Jeremy Waldron introduced the notion of rights supersession into the philosophical discussion about restitutive justice in cases of historic injustices. He refers to land claims by indigenous peoples as a real-world example and as an application of his theory of rights supersession. He implies that the changes that have taken place in settler states since the first years of colonialism are the kind of changes that lead to a supersession of land rights. The article proposes to unbundle property rights (...) into rights of benefit, control, use, and access and to distinguish between different forms of attachment. This strategy allows for a third option of restitution and supersession, namely partial restitution. Partial restitution grants current land holders those rights that they need to satisfy their attachments and basic distributive justice claims. At the same time, rights that are not needed for either purpose will revert back to indigenous peoples as the original owners. The article argues that the notion of partial restitution allows for far more extensive land rights than a less nuanced application of the supersession thesis. (shrink)

Indigenous traditional knowledge is subject to undue appropriation by corporations and research centers in the Global North. This article emphasizes that applying the concept of common good to this knowledge leads to a profound transformation of the logic underlying the international legal framework that governs the use of such knowledge and calls for a reinterpretation of the rights of Indigenous peoples. Indigenous rights should not be conceived merely as instruments enabling negotiation over access and benefits; they must (...) be regarded as rights that categorically prohibit enclosure and privatization. (shrink)

The Western world is experiencing a resurgence of interest in the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, most of which are derived from plants or fungi with a history of Indigenous ceremonial use. Recent research has revealed that psychedelic compounds have the potential to address treatment‐resistant depression and anxiety, as well as post‐traumatic stress disorder and addictions. These findings have contributed to the decriminalization of psychedelics in some jurisdictions and their legalization in others. Despite psychedelics’ opaque legal status, numerous companies and (...) individuals are profiting from speculative investments with few, if any, benefits accruing to Indigenous Peoples. In this paper, we suggest that the aptly named “psychedelic renaissance,” like the European Renaissance, is made possible by colonial extractivism. We further suggest that Indigenous philosophical traditions offer alternative approaches to reorient the “psychedelic renaissance” towards a more equitable future for Indigenous Peoples, psychedelic medicines, and all our relations. (shrink)

Indigenous peoples are referenced at various times in communication, debates, and academic and policy discussions on geoengineering. The discourses I have in mind f...

Though Aníbal Quijano’s thought has been enormously influential in the Global North via the incorporation of key concepts by theorists such as Walter Mignolo and María Lugones, it was only last year (2024) that a full-length book manuscript by this most influential Peruvian theorist of his generation was finally translated into English. From that recent anthology, Foundational Essays: On the Coloniality of Power, the present investigation shows how the last three chapters of the recently translated anthology give us a new (...) way to read Quijano, thereby generating an argument for decolonial revolution today. The present investigation’s three sections each rehearse a different premise of Quijano’s argument there, as follows: (1) Latin America (most obviously Peru), is the heart of colonial modernity; (2) utopian rebellious aesthetics is the heart of Latin American colonial modernity; and (3) Indigeneity is the heart of the utopian rebellious aesthetics of Latin American colonial modernity. And the concluding section identifies a beginning of this revolutionary aesthetics in Quijano’s casual reference to the Peruvian vernacular dance chicha, which with other Indigenous-infused dances like salsa is cutting through the “Arguedian knot” of colonialized identity. (shrink)

In the age of rapid AI advancement, digital colonialism poses a significant threat to Indigenous communities, perpetuating inequalities and exploiting their data. This commentary delves into the concept of Indigenous data sovereignty as a powerful framework for resisting digital colonialism and promoting ethical AI development.

Indigenous peoples often embrace different versions of the concept of food sovereignty. Yet some of these concepts are seemingly based on impossible ideals of food self-sufficiency. I will suggest in this essay that for at least some North American Indigenous peoples, food sovereignty movements are not based on such ideals, even though they invoke concepts of cultural revitalization and political sovereignty. Instead, food sovereignty is a strategy of Indigenous resurgence that negotiates structures of settler colonialism that erase (...) the ecological value of certain foods for Indigenous peoples. (shrink)

The aim of this article is to discuss the relation between indigenous and scientific kinds on the basis of contemporary ethnobiological research. I argue that ethnobiological accounts of taxonomic convergence-divergence patters challenge common philosophical models of the relation between folk concepts and natural kinds. Furthermore, I outline a positive model of taxonomic convergence-divergence patterns that is based on Slater's [2014] notion of “stable property clusters” and Franklin-Hall's [2014] discussion of natural kinds as “categorical bottlenecks.” Finally, I argue that this (...) model is not only helpful for understanding the relation between indigenous and scientific kinds but also makes substantial contributions to contemporary debates about natural kinds.to contemporary debates about natural kinds. (shrink)

Different cultures show different understandings of consciousness, soul, and spirit. Native indigenous traditions have recently seen a resurgence of interest and are being used in psychotherapy, mental health counselling, and psychiatry. The main aim of this review is to explore and summarize the native indigenous concepts of consciousness, soul, and spirit. Following a systematic review search, the peer-reviewed literature presenting research from 55 different cultural groups across regions of the world was retrieved. Information relating to native concepts of (...) consciousness, soul, and spirit were excerpted from the sources and contrasted. Contrasting these indigenous concepts revealed important implications for understanding consciousness within a cross-cultural perspective and has practical implications for applied approaches utilizing native indigenous traditions. (shrink)

Every indigenous people around the world has its own autonomy process, expressed in various relevant dimensions of daily life. This paper argues that autonomy in indigenous communities can be considered as a common good dynamic, and therefore autonomy processes can be studied within the framework of the common good approach to development. To this end, the paper first identifies the general dimensions of any autonomy process by considering the perspective of indigenous peoples – drawing partly on official (...) documents, but more significantly on their lived experiences and explicit demands in the Mexican context. It then links these dimensions to a matrix of common good dynamics developed by the Instituto Promotor del Bien Común (IPBC). Finally, the paper explores the dynamics of the autonomy process of the Nahua community of Cuauhtamazaco in Puebla, Mexico, in the light of this common good metric. It finds that the social, cultural, and political dimensions are essential to indigenous peoples’ autonomy processes and can be inferred within the common good approach framework. However, as the important dimension of territory is missing from the approach, its incorporation needs to be evaluated. (shrink)

In a recent paper, Allen Carlson moves away from a purely scientific–cognitive framework for environmental aesthetics towards a ‘combination position’ based on the ecoaesthetics theorised by Xiangzhan Cheng. Carlson argues that only an aesthetics informed by ecological knowledge can offer the correct foundations for the continued relevance of environmental aesthetics to environmental ethics. However, closer analysis of Cheng's theory of ecoaesthetics reveals a number of problems related to questions of anthropocentrism and in particular, the issue of an ethic based on (...) love. In this paper, I offer an alternative approach for the future of environmental aesthetics in the form of an intergenerational aesthetics based on Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK). (shrink)

The need for ethical leadership in navigating today’s complex, global and competitive organisations has been established. While research has confirmed the importance of ethical leaders in promoting positive organisational and employee outcomes, scant research has examined the antecedents of ethical leadership. Furthermore, there has been a call for further examination of leadership models, particularly indigenous leadership models. Responding to these issues, this study suggests Māori leaders’ values add insights into enhancing ethical leadership. Three studies confirm the role of Māori (...) values and ethical leadership. Study one, based on kaupapa Māori research methods, is an exploratory 22-interview study of Māori leaders and identifies five values, as common to successful indigenous leaders. In study two, 249 employees rate their leaders on these five dimensions in relation to their ethical leadership and exchange relationships. Structural equation modelling shows strong support for the distinct nature of the five values and their positive influence on ethical leadership perceptions and quality exchange relationships. Study three, on 122 employees, reinforces the findings of study two—and demonstrates that LMX predicts job outcomes both indirectly and directly, with humility and collectivism also directly predicting outcomes. Our findings suggest that indigenous leaders’ values enhance perceptions and outcomes of ethical leadership for employees. (shrink)

Indigenous cultures of North America confronted a problem of knowledge different from that of canonical European philosophy. The European problem is to identify and overcome obstacles to the perfection of knowledge as science, while the Indigenous problem is to conserve a legacy of practice fused with a territory. Complicating the difference is that one of these traditions violently colonized the other, and with colonization the Indigenous problem changes. The old problem of inter-generational stability cannot be separated from (...) the post-colonial problem of sovereignty in the land where the knowledge makes sense. I differentiate the question of the value of knowledge (Part One), and its content (Part Two). The qualities these epistemologies favor define what I call ceremonial knowledge, that is, knowledge that sustains a ceremonial community. The question of content considers the interdisciplinary research of Indigenous and Traditional Ecological Knowledge, as well as the issue of epistemic decolonization. (shrink)

Researchers seeking to engage in projects related to Tribal communities and their citizens, lands, and non-human relatives are responsible for understanding and abiding by each Tribal nation’s research laws and review processes. Few studies, however, have described the many diverse forms of Tribal research review systems across the United States (US). This study provides one of the most comprehensive examinations of research review processes administered by Tribal Research Review Boards (TRRBs) in the US. Through a systematic analysis, we consider TRRBs’ (...) online presence, online documentation, and themes across documents, for five entity types: Tribal nations and Tribal consortiums, Tribal colleges and universities, Tribal health organizations, Indian Health Services, and other Tribal organizations. Results include an assessment of online presence for 98 potential TRRBs, identification of 118 publicly available online documents, and analysis of 41 themes across four document types: Tribal research codes and TRRBs’ guidelines, applications, and post-approval documents. Altogether, this research provides a macro-level analysis of the most common types of TRRBs in the US in an effort to increase researchers’ understanding of these important processes as they prepare to ethically engage Tribal communities in research. These results aim to empower Tribal decision makers as they align their TRRBs’ online visibility and documentation with community priorities and strengthen their protections for the rights and wellbeing of their citizens and community. Ultimately, by expanding our knowledge of TRRBs across the US, this contribution seeks to uphold Tribal sovereignty in research and promote ethical approaches to research with Indigenous communities. (shrink)

This article sets out to explore the way in which Western science and technology was received in the Mbeere Mission of central Kenya since August 1912 when a medical missionary, Dr T.W.W. Crawford, visited the area. In his dalliance with ecclesiastical matters, Crawford, a highly trained Canadian medical doctor, was sent by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) at Kigari-Embu, in 1910, to pioneer the Anglican mission in the vast area that included Mbeereland, where Mbeere Mission is situated. Contending with the (...) African indigenous knowledge in medicine, environmental conservation, agriculture and other forms of indigenous science, the introduction of Western science and technology, 1912 to 1952, the article argues, did not erase the former; rather, it complimented it. Pockets of general resistance were evident, though Mbeereland, unlike its neighbouring Mutira Mission of 1912, did not offer elaborate opposition to the Western science and technology, partly because the locals could have learnt about it from their neighbours who had experienced it much earlier. Through a historico-narrative design, the research article endeavours to primarily review the coming of Western medicine in Mbeereland: Did it conflict with the African medicine? Methodologically, the data have been collected via archival sources, oral interviews and by reviewing applicable literature.Contribution: The input of this research article to the HTS Journal’s vision and scope is seen by appreciating its focus on the interface between African indigenous knowledge and the European science and technology. Although the main focus is. (shrink)

Proposals to release genetically engineered organisms in the wild raise complex ethical issues related to their safe and equitable implementation. While there is broad agreement that community and public engagement is vital to decision‐making in this context, more discussion is needed about who should be engaged in such activities and in what ways. This article identifies Indigenous peoples as key stakeholders in decisions about gene‐editing in the wild and argues that engagement activities need not only include Indigenous peoples (...) but also be designed, conducted, and analyzed in ways that confront longstanding power imbalances that dismiss Indigenous expertise. We offer specific recommendations to guide deliberative activities to not only be inclusive of Indigenous peoples but also to empower their diverse, situated knowledges. We call on those committed to the inclusive design of broad public deliberation to pursue strategies that shift dominant power dynamics to include Indigenous communities in more meaningful ways. (shrink)

Indigenous psychologies are informed by their cosmogonies and cosmologies, philosophies, spirituality and religions, traditions and customs, and knowledge and praxis systems. This paper reviews some conceptions of consciousness, psyche, spirit, mental and physical health, relations to all Earth Beings (human and nonhuman), ancestors, nature, and altered states of consciousness among the Nahua and Maya of Mexico. Colonization has threatened these rich legacies by imposing the conquerors' cosmologies. However, these Indigenous communities continue to use plants, mushrooms, and some animals (...) to generate altered states of consciousness, enacting sacred rituals and healing. The conclusion recommends learning from these knowledge and praxes systems and their related consciousness and spiritual states to expand the emergence of decolonial psychology that may offer alternatives to address the challenges of our time. (shrink)

Resource extraction companies worldwide are involved with Indigenous peoples. Historically these interactions have been antagonistic, yet there is a growing public expectation for improved ethical performance of resource industries to engage with Indigenous peoples. (Crawley and Sinclair, Journal of Business Ethics 45, 361–373 (2003)) proposed an ethical model for human resource practices with Indigenous peoples in Australian mining companies. This paper expands on this work by re-framing the discussion within the context of sustainable development, extending it to (...) Canada, and generalizing to other resource industries. We argue that it is unethical to sacrifice the viability of Indigenous cultures for industrial resource extraction; it is ethical to engage with indigenous peoples in a manner consistent with their wishes and needs as they perceive them. We apply these ideas to a case study in the coastal temperate rainforest of Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia, Canada. In this case a scientific panel comprised of Nuu-Chah-Nulth elders, forest scientists and management professionals, achieved full consensus on developing sustainable forest practice standards by drawing equally on Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge and Western science in the context of one of the most heated and protracted environmental conflicts in Canadian history. The resulting sustainable forest practice standards were later adopted by leading forestry firms operating on the coast. Our analysis of this scientific panels success provides the basis for advancing an ethical approach to sustainable development with Indigenous peoples. This ethical approach is applicable to companies working in natural resource industries where the territories of Indigenous peoples are involved. (shrink)

Indigenous peoples face a number of hurdles intaking cases to Australian law courts. In thecase that the social and economic problems canbe overcome, they face problems related to theintellectual structures of the court and thelanguage and philosophical beliefs that thecourt systems are based on. Derrida shows thatWestern metaphysics privileges speech overwriting, and this counts against indigenouscultures in which narrative knowledge is a formof writing. Due to this privileging, there is adifferend involving the courts and indigenouspeoples which makes the achievement (...) of justicedifficult in the legal arena in Australia. Thisarticle questions whether the courts are thecorrect bodies to deal with indigenous issues.The achievement of justice is made moredifficult again by the truth-producing effectsof legal decisions, which render native titleas a weaker form of property right. Finally,indigenous Australians are caught in a catch-22situation, in which in order to receivejustice, they must Westernise their thought toadapt to the court system, and yet not allowany Westernisation of their culture. Such aWesternisation can be forced upon indigenouspeoples by the truth-producing effects oflanguage. (shrink)

The purpose of this study is to identify China’s indigenous conceptual dimensions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and to increase the knowledge and comprehension about CSR in specific context. We conducted an inductive analysis of CSR in China based on an open-ended survey of 630 CEOs and business owners in 12 provinces (municipalities) in China. In the survey, we collected CSR sample responses. After examining the qualitative data, we identified nine dimensions of CSR, among which six dimensions are similar (...) to their western counterparts; however, the other three dimensions were never mentioned in previous literature, which mostly study the cases in the western world. In addition, two of the widely accepted CSR dimensions in the western world have no embodiments in China. A comparative study of CSR between China and western countries also unveiled some unique dimensions of CSR in China. In conclusion, CSR manifested in China is different from that in western countries, and China’s CSR is closely related to its social and cultural background. (shrink)

Indigenous knowledge refers to knowledge accrued by people indigenous to a particular region or environment. Since indigenous knowledge is unique knowledge endemic to people from a particular culture or society it is also known as traditional knowledge or local knowledge.

This article argues that thinking about entrepreneurship as a potential instrument for relief from endemic poverty and disadvantage, especially among the Indigenous, has all too often been captive to a concept of entrepreneurship that is built out of constrained economic and cultural assumptions. The authors develop this argument from a critical discussion of contributions by Karl Polanyi and Robert Heilbroner. The result is that approaches to venture have been encouraged that are sometimes a poor fit for the circumstances of (...) those they are meant to benefit, and other forms that could have considerable promise have gone unexplored. This article outlines some features of Indigenous culture and build on the analysis of David Harper to construct an improved notion of entrepreneurship that allows for these distinctive features. The article concludes that research and policy making concerning entrepreneurship as an instrument of development among the Indigenous need to be undertaken with this reconstructed understanding of entrepreneurship that is a better fit for the realities of Indigenous culture. (shrink)

Indigenous cultural and religious practices made it possible for tribes to coexist peacefully with their surroundings. This promoted a balanced and sustainable utilisation of natural resources. Today, the world is stirring at an environmental disaster of catastrophic magnitude. This is practically experienced through drastic environmental degradation and extraordinary changes in weather patterns, among others. This has brought a plethora of related effects, such as diseases that are continually being discovered. These conditions are risky to humanity if they continue unabated (...) because there is a link between human activity and the destruction of the ecosystem. This paper, therefore, draws from our African indigenous cultural practices to rediscover how they preserved the ecosystem. This can be an African contribution to the larger pool of initiatives toward environmental preservation. The work is guided by the following questions: i. What are the threats of environmental degradation in Kenya? ii. What are those indigenous African cultural practices that critically enabled the preservation of the environment? iii. What strategies are adoptable and applicable in contemporary times for the enhancement of environmental preservation? This is fundamentally important in conscientizing all persons in society toward their responsibility in environmental preservation, as declared in the Laudato Si! movement initiated by the late Pope Francis. (shrink)

This essay discusses the causes and meaning of dementia for Alaska Native dementia caregivers and Native and non‐Native providers from across the state of Alaska. This piece highlights Indigenous concepts of dementia, specifically concerning the causes and meaning of the disease, and how they differ from Western concepts of dementia. The essay encourages an honoring of and respect for the lived experiences of people in Indigenous communities who are living with dementia or caring for those who have dementia. (...) It also highlights both Indigenous and Western systems of knowledge related to dementia and discusses how they can work together to increase awareness, education, and treatment for dementia. (shrink)

This article argues that considering cross-sector collaborations through the lens of indigenous-corporate engagements yields a more comprehensive understanding of the range of cross-sector engagement types, emphasizes the importance of cross-cultural bridge building which has received little attention in the literature :849–873, 2005), and highlights the potential for innovation via collaborations with fringe stakeholders. The study offers a more overarching typology of cross-sector collaborations and, building on an ethical approach to sustainable development with indigenous peoples, proposes a theoretical framework (...) for cross-cultural bridge building between businesses and fringe stakeholders. By incorporating this framework into the literature on value creation in cross-sector collaborations, we suggest a model for value creation in cross-sector collaborations with fringe stakeholders. Finally, using case studies to illustrate the article’s theoretical arguments, we demonstrate the model’s usefulness for the analysis and development of indigenous-corporate collaborations. (shrink)

Indigenous Knowledge provides all educators, especially indigenous educators, with theoretical tools for critical reflection and interrogation of their own and others’ preconceptions. The book challenges our conception of knowledge as a tool in anti-discrimination and anti-repression discourse with profound educational consequences.

This paper examines how indigenous knowledge systems and proverbs, which promote peace and social harmony, can serve as pathways to contemporary peacebuilding. Participants were selected from two case studies: Bulambuli and Bududa in the Bugisu region of eastern Uganda, severely affected by mudslides and volcanic eruptions. An ethnographic study, through in-depth interviews, reveals tensions that spread from the family to the wider community. Importantly, the Gishu strongly uphold traditional knowledge and heritage for revitalizing social harmony. This includes recognizing women (...) in the traditional extended family institutions as key in nurturing character through conflict prevention. The article supports this position by arguing against any stereotypes that reinforce marginalization of women as passive victims of conflict situations. It recommends creating a forum for strengthening family solidarity by invoking the positive aspects of traditional Gishu knowledge that facilitates meaningful participation of both men and women in reforming peace in landslide-affected communities. (shrink)

This article examines the application of social contract theorizing to questions pertaining to the rights of indigenous peoples today, with particular reference to recent work by Jeremy Waldron. It is argued that such theorizing must be examined with reference not only to the content of its claims, but also with respect to its general mode of argumentation and its political function in specific contexts. Read in this light, social contract theory may function to unduly deny the claims of (...) class='Hi'>indigenous peoples, oftentimes by shifting the register of debate to a relatively abstract and counter-factual level and relieving settler-colonial societies of the burden of proof. Insofar as social contract theory operates to this effect, it is analysed in terms of a ‘Settler Contract’. (shrink)

This study investigates the increased commercialization of African indigenous vegetables (AIV)—former subsistence crops such as African nightshade, cowpea leaves and amaranth species grown mainly by women—from a feminist economics perspective. The study aims to answer the following research question: How does AIV commercialization affect the gendered division of labor, women’s participation in agricultural labor, their decision-making power, and their access to resources? We analyze commercialization’s effects on gender relations in labor and decision-making power and also highlight women’s agency. Based (...) on a mixed method design and analyzing household-level panel data and qualitative focus groups from Kenya, we observe an economic empowerment of women that we relate to women’s individual and collective strategies as well as their retention of control over AIV selling and profits. Yet, while we see economic empowerment of women through commercialization—how they broaden their scope of action and are empowered by generating revenue—that does not contribute to a redistribution of labor or land rights, which are key for gender equality, instead it increases women’s labor burden. (shrink)

Relational practice is the basis for human connection and is linked to enhanced healthcare experiences and involvement with healthcare services. Although the nurse‐patient relationship is typically built around behavioural communication skills, relational practice requires developing awareness, connectedness and responsiveness to others. The task‐oriented ways of working have eroded these attributes. This study explored how Indigenous values and practices can transform relational practice in a publicly funded acute hospital in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Kaupapa Māori (Māori philosophy and practice) and grounded (...) theory were used to generate and analyse data from interviews with Māori staff and consumers. Three culturally informed processes culminated in the culturally grounded theory of achieving a culture of whanaungatanga (belonging and inclusion): tikanga mahi (work ethic), whakawhanaungatanga (developing kinships) and manaakitanga (cultural and social responsibility). The study highlights the necessity of developing and maintaining relationships and creating an environment that enables relational practice. Findings show that developing a sound work ethic supported by solid and committed leadership and espousing Māori values is the catalyst for change. Applying an Indigenous mentoring model like the tuakana‐teina (leader–learner) model may create an environment supporting organisational culture change. (shrink)

In the past decade, Indigenous Peoples have made significant headway in asserting their rights and interests in international trade policy. Although initially met with resistance from settler governments, recent developments have signalled a shift towards sustainability and inclusivity in trade. This shift could be attributed to the pressing challenges posed by the climate crisis and global pandemic compelling policymakers to re-evaluate trade policy. In international trade forums where Indigenous Peoples have traditionally been marginalized or excluded, there is an (...) emerging trend of engagement to explore innovative approaches to trade policy that not only safeguards Indigenous rights, including economic and environmental rights, but also promotes inclusive and equitable trade practices. (shrink)

This essay intervenes in the on-going debate over the power-knowledge entanglements of classifying emic Indigenous resurgence accounts of the past as “therapeutic history”. We refer to how “therapeutic history” was defined by Ronald Niezen in his 2009 book, The Rediscovered Self. We argue that despite the important refinement of the concept made by Rafael Verbuyst in his application of the term in his work on Khoisan resurgence in South Africa, we believe it to be a problematic category, especially in (...) Western knowledge production about Indigenous people. Our reasons are that the term conflates the use of history with its recovery, unfairly maligns Indigenous knowledge keepers as self-serving and uninterested in the truth, and introduces an insidious binary which has unwelcome discursive effects, in that longer chains of equivalence ultimately place Indigenous storying and knowledge keeping on the other side of an epistemological divide from “proper” history-writing. (shrink)

Globalisation destabilises indigenous cultures from mining in rainforests to the erasure of indigenous identities due to the impact of globalising information technology (IT). Extinguishing these cultures means deleting strategies needed for the survival of humankind. Within its short time of existence, IT has already achieved the creation of virtual environments with virtual agents equipped with artificial intelligence (AI). As a leverage point for reconciling indigenous and globalised views the Simulation Hypothesis is proposed, which postulates that our world (...) has been programmed from a metalevel. This concept assumes a programmer, which is consistent with religion in general, including the rather complex Christian concept of salvation. The perspective of the universe being a complex programme is compatible with indigenous worldviews of the universe being created by the Creator, and thus, with spirituality. It is suggested that IT users should respect indigenous peoples, especially since they pay a very high price for something they hardly enjoy themselves. (shrink)

I will argue that the Lumads, Kankana-eys, Ibaloys, and Aetas are indigenous communities who need social group representation in the wider practice of democratization toward the sustainability of their environment and the development of their lifeways. Human rights violations, however, are not merely perpetuated by direct acts against Indigenous peoples, as these are also reinforced by the norms, social structures, stereotypes, behaviors, and assumptions that fuel the aggressive existence of consumer society and its adoration of rationalistic and manipulative (...) subjectivity. I will explain the significance of Iris Marion Young’s theory of the five faces of oppression – exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism, and violence – to demand a more meticulous, philosophical, and democratic understanding of the conditions and factors that perpetuate structural oppression.Central to this project is the rethinking of the dominant system’s understanding of “development,” “growth,” and “prosperity,” which have become, in reality, predominantly profit-driven, highly individualistic, and destructively manipulative, as opposed to the indigenous cultures to be discussed. Without examining these underlying sources and conditions of oppressive culture, the Philippine society remains hostage to “practical consciousness” and “double consciousness,” in which the citizens do not think that they can learn valuable lessons from the indigenous communities’ understanding and praxis of consumption and production, much less support the furtherance of “politicized cultural discussions.” It is only in this way that we can critically evaluate, despite the seeming overlap of subliminal and palpably conscious forms of oppression that perpetuate the climate crisis, environmental destruction, and human rights violations. (shrink)

This article discusses indigenous rights within the context of global governance. I begin by defining the terms “global governance” and “indigenous peoples” and summarizing the rights that are most important to indigenous peoples. The bulk of this article studies the global governance of indigenous rights in three areas. The first example is the creation of the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. A second example involves violations of indigenous rights brought before (...) the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. A third case looks at a relatively new international regime created by indigenous peoples themselves—the Inuit Circumpolar Council. I conclude by using theories of sovereignty to assess the relative successes and failures of indigenous efforts to secure their rights. (shrink)

Although the potential of indigenous knowledge in sustainable natural resource management has been recognized, methods of gathering and utilizing it effectively are still being developed and tested. This paper focuses on various methods used in gathering knowledge on the use and management of tree fodder resources among the Maasai community of Kenya. The methods used were (1) a household survey to collect socio-economic data and identify key topics and informants for the subsequent knowledge elicitation phase; (2) semi-structured interviews using (...) key informants to gather in-depth information; (3) tree inventory to collect quantitative data on the ecological status of trees and shrubs on rangelands; and (4) group consensus method to countercheck information elicited from key informants. Study results obtained show that the use of multiple methods in an appropriate sequence is an effective way of building upon the information elicited from each stage. It also facilitates the collection of different types of data and knowledge allowing a measure of triangulation, which can be used to confirm the validity and consistency of indigenous knowledge. Multiple methods also allow the collection of more knowledge than can be obtained if only one method is used. Therefore, it is recommended that future studies on indigenous knowledge systems use multiple methods that combine both individual and group interviews in order to obtain more complete and accurate information. (shrink)

Philosophy & Social Criticism, Volume 48, Issue 6, Page 882-903, July 2022. Indigenous conservation through patrimonialization is the product of political and legal decisions made by a non-indigenous agent: the liberal state, using the law to retain a form of bios. We propose that patrimonialization is the device by which liberal states have processed and integrated indigenous claims into a form of bios ultimately designed to safeguard state legal structures. We argue that, to uphold the rule of (...) law in contexts of struggle and resistance that challenge the very understanding of the law, states respond by wielding the law in the form of the rule by law, that is, pushing the law to the limit to give normative content to the criteria by which the state conducts its affairs, without straying from the individual rights framework. We hold that the rule by law is an operation that defines the patrimonialization of indigenous peoples. It increases their visibility while imposing limits on political action to keep them from becoming sui juris subjects capable of breaching the distinction between zoe and bios. In this article, we try to understand the political–ideological intent of these decisions, the intentions beyond the letter of the law of patrimonialized peoples. (shrink)

Première traduction anglaise d’une collection de mythes spécifiques aux tribus aborigènes de l’île de Taïwan : mythe du déluge ainsi que divers mythes étiologiques. First translation in English of a thematic collection of myths specific to aboriginal tribes in Taiwan : deluge myths as well as various etiological myths.