ABSTRACT
The term, indigenous, and thus the concept of indigenous knowledge has often been associated in the Western context with the primitive, the wild, the natural. Such representations have evoked condescension from Western observers and elicited little appreciation for the insight and understanding indigeneity might provide. But for others, especially the millions of indigenous peoples of Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Oceania, indigenous knowledge (or what others have called the native ways of knowing) is an everyday rationalization that rewards individuals who live in a given locality. In part, to these individuals, indigenous knowledge reflects the dynamic way in which the residents of an area have come to understand themselves in relationship to their natural environment and how they organize that folk knowledge of flora and fauna, cultural beliefs, and history to enhance their lives.
