Journal article
Ethnobiology Phase VI: Decolonizing Institutions, Projects, and Scholarship
Journal of ethnobiology, Vol.41(2), pp.170-191
07/01/2021
Abstract
Ethnobiology, like many fields, was shaped by early Western imperial efforts to colonize people and lands around the world and extract natural resources. Those legacies and practices persist today and continue to influence the institutions ethnobiologists are a part of, how they carry out research, and their personal beliefs and actions. Various authors have previously outlined five overlapping “phases” of ethnobiology. Here, we argue that ethnobiology should move toward a sixth phase in which scholars and practitioners must actively challenge colonialism, racism, and oppressive structures embedded within their institutions, projects, and themselves. As an international group of ethnobiologists and scholars from allied fields, we identified key topics and priorities at three levels: at the institutional scale, we argue for repatriation/rematriation of biocultural heritage, accessibility of published work, and realignment of priorities to support community-driven research. At the level of projects, we emphasize the need for mutual dialogue, reciprocity, community research self-sufficiency, and research questions that support sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities over lands and waters. Finally, for individual scholars, we support self-reflection on language use, co-authorship, and implicit bias. We advocate for concrete actions at each of these levels to move the field further toward social justice, antiracism, and decolonization.
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Details
- Title
- Ethnobiology Phase VI: Decolonizing Institutions, Projects, and Scholarship
- Creators
- Alex C. McAlvay - New York Botanical GardenChelsey G. Armstrong - Simon Fraser UniversityJanelle Baker - Athabasca UniversityLinda Black Elk - United Tribes Technical CollegeSamantha Bosco - Cornell UniversityNatalia Hanazaki - Universidade Federal de Santa CatarinaLeigh Joseph - University of VictoriaTania Eulalia Martínez-Cruz - University of GreenwichMark Nesbitt - Royal Botanic Gardens, KewMeredith Alberta Palmer - Cornell UniversityWalderes Cocta Priprá de Almeida - Universidade Federal de Santa CatarinaJane Anderson - New York UniversityZemede Asfaw - Department of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaIsrael T. Borokini - University of Nevada, RenoEréndira Juanita Cano-Contreras - Autonomous University of ChiapasSimon Hoyte - University College LondonMaui Hudson - University of WaikatoAna H. Ladio - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y TécnicasGuillaume Odonne - University of French GuianaSonia Peter - Biocultural Education and Research Programme, St. James, BarbadosJohn Rashford - College of CharlestonJeffrey Wall - Washington State University, Department of HorticultureSteve Wolverton - University of North TexasIna Vandebroek - New York Botanical Garden
- Publication Details
- Journal of ethnobiology, Vol.41(2), pp.170-191
- Academic Unit
- Department of Horticulture
- Publisher
- Society of Ethnobiology
- Number of pages
- 22
- Identifiers
- 99901299294101842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article