Gather as a class and select a biodiversity-focused scientific question that has been explored by both western science and traditional knowledge (say the state of caribou populations on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains).
Half the class will investigate how traditional knowledge has worked to answer the question, and the other half will look at how western science approached the question. Each group will present their findings to the other.
As a class, discuss the following questions:
- What aspects of each knowledge system do you find similar?
- What aspects of each knowledge system do you find different?
- Were the conclusions the same or different? Why?
- Did both systems add important information to the debate/decision-making process? Why or why not?
- Decide what each knowledge system brings to the process of inquiry. Is one scientific approach better than the other, or do both approaches matter? Why?
- Discuss how both knowledge systems can or should be used in future scientific studies, and how both knowledge systems might be utilized in this class.
Resources:
TRACKS Traditional Knowledge Science Resources
Braiding Indigenous Science with Western Science
Why “Integrating” Western Science and Indigenous Knowledge Is Not an Easy Task
Can Indigenous knowledge and Western science work together? New center bets yes