ABSTRACT
Although the outward manifestations of Indigenous cultures across North America and beyond vary greatly, there are surprising similarities in worldview, enough so that it is possible to contrast Indigenous worldview with Western worldview. Many Indigenous scholars recognize this. The Hawaiian scholar, Haunani Kay Trask contends that, "Indigenous knowledge is not unique to Hawaiians, but is shared by most Indigenous peoples throughout the world" (1993, 80). Gregory Cajete, a Tewa educator, claims that among American Indian tribes, "there are elemental understandings held in common by all . . . derived from a similar understanding and orientation to life" (1994, 42). "Cosmologies differed from tribe to tribe, but basic beliefs were constant" according to Osage-Cherokee thinker, Strickland (1997). Blood scholar, Leroy Little Bear, makes a clear statement regarding the similarities in worldview among Indigenous peoples, saying, "there is [sic] enough similarities among North American philosophies to apply the concept generally" (2000, 77).
