Bridging Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge Systems in Knowledge Co-production with Amazonian Indigenous Communities
17th October 2022
In the last few decades, many researchers sought to understand how indigenous and scientific knowledge can be bridged, for development research to (a) be more inclusive of local actors and their knowledge and (b) more relevant to the problems it aims to address. The case of Amazonian indigenous communities is telling of how research is still dominated by “Western” science and fails to accommodate the call for bottom-up development. This seminar will discuss how indigenous and scientific knowledges are bridged within knowledge co-production with Amazonian indigenous communities, and what outcomes this bridging brings about. The systematic realist review illustrated a gap between knowledge co-production theory and practice. It showed that power-relations between scientists and indigenous communities need to be further acknowledged and addressed in development research. This would enable the generation of legitimate knowledge, empowering Amazonian indigenous communities to address local challenges according to their own contexts and their own community needs.