Indigenous Knowledge Systems

Citation:

Fejzic, Sanita. 2020. "A Radical More-Than-Human Intersectionality in Ecologically Compromised Times." In Handbook of Research on New Dimensions of Gender Mainstreaming and Women Empowerment, edited by Moly Kuruvilla and Irene George, 509-29. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Author: Sanita Fejzic

Annotation:

Summary:
Gender-based analysis+(GBA+) efforts by the Canadian government that attend to climate change often focus on ‘sustainable management' of ‘resources' alongside inclusion of vulnerable groups at decision-making tables; meanwhile, scholars and activists focus attention toward eco- and social-justice models couched in good nation-to-nation relations with Indigenous communities. This chapter suggests that attunement to Indigenous knowledges and other-than-humans (nonhuman animals, plants, and elements such as water) is necessary in the wake of global ecological collapse, founded on principles of responsibility and respect of Indigenous sovereignty over land and attunement to Indigenous ‘caretaking relations' with other-than-humans. (Summary from original source)

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Indigenous, Indigenous Knowledge Systems Regions: Americas, North America Countries: Canada

Year: 2020

Citation:

Gruner, Sheila. 2018. "Territorio y el ser decolonial: Pervivencia de las mujeres y los pueblos en tiempos de conflicto, paz y desarrollo." In Movimientos indígenas y autonomías en América Latina: Escenarios de disputa y horizontes de posibilidad, edited by Flores Pavel C. López and Guerreiro Luciana García, 259-84. Buenos Aires, Argentina: CLACSO.

Author: Sheila Gruner

Abstract:

SPANISH ABSTRACT:

La autonomía de los movimientos étnico-territoriales está orientada por conceptualizaciones de territorio y los derechos políticoterritoriales, y las relaciones sociales de producción que se producen y reproducen dentro del mismo territorio. Para entender lo que está en juego para pueblos indígenas y negros tanto como sociedad en general, se requiere abordar temas del desarrollo, conflicto y paz en su conjunto, mirar las tendencias de violencia contra las mujeres, y las mujeres racializadas en específico, desde un marco crítico, global y decolonial, tanto como anti-racista y depatriarcal. En este artículo serán explorados movimientos étnico-territoriales en Colombia y Canadá, examinando aquellos que han avanzado hacia formulaciones ontológicas alternativas al desarrollo, representado en conceptos como el buen vivir, ubuntu, y mino-bimaadiziwin. En este escrito se examinarán de igual forma los esfuerzos de los pueblos indígenas y negros en Colombia en cuanto a la construcción de la paz, la defensa del territorio y su autonomía, y la inclusión del Capítulo Étnico en los Acuerdos de paz de la Habana.

ENGLISH ABSTRACT:

The autonomy of ethno-territorial movements is oriented by conceptualizations of territory, political and territorial rights and the social relations of production that are produced and reproduced within this same territory. To understand what is at stake for indigenous and black people, as well as for society in general, issues of development, conflict, and peace must be addressed in relation to each other, examining tendencies of violence against women and racialized women in particular, from within a critical, global and decolonial framework, that is also anti-racist and depatriarchal. Ethno-territorial movements in Colombia and Canada will be explored, examining those that express ontologies alternative to that which underpins dominant development, represented in concepts such as good life, ubuntu and mino-bimaadiiziwin. Efforts of indigenous and afrocolombian communities will also be explored in relation to the construction of peace, the defense of territory, autonomy and will centre on the inclusion of the Ethnic Chapter in the Havana Peace Accords.

Keywords: decolonial, buen vivir, good life, ubuntu, mino-bimaadiiziwin, movimiento etno-territorial, ethnoterritorial movement, territorio ancestral, ancestral territory, Acuerdos de Habana, Havana Accords, Ethnic Chapter, Capitulo Etnico

Topics: Coloniality/Post-Coloniality, Conflict, Ethnicity, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Indigenous, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Peacebuilding, Race, Rights, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights Regions: Americas, North America, South America Countries: Canada, Colombia

Year: 2018

Citation:

Bhutia, Yodida, and Georgia Liarakou. 2018. "Gender and Nature in the Matrilineal Society of Meghalaya, India: Searching for Ecofeminist Perspectives." The Journal of Environmental Education 49 (4): 328-35.

Authors: Yodida Bhutia, Georgia Liarakou

Abstract:

The ecofeminist perspective of the matrilineal society of Meghalaya, India, is intriguing in that it has descent through mother, is matrilocal and daughters inherit parental property, but the different genders possibly do not agree about the relationship between women and nature. Ecofeminism has not yet been studied in a matrilineal society. The purpose of the study was to investigate qualitatively the students' ecofeminist perspectives among the Khasi, Jaintia, and Garo tribes of Meghalaya, through students who were studying in North Eastern Hill University, Shillong, India. The sample consisted of 33 students purposefully selected to complete an open questionnaire and unstructured interviews. The responses showed that the women of this matrilineal society seem to be more ecofeminist compared with the men. However only a minority of both male and female expressed an ecofeminist worldview with respect to nature and development indicating that this concept is at early stage of development. 

Keywords: ecofeminism, gender, matrilineal society, Meghalaya, nature, worldviews

Topics: Feminisms, Ecofeminism, Gender, Men, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Indigenous, Indigenous Knowledge Systems Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India

Year: 2018

Citation:

Isike, Christopher, and Ufo Okeke Uzodike. 2011. “Towards an Indigenous Model of Conflict Resolution: Reinventing Women’s Roles as Traditional Peacebuilders in Neo-Colonial Africa.” African Journal on Conflict Resolution 11 (2): 32–59.

Authors: Christopher Isike, Ufo Okeke Uzodike

Abstract:

Women have always been at the centre of peace processes across different pre-colonial African societies. Their peace agency in these societies can be located in their cultural and socio-political roles as well as their contributions to the overall well-being of these societies. It is noteworthy that women’s peacebuilding roles then were reinforced by perceptions which stereotyped women as natural peacemakers, and as being more pacific than men. However, women in neo-colonial African states appear to have lost this myth/sacredness that surrounded their being and social existence in pre-colonial Africa. This is because apart from being marginalised socially, economically and politically, they have increasingly become victims of male violence. How and why did women transform from being active participants in precolonial politics and peace processes to being passive observers of politics and peacebuilding in neo-colonial Africa? And second, given their pre-colonial peacebuilding antecedents, do women have the potential to transform politics and conflict in neo-colonial Africa?In building towards an indigenous model of conflict resolution and peacebuilding, this paper contends that the feminist ethic of care (defined by ubuntu) that was appropriated by pre-colonial African women to wage peace and maintain societal harmony, is still very much a part of the core of contemporary African women, and can be appropriated in resolving subnational conflicts in neo-colonial Africa. Indeed, it is possible to develop it into a model of African feminist peacebuilding which can be utilised as an ideological rallying point to transform politics and create a suitable environment for development in the continent.

Topics: Coloniality/Post-Coloniality, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Indigenous, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Peace Processes, Peacebuilding Regions: Africa

Year: 2011

Citation:

McGadney-Douglass, Brenda Faye, and William K. Ahadzie. 2008. “Displaced Women in Northern Ghana: Indigenous Knowledge about Ethnic Conflict.” Affilia 23 (4): 324–37.

Authors: Brenda Faye McGadney-Douglass, William K. Ahadzie

Abstract:

This article presents the findings of field research in Ghana in 2002 about internal displacement stemming from multiethnic violence in northern Ghana in 1994, known as the “Guinea Fowl War.” Indigenous, gender-specific knowledge from displaced Ghanaian women is presented in the context of feminist perspectives on the consequences of regional wars on noncombatants. The research generated indigenous material for social work education about interethnic peace building and conflict resolution. The discussion includes first-person responses about warning signs, origins of conflict, immediate and long-term responses, social consequences, and an integration of findings with feminist perspectives on conflict resolution and policies that are designed to aid internally displaced women.

Keywords: Africa, ethnic conflict, feminist social work, internally displaced women, social work education

Topics: Armed Conflict, Ethnic/Communal Wars, Displacement & Migration, IDPs, Gender, Women, Indigenous, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Peacebuilding Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Ghana

Year: 2008

Citation:

Ombati, Mokua. 2015. “Women Transcending ‘Boundaries’ in Indigenous Peacebuilding in Kenya’s Sotik/Borabu Border Conflict.” Multidisciplinary Journal of Gender Studies, 4 (1): 637–61.

Author: Mokua Ombati

Abstract:

Keywords: women, cross border conflicts, peacebuilding

Topics: Conflict, Gender, Gender Roles, Women, Indigenous, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Kenya

Year: 2015

Citation:

McGregor, Deborah. 2013. "Indigenous Women, Water Justice and Zaagidowin (Love)." Canadian Woman Studies 30 (2): 71-8. 

Author: Deborah McGregor

Abstract:

Topics: Environment, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Indigenous, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Infrastructure, Water & Sanitation Regions: Americas, North America

Year: 2013

Citation:

Adeogun, Tolulope J., and Muthoni J. Muthuki. 2017. “Indigenous Approaches to Peace Building: Examining the Strategies Employed by Women in South Sudan.” Gender & Behaviour 15 (3): 9639–51.

Authors: Tolulope J. Adeogun, Muthoni J. Muthuki

Abstract:

South Sudan got her independence from Sudan in 2011 and up till now it has suffered from recurrent relapses. Many groups such as Governmental organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations, Women’s Organizations and other various Civil Society groups troop into this post conflict zones in order to achieve a sustainable peace. More importantly, women at the grass roots formed groups/movements in order to help in the peace building process. Despite all the efforts at the grass roots in form of mediation, diplomacy, peaceful intervention, South Sudan still suffers relapses of war. Albeit, this is not to say that the grass roots women had not been working and making progress in peace building in South Sudan. The findings of this paper are based on an empirical study carried out in South Sudan among the grass roots women’s groups. Hence, this paper examines the indigenous strategies put in place by these women’s groups while attempting to build a sustainable peace at the grass roots in their communities after a long and protracted war, the success stories that come along with it and recommendations on what else can be done.

Keywords: indigenous approaches, peacebuilding, women's organizations, South Sudan

Topics: Gender, Women, Indigenous, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: South Sudan

Year: 2017

Citation:

Llanque, Aymara, y Freddy Delgado. 2018. “Derechos territoriales de mujeres y revalorización de sistemas alimentarios indígenas y agroecológicos del Chaco Cruceño en Bolivia.” Cadernos de Agroecologia 13 (1).

Authors: Aymara Llanque, Freddy Delgado

Abstract:

Keywords: Mujeres, tenencia, diversificación, sistemas alimentarios, women, tenure, diversification, foodsystems

Topics: Agriculture, Economies, Care Economies, Environment, Climate Change, Indigenous, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Land Tenure, Livelihoods, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Bolivia

Year: 2018

Citation:

Löw, Christine. 2020. “Gender and Indigenous Concepts of Climate Protection: A Critical Revision of REDD+ Projects.” Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 43 (April): 91–8.

Author: Christine Löw

Abstract:

Gender inequality and discrimination challenge the most important international climate regime mechanism on forests REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries) in achieving sustainable development and protecting forests. The backgrounding of a gender-specific perspective in REDD+ research is often justified from the premise that forests are an inherently male business and REDD+ is only a technical issue. Although millions of women, predominantly indigenous women, are involved in forest work and forestry their importance for natural resource management has been systematically devalued and invisibilized. This paper reviews the gender literature on climate change and REDD+-projects to elaborate on gender-specific subordination of women, with a closer attention to indigenous women, which hinder effective forest protection, fair resource allocation, gender equality and social justice. The paper integrates an autonomous model for climate change adaption lead by indigenous women, that documents not only the local climatic effects on agriculture and forests but develops responses beyond the top downmodel of REDD+. Through relying on knowledge from decades about territories, seasons, trees and cultural life systems indigenous women together with youth and community members were able to sustain food sovereignty in the context of climate change – and the broader goal of people led sustainable development.

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Indigenous, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Security, Food Security

Year: 2020