Page 278 - Cultural Studies of Science Education

252 S.L. Stewart

knowledge of trap lines, waterways, spiritual/traditional lands, as well as knowing
their relationship to Earth, which is expressed in cultural values such as sharing and
caring (Escobar 1998).
It is vital to remember that colonization has interrupted many traditional ways
of living and knowing for Natives throughout the world (Mussell et al. 1993), as
discussed earlier in this paper. However, many Natives groups today are presently
undergoing a profound spiritual renaissance of traditional ecological value
renewal and Indigenous ways of knowing – two concepts which are intimately
intertwined (Wenzel 1999). This discussion reflects a return to traditional ways
of knowing by its exploration of Indigenous education in the context of an
Indigenous paradigm.
Traditional Indigenous learning and teaching can be described as rooted in
respect and cooperation, as David suggested in his case study. For example, write
that Aboriginal children in traditional cultural settings watch, listen, practice coop-
eratively, ask for feedback only after they have mastered a task, work in a hands-on
manner, and are generally holistic (i.e., mind, body, and spirit) learners. In contrast,
children from dominant cultures tend to work and learn through a system that is
based on individualism and competitiveness, logical-sequential learning, and linear
and analytical thinking (Herring 1997). Battiste and Youngblood Henderson (2000)
write that the process of cognitive transmission of Indigenous learning is intimate
and oral; it is not distant or literate, and that Native peoples view their languages as
forms of spiritual identity; Native language can reflect philosophies of how to live
as well as knowledge base and cognitive–spiritual power.
An important aspect to understanding how Native students learn in school is
grasping the oral nature of Native cultures, which forms a part of the integrity of
relationship as articulated in David’s case study. Indigenous peoples come from
an oral tradition (McCormick 1997), in which knowledge and learning is passed
on through generations by the telling of stories, music, dancing, ceremonies, and
rituals. This type of cultural-based learning is integral to Indigenous identities,
and cannot be overlooked as a valuable tool and resource for Indigenous learning
in working successfully with Native students (McCormick 1997).
Indigenous within-group communication and learning is a more complex pro-
cess to discuss, particularly in the context of postsecondary education, which
occurs mainly in the western world. Indigenous knowledge is not a linear concept
that remains stable across all Native peoples; it is a diverse knowledge that com-
prises many layers (Battiste and Youngblood Henderson 2000). According to some
Native Elders, those who are in possession of such knowledge cannot categorize it
in Eurocentric thinking, partly due to the fact that the processes of categorizations
are not part of Indigenous thinking (Kawagley 1993). Further, Indigenous knowl-
edge is very much a part of a specific community (i.e., language-based), band, or
even family, and cannot be separated from the bearer of such knowledge to be codi-
fied into a definition (Battiste and Youngblood Henderson 2000). For example, those
who possess such knowledge use it in everyday activity and existence and it becomes
part of identity within a personal or cultural context. Kawagley (1993) identifies
these personal cognitive maps as manifesting in humility, humour, observation,