The Bitterroot of Indigenous Knowledge

Acommon claim of advocates of “indigenous knowledge” is that it provides a useful complement, or even a preferable alternative, to “Western science.” Unlike the limited methods of Western science, we are told, indigenous knowledge is an invitation-only potlach of multiple “ways of knowing.” Failing to heed the nostrums of these ancient native secrets supposedly risks social collapse and planetary disaster.

The Biden Administration now requires all agencies to consider indigenous knowledge in their work and has created 200 “co-stewardship agreements” with Indian tribes to manage federal lands using indigenous knowledge. It has also shoveled an astounding $830 million into indigenous knowledge grants—enough money to put many indigenous scholars onto permanent welfare. “It is essential that we do everything we can to ensure that Indigenous Knowledge helps guide our ongoing work as stewards of public lands and waters,” gushed Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in 2023.

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