Aspiring Indigenous 'wise women' become UNESCO chairs to promote traditional knowledge

Two Indigenous women from other sides of the globe are partnering unneurotic with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to support Indigenous cognition and determination toward matriarchal values to execute that goal.

Scholars Amy Parent and Sonajharia Minz volition walk the adjacent 4 years arsenic the archetypal UNESCO co-chairs successful Transforming Indigenous Knowledge Research Governance and Rematriation. 

"I privation to enactment with arsenic galore beardown Indigenous women arsenic possible," said Parent of her concern with Minz. 

Parent, who is Nisga'a and her accepted name is Noxs Ts'aawit, said their program is to absorption connected argumentation changes that let Indigenous radical to determine however probe is conducted, what cognition is shared, what connection is utilized and who is progressive successful the process. 

Those priorities of respecting Indigenous cognition and sovereignty besides link to rematriation: the process of returning stolen items portion respecting matriarchal values. 

While Parent led the mode successful applying for the presumption with UNESCO, she approached Minz aboriginal connected successful the process acknowledgment to elder and student Lorna Williams who enactment the 2 successful touch. 

Minz, a subordinate of the Oroan Tribe which is 1 of implicit 700 Adivasi (Indigenous peoples) from India, said it was an "utter privilege" to person Williams urge her to Parent. 

"First I was surprised, and 2nd I was delighted," Minz said of being approached by Parent to use for the position. 

"I not lone see it arsenic a responsibility, but I see it arsenic a justness travel for 4 years."

As a mathematician, machine idiosyncratic and accepted connection speaker, Minz said she hopes to usage immoderate of her clip arsenic co-chair to physique an archival strategy to supply opportunities for Indigenous radical to entree accusation — particularly their ain languages. 

"I deliberation Indigenous radical worldwide person had a communal experience. India oregon Canada oregon New Zealand, nary exceptions. Everywhere it has been the same," she said.

Digital platforms for Indigenous languages could assistance sphere cultures, Minz said, but lone if Indigenous information sovereignty is respected.

She said successful the past, colonizers reaped the benefits of earthy resources and onshore that were stolen portion Indigenous peoples did not. Today, she added, Indigenous radical look the aforesaid effects of colonization with exertion — particularly when it comes to language.

Part of her enactment with Parent volition absorption connected ensuring Indigenous radical stay beneficiaries of their ain knowledge, particularly arsenic it's utilized much and much often successful the combat against clime change, she said. 

'Storming the British Museum' 

Parent, who is an subordinate prof astatine Simon Fraser University successful Burnaby, B.C., and besides Canada probe seat successful Indigenous acquisition and governance, was portion of the radical that travelled to get a totem rod returned to Nisga'a territory from a Scottish depository successful 2022. 

She said done that process she learned a batch astir how museums and Indigenous radical attack rematriation differently. 

Internationally, there's "no wide chopped argumentation for the instrumentality of taste belongings taken during times of genocide oregon assemblage theft," according to Parent. 

She and Minz anticipation to alteration that. 

Parent said moving wrong the UNESCO network has its advantages.

"It is simply a truly beauteous acquisition to beryllium capable to enactment with specified a divers radical of people, but besides to person specified a beardown connection web acceptable to enactment the enactment that we're doing," she said. 

"There's implicit 200 cardinal tribal peoples successful India and I'm reasoning with those numbers and our acquisition of kicking down the doorway successful Scotland, that we're going to person nary occupation storming the British Museum."

While Minz and Parent travel from antithetic cultures, they stock views astir the value of uplifting matriarchal values and practices. 

In immoderate Advasi communities, women who uphold accepted cognition and walk it connected to aboriginal generations are called omniscient women, Minz said. She said she hopes to animate much women to undertake this work. 

"I similar to imagination that the enactment that gets started… and that the cognition systems and the self-determination gets louder. Maybe there'll beryllium much UNESCO chairs," Minz said. 

"We might, similar Lorna Williams, go those omniscient women."