Protecting Repositories of Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledges: A Health-Focused Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Indigenous Knowledge Systems
• Environmental Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Indigenous Peoples possess extensive traditional ecological knowledges (TEK) crucial for health and wellbeing.
• Intergenerational transmission of TEK faces threats from climate change and other factors.
• Supporting Indigenous-managed TEK repositories is essential for knowledge preservation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify documents and best practices for establishing health-related TEK repositories within Indigenous communities.
• To understand the challenges and wise practices in managing Indigenous TEK.
• To inform policies and protocols for protecting health-related TEK.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review methodology was employed.
• Systematic searches were conducted across multiple databases (Medline, PubMed, CABI, JSTOR, etc.) and manual searches of Indigenous repositories and Google.
• Content analysis was performed on nine documents meeting inclusion criteria.

Main Results:

• Six overarching categories and twelve sub-categories were identified from the reviewed documents.
• Impacts of colonial processes on Indigenous TEK repositories were characterized.
• Key concerns included Indigenous data sovereignty, access, and ownership, alongside the need for Indigenous-led data governance.

Conclusions:

• Indigenous TEK is diverse, living knowledge protected by cultural protocols.
• Indigenous-led repository development demonstrates effective data governance.
• Indigenous communities play a crucial role in developing policies and protocols to safeguard health-related TEK.