The best way to begin our understanding of Indigenous knowledge is by considering its source, namely indigenous peoples and their societies — comprising over 370 million people spread across at least 70 different countries.
This diversity of societies presents us with problems if we want to avoid generalising and simplifying the knowledge systems that characterise them.
It is easy to take the concept of knowledge for granted. Yet what counts for knowledge, and by whom, is not only value-laden but also highly contested and needs consideration given the role knowledge plays in schooling.
…it is possible that you have managed to live without having to operate outside of knowledge systems that are familiar to you, or shift the paradigm through which you view the world in order to make sense of things.
(Dunn 2013)
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This diversity of societies presents us with problems if we want to avoid generalising and simplifying the knowledge systems that characterise them.
It is easy to take the concept of knowledge for granted. Yet what counts for knowledge, and by whom, is not only value-laden but also highly contested and needs consideration given the role knowledge plays in schooling.
…it is possible that you have managed to live without having to operate outside of knowledge systems that are familiar to you, or shift the paradigm through which you view the world in order to make sense of things.
(Dunn 2013)
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References
Dunn, M 2013 ‘Knowledge framework: indigenous knowledge systems’, theoryofknowledge.net, viewed 23 August 2016, <http://www.theoryofknowledge.net/areas-of-knowledge/indigenous-knowledge-systems/knowledge-framework-indigenous-knowledge-systems/>