Reflections from Oceania on indigenous epistemology, the ocean and sustainability

Koya, Cresantia F. and Vaka'uta, Lingikoni and Lagi, Rosiana (2018) Reflections from Oceania on indigenous epistemology, the ocean and sustainability. In: Tidalectics: Imagining an Oceanic Worldview through Art and Science. MIT Press Cambridge Mass, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, pp. 127-132. ISBN 9780262038096

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Abstract

In the context of the Small Island Developing States (SIDs) in the Pacific island region, referred to here, as Oceania, the violence of the colonial experience is perpetuated to this day by widespread Christianity and education systems which marginalize indigenous knowledges and ways of being and doing. Dominant global development paradigms exacerbate this mindset relegating indigenous ways of knowing the world and being in it to the periphery of all discourse. Climate change brings to the fore the significance of indigenous knowledge systems which are inherently about sustainability and balance – living in harmony with the rhythms and cycles of the planet – our known cosmos. This paper explores the indigenous conceptions of custodianship and the role of the human within the known universe, in communion with land, sky and sea. It also presents the view that the arts; both heritage and contemporary are critical to meaningful discourse about sustainability.

Item Type:	Book Chapter
Additional Information:	Copublished with TBA21-Academy, Vienna, Austria
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GC Oceanography G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology
Divisions:	Office of the DVC (ARC) > Tuvalu Campus Faculty of Arts, Law and Education (FALE) > Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies
Depositing User:	Cresantia Koya-Vaka'uta
Date Deposited:	05 Feb 2018 01:26
Last Modified:	30 May 2018 23:07
URI:	http://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/10532

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