Indigenous Knowledge and Education as a Transformative Agent for Sustainable Development

Abstract

Globally, humans are facing exceptional challenges; drought, floods, storm, cyclones, climate change, intense and hateful ideologies, mass loss of biological diversity, new conflicts and violence and the risks of world pandemics just to name a few. Never before has the human race faced the convergence of such crises. If traditional cultural practices and ceremonies had not been prohibited and had traditional stewards been listened to over the years, perhaps human beings would not find ourselves in the circumstances they are in today; with the deprivation, destruction and pollution they face as a worldwide community (Sergon et al. 2022). Indigenous knowledge (IK) is a valuable component of the ability to face not only the crises mentioned above, but also the conservation and safeguarding of all of our resources for sustainability. Indigenous knowledge and education need to be customized to equip societies with the knowledge, education, values, and capacities to act as responsible individuals of an international society for the benefit of all people and the earth. Scholars have come to realize that there are a variety of ways of viewing the world we live in and acquiring knowledge about it. The scientific investigation or Western Epistemology is not the only and ‘right’ way of gaining knowledge but simply one way to acquire knowledge. Accommodating epistemological pluralism can lead to more successful consolidated knowledge (Mazzocchi, 2018).
Indigenous knowledge is about protecting a way of life that is at risk of extinction. Almost half of the human culture is fronting extinction. Therefore, it is imperative to bring indigenous knowledge onto the discourse. Currently, there is a serious threat of much indigenous knowledge being lost, and along with it, invaluable knowledge about ways of living sustainably both environmentally and socially. The role of colonialism in disregarding and sometimes defaming indigenous knowledge has been well documented by various authors. As a result of the impact of unfavourable values and mind sets towards indigenous knowledge systems (Sillitoe, 1998), even during early postcolonialism, many academics considered indigenous knowledge systems as backward, primitive, simplistic and static. For instance, language is a main feature of an indigenous society and yet Indigenous languages are under serious danger. Approximately, one language disappears every 3 months or so, which means that by the end of the century, over three thousand languages will have died (Sillitoe, 1998; Bromham et al., 2022). When a language disappears from a society that has not developed literacy, that society also loses its identity and knowledge. Such a society recognizes speech not only as a means of everyday communication but also as a means of preserving the wisdom of ancestors, which will not happen if languages die. The other reason for considering indigenous knowledge is recognition that when more forms of evidence are considered, better decision-making is the consequence. Acknowledgement and inclusion of indigenous knowledge in decision-making benefits all actors. Indigenous peoples have long appealed that indigenous knowledge be constantly and purposely included in decision making processes.