1. INDG 2015//SOCI2810
■ Week 11.
■ November 22: Introduction to Environmental Knowledges in
Africa

2. Indigenous Knowledges,
TEK in Africa
■ Indigenous peoples in Africa: disrupting
frameworks from other regions
■ ACHPR
■ IPACC
■ Traditional Ecological Knowledges in Africa
■ John Mbaria and Mordecai Ogada

3. Recap
- Discussion of Brightman, Grotti and Ulturgasheva
- Ulturgasheva and Bodenhorn
- Sapmi: reindeer herders

4. UN engagement with
Indigenous peoples
■ “Indigenous peoples are inheritors and practitioners of unique cultures and ways
of relating to people and the environment. They have retained social, cultural,
economic and political characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant
societies in which they live. Despite their cultural differences, indigenous peoples
from around the world share common problems related to the protection of their
rights as distinct peoples.
■ Indigenous peoples have sought recognition of their identities, way of life and their
right to traditional lands, territories and natural resources for years, yet throughout
history, their rights have always been violated. Indigenous peoples today, are
arguably among the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups of people in the
world. The international community now recognizes that special measures are
required to protect their rights and maintain their distinct cultures and way of life.
Find below a short history of the indigenous struggle in the international stage.”
https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/about-us.html

5. ■ “The African Commission on Human and Peoples’
Rights (ACHPR or African Commission) has been
debating the human rights situation of indigenous
peoples since 1999, as these are some of the most
vulnerable groups on the African continent. Since
the 29th Ordinary Session of the ACHPR in Libya in
2001, representatives of indigenous communities
have attended every session of the ACHPR and have
given strong testimony to their desperate situation
and the human rights violations to which they are
victim. They have informed the ACHPR about the
discrimination and contempt they experience, about
the dispossession of their land and the destruction
of their livelihoods, cultures and identities, about
their extreme poverty, about their lack of access to
and participation in political decision-making, and
about their lack of access to education and health
facilities. In sum, the message is a strong request for
recognition, respect and human rights protection. It
is a request for the right to survive as peoples and to
have a say in their own future, based on their own
culture, identity, hopes and visions.” (p. 8, ACPHR)
source:
https://www.achpr.org/public/Document/file/Any/a
chpr_wgip_report_summary_version_eng.pdf
Indigenous
peoples in
Africa
(ACHPR)

6. Indigenous peoples in Africa
(con’t)
■ “A closely related misconception is that the term ‘indigenous’ is not applicable in
Africa as ‘all Africans are indigenous’. There is no question that all Africans are
indigenous to Africa in the sense that they were there before the European
colonialists arrived and that they were subject to subordination during
colonialism. The ACHPR is in no way questioning the identity of other groups.
When some particular marginalized groups use the term ‘indigenous’ to describe
their situation, they are using the modern analytical form of the concept (which
does not merely focus on aboriginality) in an attempt to draw attention to and
alleviate the particular form of discrimination from which they suffer. They do not
use the term in order to deny all other Africans their legitimate claim to belong to
Africa and identify as such. They are using the present-day broad understanding
of the term because it is a term by which they can very adequately analyse the
particularities of their sufferings and by which they can seek protection in
international human rights law and moral standards.” (ACPHR, p. 12) source:
https://www.achpr.org/public/Document/file/Any/achpr_wgip_report_summary
_version_eng.pdf

7. Indigenous peoples in Africa
(con’t)
■ “Another misunderstanding is that talking about indigenous rights will lead to
tribalism and ethnic conflict. This is, however, turning the argument upside
down. There exists a rich variety of ethnic groups within basically all African
states, and multiculturalism is a living reality. Giving recognition to all groups,
respecting their differences and allowing them all to flourish in a truly
democratic spirit does not lead to conflict, it prevents conflict. What does
create conflict is when certain dominant groups force through a sort of “unity”
that only reflects the perspectives and interests of certain powerful groups
within a given state, and which seeks to prevent weaker marginalized groups
from voicing their particular concerns and perspectives. Or, put another way:
conflicts do not arise because people demand their rights but because their
rights are violated.”

8. Francis Nkitoria Ole Sakuda
(2004)
■ “Since 1992, the indigenous people of Africa have entered the
international arena to fight for their recognition, land, language,
and culture. Recent years have not been easy for many
indigenous activists, who have faced intimidation, arrests, and
even death as they fought for the rights of their communities.
The fight took Africa’s indigenous people to Geneva for the U.N.
Working Group on Indigenous Populations, to New York for the
U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and to the African
Commission of Human and People’s Rights.”
■ Source: https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-
quarterly/hardships-and-successes-being-indigenous-africa

9. UN Indigenous leadership
■ Indigenous communities in Africa are advocating at the local,
regional, and global level to assert their rights
■ This includes the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples’
Rights
■ Former UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz (2014-2020) conducted a visit to the Republic
of Congo in 2019 to address Indigenous peoples’ concerns in the
country

10. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, October
2019 – visit to the Republic of
Congo
“Discrimination:
I concur with the observations of my predecessor, Prof. James Anaya, and of the
Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the African Commission on Human
and Peoples’ Rights, on the widespread situation of discrimination, exclusion and
marginalization of indigenous peoples from mainstream social, economic and
political life in Congolese society. The observation made by my predecessor in
2010 that indigenous peoples are in non-dominant positions in Congolese society,
and have suffered and continue to suffer threats to their distinct identities and
basic human rights in ways not experienced by the Bantu majority, remains valid.
Most of the government officials I met asserted that there is no discrimination
against indigenous peoples, and that the challenges they face are not exclusive to
them. They said the Bantu similarly suffer from lack of access to basic social
services. However, I do not agree that discrimination and exclusion of indigenous
peoples do not exist in the Republic of Congo.”
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25196&LangID=E&fbclid=IwAR1cNdyxHigxcM
EP7gr2FscOlFqJ6ExPD3VwNrQMURnz0_-mqu_SJTK0ACo

11. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz
■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=14&v=xgBqgSkWV5o&feat
ure=emb_logo

12. Indigenous Ecological
Knowledges: global
conservation context
■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agQDKkueT-c

13. This week’s readings -- IPACC

14. https://web.archive.org/web/20170128133321/http://ipacc.org.za/en/africa%E2%80%99s-indigenous-people.html

15. IPACC 2016
■ “Though the term ‘indigenous’ is sometimes confusing in the African
context, it remains relevant for recognising peoples who rely on natural
resources, sustain their knowledge system and live primarily not of
agricultural farming production.”p.4
https://www.ipacc.org.za/images/reports/climate_and_environment/
climate/conflict_sensitive_adaptation2014/LimaReportFinal.pdf

16. 4th world and Indigeneity
■ “The term originated in Georgia with a remark by Mbuto Milando,
first secretary of the Tanzanian High Commission, in conversation
with George Manuel, Chief of the National Indian Brotherhood (now
the Assembly of First Nations). Milando stated that "When Native
peoples come into their own, on the basis of their own cultures and
traditions, that will be the Fourth World."[2][3]”
■ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_World

17. Manuel and Milando 4th
world con’t
Valerie Alia, The New Media Nation, 2012, p. 13-14

18. Indigenous Traditional
Knowledge - IPACC
■ “Knowledge arises from the combination of usage, experience,
observation and with that the elaboration of systems of thought,
taxonomies, and methods of intergenerational transmission of knowledge.
Africa’s complex historical climatic fluctuations have required most African
peoples to develop sophisticated systems of understanding cycles of
nature, predictive systems related to climate and rainfall, observation and
theory building on animal behaviour and detailed taxonomies and systems
of knowledge about the properties of plants as medicines, food, poisons
or other purposeful applications. Much of Africa’s intellectual resources,
built on centuries of engagement with nature and biodiversity remain
undocumented, locked within the specialised terminology of thousands of
local languages. It is this resource which may make the difference
between life and death, stability or migrations, sustainability or
catastrophes.” - IPACC 2016, p. 9

19. Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim
■ https://www.ted.com/talks/hindou_oumarou_ibrahim_indigenous_knowledge_meets_science_t
o_solve_climate_change?language=en
“climate change is
impacting our
environment by
changing our
social life”

20. Class activity:
■ We will watch Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim’s TED talk, then
discuss how her advocacy in Chad resonates with the points
raised in the Mbaria & Ogada reading on ‘The Big
Conservation Lie’

21. Class Activity
■ Let’s analyze the points raised by John Mbaria and Mordecai
Ogada in their chapter this week:
■ Remember our 4 guiding questions from last week:
■ What is the issue described in the chapter?
■ Who is impacted by or perpetuating the issue?
■ What are the underlying power dynamics affecting the issue?
■ What role does Indigenous autonomy//sovereignty play in the
issue?

22. Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim
■ “Indigenous peoples’ knowledge is crucial for our planet; it’s
crucial for all the peoples. Science knowledge was discovered
200 years ago; technology 100 years ago. But Indigenous
peoples’ knowledge, it’s thousands of years ago. So why we
cannot put all these together; combine those three knowledges
and give the better resilience to the peoples who are getting the
impact of climate change?” (source: TedTalk
https://www.ted.com/talks/hindou_oumarou_ibrahim_indigenou
s_knowledge_meets_science_to_solve_climate_change?languag
e=en)

23. Yaw Agyeman Boafo,Osamu Saito,Sadahisa Kato,Chiho
Kamiyama,Kazuhiko Takeuchi &Miri Nakahara
■ “the use of traditional protected areas as a form of TEK
appears to be highly valued by the majority of survey
participants. Demand-led research aimed at examining
TEK’s role in the face of changing socioeconomic and
environmental conditions can contribute to the formulation
and implementation of policy-relevant strategies.”
https://www-tandfonline-
com.proxy.library.carleton.ca/doi/full/10.1080/21513732.20
15.1124454

24. Yaw Agyeman Boafo,Osamu Saito,Sadahisa Kato,Chiho
Kamiyama,Kazuhiko Takeuchi &Miri Nakahara
■ “Furthermore, policymakers should mainstream TEK into formal educational
curricula right from the primary level. This might help promote knowledge,
understanding, and appreciation of TEK associated with the sustainable
management of ecosystem services at an early age. In the context of Northern
Ghana, where youthful populations migrate to the urban south even before
completing their basic education, this could be an important step toward bridging
the current wide gap in awareness between younger and elderly populations that
this study found. It is recommended that informal education stakeholders such as
parents and traditional authorities be actively engaged in the transmission of TEK
knowledge in formal school systems. These stakeholders can contribute by
offering practical sessions to students in their local context. Finally, the study
recommends that policymakers enact ecosystem management policies and
conservation strategies that pay attention to the links between local communities
and nature.”
■ https://www-tandfonline-
com.proxy.library.carleton.ca/doi/full/10.1080/21513732.2015.1124454

25. “How Africa can use its
traditional knowledge to make
progress | Chika Ezeanya-
Esiobu
“
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28sa2z
GgmwE

26. Africa is the forward that the world
needs to face | Pius Adesanmi |
TEDxEuston
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofrxl7zDh_Q

27. Weekly reflection question:
How can the global Indigenous rights movement be more accountable
to Indigenous peoples’ rights and knowledges in Africa?