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Indigenous Knowledge(s) and the Sciences in Global Contexts: Bringing Worlds Together

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Handbook of Indigenous Education

Abstract

Indigenous education initiatives within the academy have always performed revolutionary work in clearing spaces for thinking at cross sections between disciplines. Perhaps none of these is more challenging than the conversation between Indigenous ways of knowing and Western science. For 10 years now, a Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and University of Alaska, USA, university course on Indigenous knowledge(s) and science has given us and our students a shared space within which to consider, discuss, and analyze some of the most difficult and pressing issues at this interface. The course is co-taught by a Māori and a Dene’/Athabascan scholar and draws Māori, Alaska Native and non-Indigenous students and their interests into conversation, using online forum discussion, videoconferencing, and skype. This chapter surveys Indigenous knowledges and science in the context of this course. We describe the course, its background, review the issues discussed, and describe the learning outcomes for students. Finally, we discuss the future direction of the conversation and its potential impact on global issues, such as climate change and biotechnology.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Te Kawa a Māui (School of Māori Studies), Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

    O. Ripeka Mercier

  2. Department of Alaska Native Studies, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK, USA

    Beth Leonard

Authors
  1. O. Ripeka Mercier
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  2. Beth Leonard
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to O. Ripeka Mercier .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Melbourne, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Elizabeth Ann McKinley

  2. Office of the Pro-Vice Chancellor Māori, The University of Waikato, Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand

    Linda Tuhiwai Smith

Section Editor information

  1. WestEd,, California, USA

    Sharon Nelson-Barber

  2. Independent Researcher, Hawaii, USA

    Zanette Johnson

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Mercier, O.R., Leonard, B. (2018). Indigenous Knowledge(s) and the Sciences in Global Contexts: Bringing Worlds Together. In: McKinley, E., Smith, L. (eds) Handbook of Indigenous Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1839-8_51-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1839-8_51-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-1839-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-1839-8

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