Where, Who, When in Systems Change

I am grateful for the financial contributions provided by the Canadian Indigenous of Health Research (CIHR), Institute of Indigenous Peoples Health and Gender and Health, with First Nations Health Authority, the Canadian Nurses Foundation, and the University of Victoria.

The article argues that current discussions on epistemic injustice, centered around the distinction between testimonial and hermeneutic types of injustice, cannot adequately deal with the injustice done to Indigenous epistemology. This happens primarily because of the significant difference in the way phenomena like self, mind, and knowledge are understood in Indigenous life. After discussing the salient features of Indigenous life, the article points out how the understanding of self, mind, and knowledge is interdependent in both Indigenous and Modern ways. Indigenous epistemology is primarily a matter of knowing and oriented towards a process rather than knowledge as a product. Treating knowing rather than knowledge as the basic epistemological category is not something that the Modern consciousness can do easily, given its tendency to find identity and satisfaction in the accumulation of knowledge. Thus, the article attempts to bring out the formidable difficulty in doing justice to the Indigenous ways of knowing by drawing attention to the need to employ a radically different kind of attention and embrace a reality different from the usual one.

Social computing scholars have long known that people do not interact with knowledge in straightforward ways, especially in digital environments. While policies around knowledge are essential for targeting misinformation, they are value-laden; in choosing how to present information, we undermine non-traditional, often non-Western, ways of knowing. Epistemic injustice is the systemic exclusion of certain people and methods from the knowledge canon. Epistemic injustice chips away at one's testimony and vocabulary until they are stripped of their due right to know and understand. In this paper, we articulate how epistemic injustice in sociotechnical applications leads to material harm. Inspired by a hybrid collaborative autoethnography of 14 CSCW practitioners, we present three cases of epistemic injustice in sociotechnical applications: online transgender healthcare, identity sensemaking on r/bisexual, and Indigenous ways of knowing on r/AskHistorians. We further explore signature tensions across our autoethnographic materials and relate them to previous CSCW research areas and personal non-technological experiences. We argue that epistemic injustice can serve as a unifying and intersectional lens for CSCW research by surfacing dimensions of epistemic community and power. Finally, we present a call to action of three changes the CSCW community should make to move toward its own goals of research justice. We call for CSCW researchers to center individual experiences, bolster communities, and remediate issues of epistemic power as a means towards epistemic justice. In sum, we recount, synthesize, and propose solutions for the various forms of epistemic injustice that CSCW sites of study---including CSCW itself---propagate.

The integration of aging services and behavioral health remains a significant challenge due to long-standing silos between the two systems. To address this, our team collaborated with 12 community-based aging-focused and behavioral health organizations in St. Louis, bringing together opportunities for greater collaboration. Through a series of meetings, these organizations shared their existing practices and services, allowing us to identify concrete actions to enhance integration. Each organization sets its own goals and timeline. Many organizations set goals to train staff and volunteers, adopt new assessment tools, and adjust referral processes to ensure more comprehensive care. As part of this effort, we developed an interview guide to assess the impact of these changes and better understand the barriers and facilitators to systems change. Our interview guide captures systems of change of these organizations: key insights into how organizations are implementing new strategies, what challenges they are facing, and what support they may need to sustain these efforts. Open-ended questions encouraged reflection on the effectiveness of training programs, changes in referral workflows, and overall improvements in service coordination. These agency interviews broaden the implications of these efforts, including the potential for scalability and sustainability beyond the initial implementation. In this presentation, we will discuss the best practices of system change, inform policy discussions of comprehensive care, and ensure that aging and behavioral health services are better integrated to serve the needs of the community.

In the era of Indigenising the academy, health disciplines like nursing are required to teach Indigenous peoples' health, history and culture in their undergraduate programmes in order to meet national accreditation standards. This inclusion of Indigenous peoples' perspectives within nursing education towards registration thus qualifies respective Indigenous perspectives as legitimate parts of the Australian nursing profession's scope of practice, which may sound like a reason to celebrate. However, caution should be exercised. Indigenous and Western knowledge systems are incommensurable. The practice of defining Indigenous perspectives for placements within curricula could be likened to extractive colonialism. Thus, the commodifying of Indigenous perspectives in creating competitive education products is problematic. As a Meriam and Wuthathi man who grew up in the Zenadth Kes (Torres Straits) now living and working on Turrbul and Yuggera country, and as a nurse academic, being immersed in this space of contentions is my reality. In order to enhance the education preparation of nursing students I teach, while simultaneously protect my embodied Indigenous knowledges and the Indigenous perspectives included in the curricula I teach, I privilege Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing in my teaching practice. This yarn is about my experience in this cultural interface.

This open access book analyzes the limitations of top-down intervention programs designed by the state to address the problem of unemployment among marginalized communities in Africa and foregrounds the centrality of IKS in fostering entrepreneurship. Samuel Ojo Oloruntoba, Inocent Moyo, and Lethiwe Zondo examine the solutions to these problems within the ongoing debate on decolonization of knowledge and epistemic justice. The contributors argue that when the voices of the marginalized communities are taken into consideration in the design of employment and entrepreneurship policies, such policies would be more effective, affirming the agency and rights within these communities. Using case studies and theoretical research, this book investigates how a better engagement with marginalized communities and indigenous knowledges in the design of entrepreneurship and employment policies could foster more positive outcomes in Africa. This book recenters the voices of Indigenous youth within entrepreneurship programs to highlight the interests, priorities, and challenges of these communities. This edited volume was produced in the context of the African Indigenous Knowledge Research Network (AIKRN) in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. This was a two-year initiative that ran between 2023 and 2025 to uncover and promote sustainable and scalable opportunities for youth employment grounded in Indigenous African knowledge systems and values. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Mastercard Foundation, its staff, or its Board of Directors. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access provided in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.

To curb environmental challenges effectively, Western environmental knowledge has been adopted besides indigenous environmental knowledge system in Africa. However, the dualistic nature of knowledge integration, this paper notes, is tinted by unfair power relations where indigenous knowledge is masked by neo-colonial tenets of the West. Neo-colonialism, as argued in this paper, is the attempt of the Western societies to impose their knowledge system to micro-manage the environmental and other affairs in Africa, taking a case study of Uganda. Our central inquiry is why Africa is gradually deviating from indigenous knowledge systems in preference of Western environmental knowledge. Using a critical analytical survey method, this paper argues that there is environmental knowledge neo-colonialism in Africa today characterized by Western identity construction, language dominance, cross-cultural cloning, undermining of indigenous education patterns, academic division of labor, education as an investment, top-down distribution of knowledge, and improper contextualization of knowledge construction and application. This appeals for Africanized production of knowledge to suit the continent’s environmental needs and achieve African epistemic autonomy.

Longstanding relationship (amicable and hostile) has existed between Awi andGumuz nationalities since Aksumite era. Their early relationship had been full of pain because of the fact that the successive highland kings had appointed Awi chiefs to run state affairs in Gumuz community, which left bad seed on the future relation between two generations. As time went on, a shift from hostile to friendly relation marked since the change of politics in 1974 because of socio-political developments and the dynamic nature of the interaction. The study focused on driving socio-political and economic developments which promoted tolerance, cohabitation and diffusion of the indigenous agricultural knowledge system between these two people. The Gumuz and Awi inhabited Woredas of Awi and Metekelzonez were selected for this study. The researcher attempted to consult wide ranges of primary and secondary sources. Elders from Awi and Gumuz are extensively interviewed. They responded that agricultural alliance leads to the shift of indigenous knowledge such as traditional agricultural activities, management of crop production etc from Awi to Gumuz. The sources are critically collected, scrutinized and analyzed. The validities of the sources are cross-checked one against the other. Key words: Peaceful- coexistence, indigenous knowledge system.

Co-production of Indigenous Knowledge Systems with Western science is increasingly recognised as an important component of education and research. When done correctly, it draws on the strengths of the respective knowledge systems, ensures Indigenous data sovereignty, empowers communities, supports reconciliation, and fosters mutual respect. However, despite these clear benefits and alignment with the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, few examples, guidance, or frameworks exist, especially in the context of science education. Here, we illustrate how co-designing and co-teaching courses can effectively enhance knowledge systems. We show that students value the weaving of Indigenous Knowledge with science, both within (Westernised) academic settings and during place-based experiential learning. It can deepen connections to Indigenous ways of knowing and provides a source of healing as co-production studies are re-connections to Indigenous history and identity. We conclude by addressing some of the challenges faced and provide some actionable solutions for the global effort needed to decolonise and Indigenise both research and education.

Despite South Africa's democratic transformation, colonial epistemic frameworks continue to dominate university curricula, impeding decolonisation and Africanisation efforts. This paper examines the persistence of these colonial knowledge systems within higher education, drawing on the #FeesMustFall movement as a critical juncture that exposed fundamental inequities in knowledge production. Situated within the history of education, this work interrogates the historical, sociological, and philosophical dimensions of teaching and learning through a decolonial theoretical lens. Using qualitative methodology, the research investigates institutional cultures and pedagogical practices across South African universities. The cases of Lwazi Lushaba and Pedro Mzileni contextualise the movement's origins and significance for international audiences. Findings reveal enduring colonial legacies manifested through Western ideological dominance across disciplines, including history, sociology, development, and literature, perpetuating systemic and epistemic injustices. The research identifies specific forms ofinstitutional resistance to decolonisation: the maintenance of Eurocentric curricula, pedagogical approaches disconnected from Indigenous Knowledge Systems, and historical disparities in educational access. The study demonstrates that Africanisation can foster intellectual sovereignty, cultural pride, critical consciousness, and ontological density among academics and students. However, entrenched institutional practices and Western epistemologies continue to hinder meaningful curricular reform. This work underscores the need for a (re)evaluation of higher education curricula to achieve epistemic justice and authentic decolonisation. The findings contribute to broader discussions on post-colonial education reform and knowledge production in the Global South.

Eckstorm was the daughter of a fur trader living in Maine who published six books and many articles on natural history, woods culture, and Indian language and lore. A writer from Maine with a national readership, Eckstorm drew on her unique relationship with both Maine woodsmen and Maine's Native Americans that grew out of the time she spent in the woods with her father. She developed a complex system of work largely based on oral tradition, recording and interpreting local knowledge about animal behavior and hunting practices, boat handling, ballad singing, Native American languages, crafts, and storytelling. Her work has formed the foundation for much scholarship in New England folklore and history and clearly illustrates the importance of indigenous and folk knowledge to scholarship. Fannie Hardy Eckstorm and Her Quest for Local Knowledge, 1865–1946 reveals an important story which speaks directly to contemporary issues as historians of science, social science and humanities begin to re-evaluate the nature, content, and role of indigenous and folk knowledge systems. Eckstorm's life and work illustrate the constant tension between local lay knowledge and the more privileged scientific production of academics that increasingly dominated the field from the early twentieth century. At the time Eckstorm was writing, the growth in professionalism and eclipse of the amateur led to a reorganization of knowledge. As increasing specialization defined the academy, indigenous knowledge systems were dismissed as unscientific and born of ignorance. Eckstorm recognized and lauded the innate value of traditional knowledge that could, for example, fell trees in the interior of Maine and ship them internationally as finished lumber.

Indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) comprise knowledge systems that have developed within various societies’ independent of, and prior to, the advent of the modern scientific knowledge system. IKS from various cultures evolved into broad and comprehensive knowledge systems, such as those from ancient India, China and Africa, that addressed societal and traditional knowledge issues in various fields important to human survival and the quality of life, including agriculture, health and water, amongst others. In this paper, the IKS of India and China, with particular focus on agriculture and health, are examined for methodologies and received understanding, within the context of identifying and evaluating appropriate technologies for development. Although much work on the cataloguing and documenting of IKS has been completed in these two countries, there is a paucity of attention that has been paid to the scientific rationale and technological content and methodologies of these indigenous knowledge systems. In our work, we examine more closely the scientific and engineering rationale of selected indigenous technologies for agriculture and health that demonstrate a holistic approach to development for their societies. The evaluation reveals that many technologies classified as ‘appropriate’ for developing communities to address basic needs of water, sanitation and agriculture have their roots in indigenous knowledge systems that have survived in some form, albeit at a much diminished level. We demonstrate that these studies potentially provide valuable resources for appropriate technology development. The extensive history of IKS and practices in India and China provide a rich resource and a history of engagement, success and failure that could beneficially inform communities in their search for improved quality of life. The paper concludes with a preliminary evaluation of certain African knowledge systems in agriculture, water and health, and suggests an approach to conservation of these IKS to better inform development for social justice, especially on the African continent.

The article examines the evolution of the system of traditional values in the era of fundamental changes in the social system. Values of different levels are considered: formational, belonging to a certain social system and changing with the change of the system, as well as civilizational, deep values, generated in a certain religious and cultural space and preserved in the system of ideals and norms of behavior of many generations.Values reflect and express a certain state of the whole society. With the change of the social system through formational evolution in the West or through “catch-up modernization” in non-Western countries, changes occur in the system of values as an interconnected set of ideals, ideas and norms. Traditional values, as a rule, retreat before the values of “today”, generated by society itself or borrowed from outside. Conflicts of identity and self-identity of the individual and society arise.In the first decades of the 21st century, in the context of the beginning of the change of the world order, new meanings of development are being developed and sought. The processes of globalization (technological revolution, global migration, flows of goods and information), as well as the West’s desire to maintain the dominant order, while nonWestern countries strengthen their importance in the world system, give rise to conflicts of values at different levels. However, not every civilizational challenge becomes a threat to traditional values. In non-Western societies, there is an adaptation of their value system to changed conditions while maintaining fidelity to the ideals and norms of their cultural and religious tradition.

The Western knowledge paradigm – with its ways of knowing, ways of seeing and its notions of reality - has dominated the global knowledge arena, rendering many indigenous knowledge systems as invalid, illegitimate and irrelevant. This is particularly true for indigenous medical knowledge systems, which have struggled to articulate their voices from the marginalisation imposed by colonialism, globalisation and modernity. This chapter outlines paradigmatic tenets and key conceptions underpinning Western Biomedicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Traditional African Medicine. It explores areas of synergy and contradiction, as well as points for potential dialogue between the medical systems. The chapter suggests that if carefully excavated, explorations into such ontologies and epistemologies can make meaningful contributions to knowledge brokerage, thus promoting inclusivity and ethics in knowledge societies. It therefore makes a case for cognitive justice – ‘the right of different traditions of knowledge to co-exist without duress'.

Bambara groundnut ( Vigna subterranea) is so important in most of Africa, and potentially so in other tropical regions, that improvement of its production — especially on a commercial scale — and of its germplasm both deserve renewed and intensive scientific study. Yet, compared with other legumes (such as groundnuts, beans and cowpeas), bambara groundnut has received almost no research or extension attention, although in Ghana and other parts of Africa, it has a higher market value (on a per unit weight basis) than these other legumes. Improving indigenous farm management systems and methods that have resulted from age-old experience and tradition will be difficult for local farmers if they are completely entrenched in their habits. Thus, a survey was conducted to identify and document the traditional farm management practices and key considerations used in bambara groundnut production, along with indigenous knowledge systems linked to the conservation of bambara groundnut germplasm. The study was conducted in the Upper West region of Ghana, which is an area with considerable bambara groundnut genetic diversity. Valuable information on its production and genetic resources exists within the indigenous knowledge systems studied, and ranges from economic and agronomic criteria for peasant farmer selection of particular varieties and traditional uses of the crop, to strategies for the management and conservation of locally adapted varieties, pest and disease management, and environmental and ecological monitoring systems. Research and extension requirements for improving crop production were identified. In addition, germplasm was collected and characterized for conservation.