Indigenous Knowledge and Decolonising Academia #593
December 23, 2021
We often think the practices of science and academics as a western-European invention, and while both science and the academy have created a lot of positive knowledge, it's important to take a step back and recognize the blind spots of science that come from European ways of thinking about the world, and to see how academics can disadvantage people who don't align with that worldview. We speak to Ray Pierotti, Associate Professor in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas, about his book "Indigenous Knowledge, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology" to help us better understand how contrasting ways of understanding the world influence our approaches to practicing science. And we talk with Tara McAllister, post-doctoral fellow with Te Punaha Matatini at the University of Auckland, about indigenous peoples' experiences and challenges trying to break into - and stay inside - academic careers.
Related links:
- Native American Sciecne Curriculum website of which Ray Pierotti is a faculty member
- Why aren't universities made for people like me, article on E-tangata by Sereana Naepi and Tara McAllister
- Understanding Indigenous Exploitation Through Performance Based Research Funding Reviews in Colonial States, on Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics by Tyron Love and C. Michael Hall
- Disturbing the Discipline: Reflections on Nga Kete Matauranga on The Pantograph Punch by Tara McAllister
- The underserving and under-representation of Maori scientists in New Zealand's science system on New Zealand Ecological Society by Tara McAllister
Guests:
- Ray Pierotti
- Tara McAllister
Featured Book
Indigenous Knowledge, Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology
Guest Bios
Ray Pierotti
Ray Pierotti is an Associate Professor in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas. His research training is in evolutionary ecology and population biology, with emphasis on life history evolution along with the dynamics of parental care, mate choice, and hybridization. He also researches the relationship between Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science, especially Ecology and Evolution, and is the author of the books "Indigenous Knowledge, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology" and "The First Domestication: How Wolves and Humans Co-evolved".
Tara McAllister
Tara McAllister is a mother and an Indigenous researcher from Aotearoa, New Zealand. She is a Post-doctoral Fellow with Te Pūnaha Matatini at the University of Auckland and completed her PhD in Freshwater Ecology in 2018 at the University of Canterbury, where she investigated the environmental drivers of toxic algal blooms. Her research focuses on freshwater ecology, Indigenous knowledge, and, most recently, understanding inequities for Indigenous people in higher education.
