Examines questions about the philosophy and practice of science and their relevance to a sustainable future. Discusses flaws in the use of the scientific method, the necessity of integrating the physical and mental qualities of science with the emotional and spiritual qualities of life, and universal connectedness, as understood in traditional…

Discusses the traditional Native American understanding that all things in nature are connected, and explores how this is similar to, and perhaps helped to shape, the Western scientific understanding of the science of ecology. Some relationships in nature described in Native stories are just now being "discovered" to be true by Western…

Addresses the importance of developing a "sustainable science" and the role that Indian science or "indigenous science" has in this development. Unlike Western science, Indian science acknowledges the important spiritual and emotional aspects of science. Discusses educational trends that stress the holism of knowledge and…

A teacher training program and classroom materials were developed to teach the science of alcohol to American Indian students in grades 4-9. The science of alcohol curriculum uses the holistic approach of the "new science paradigm" and includes cultural examples to make each unit relevant to Indian students. (SV)

A Mohawk herbalist combines scientific and traditional indigenous knowledge to treat her patients. At her retreat she grows medicinal herbs and treats Native women who suffered physical and sexual abuse in Canada's residential schools. Women are the lifegivers and caregivers in Canada's Six Nations Confederacy; once they know how to heal…

Advocates for ethnosciences courses in higher education. Compares the epistemology of Western science and traditional tribal knowledge, including methods of information gathering, data interpretation, fragmented versus holistic approach, and world views. Discusses the expansion of some fields of scientific inquiry to include…

Traditional American Indian education reflects beliefs that no single absolute truth exists, and that children learn by observing and interacting with others who know bits of the truth. Mainstream education sees teachers as the most important dispensers of universal truth learned in linear fashion. These views may be incompatible. (SV)

Discusses the dilemma of American Indian science students as they attempt to integrate the reductionist methodologies of modern science with the holistic approach of traditional beliefs and practices. Suggests that students look to traditional technologies to find the broader meaning underlying the mechanics of nature. (SV)

Ph.D. program at California Institute of Integral Studies trains Native Americans and other indigenous peoples to deepen their traditional knowledge and strengthen its environmental impact. A parallel program helps Euro-Americans discover their own indigenous values. Both programs focus on integrating Earth-based knowledge with Western science.…

The Northwest Center for Sustainable Resources, at Chemeketa Community College (Salem, Oregon), develops college curricula in natural resources management encompassing Native American understandings of relations between humans and their environment; organizes hands-on conservation programs for tribal youth; and sponsors conferences and seminars…

Anticipated the modern physics relativity theory, American Indians gained information about the natural world through careful observation based on the principle that all things are related. American Indian students could radically transform scientific knowledge by grounding themselves in traditional knowledge about the world and working this…

On a tour of Cuba, Native scholars from North and South America reconnected with the "extinct" Taino people and shared their knowledge of traditional healing herbs. Western science is just beginning to validate the tremendous knowledge base that indigenous healers have developed--most indigenous medicinal knowledge is useful for finding…

Daughters of Tradition is a facilitated educational program that addresses current issues such as alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence, and the empowerment of young American Indian women, in a way that blends the spiritual, emotional, mental, physical, and cultural parts of living into a seamless whole. Mind mapping and journal keeping affirm…

A nuclear physicist feels that his Navajo upbringing, with its emphasis on the structure of nature and abstract reasoning, prepared him well for the world of physics. Traditional Navajo sandpaintings helped him understand physics concepts. Native American students show strengths in learning visual, perceptual, or spatial information, and they…

Reviews "Look to the Mountain: An Ecology of Indigenous Education," a book that provides a philosophic basis for American Indian education that stresses culture, spirituality, environmental education, and the importance of "visioning" or looking to the future. Includes an outline for an indigenous science curriculum. (LP)