Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, USA

    Laura Peticolas

Authors
  1. Aparna Venkatesan
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  2. David Begay
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  3. Adam J. Burgasser
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  4. Isabel Hawkins
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  5. Ka’iu Kimura
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  6. Nancy Maryboy
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  7. Laura Peticolas
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Correspondence to Aparna Venkatesan.

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Venkatesan, A., Begay, D., Burgasser, A.J. et al. Towards inclusive practices with indigenous knowledge. Nat Astron 3, 1035–1037 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-019-0953-2

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