Understanding health and illness: research at the interface between science and indigenous knowledge

Abstract

Indigenous knowledge cannot be verified by scientific criteria nor can science be adequately assessed according to the tenets of indigenous knowledge. Each is built on distinctive philosophies, methodologies, and criteria. While there is considerable debate around their relative merits, contests about the validities of the two systems tend to serve as distractions from explorations of the interface, and the subsequent opportunities for creating new knowledge that reflects the dual persuasions. Maori researchers in Aotearoa/New Zealand have been able to apply the methods and values of both systems in order to reach more comprehensive understandings of health and illness. Two case studies are used to demonstrate how the incorporation of indigenous beliefs into research protocols and measurements can enhance health research and understandings of health and illness.

Social Support and Thriving Health: A New Approach to Understanding the Health of Indigenous Canadians

“…Many of the health disparities borne by indigenous peoples around the globe result from systemic forces' severing indigenous peoples' connections to their traditional environments while simultaneously disrupting the social systems that are integral to their maintenance of identity, culture, and health. 72 To better understand the determinants of thriving health, researchers need more-intensive methods of exploring these relationships, perhaps by qualitatively examining people's perceptions about the processes through which social supports may be embodied as health outcomes. 1,21,73 Among indigenous peoples, richer exploration may illuminate the means by which one's social ties mediate or exacerbate the effects on health of larger, structural forces such as colonialism and racism.…”

Pounamu: Integration of kaupapa Mãori concepts in health research: a way forward for Mãori cardiovascular health?

“…Durie introduced the concept of an interface space 11 that describes a 'third space' between the Māori world and, in this case, the western medical world where a 'new' philosophy is created that takes aspects of both worlds and moulds them to suit the situation. Durie asserts that it is possible for western science and indigenous paradigms to find common ground without compromising the foundations of either world view.…”

Healthy Native Community Fellowship: An Indigenous Leadership Program to Enhance Community Wellness

“…Populations and communities who confront historical injustices and suffering use connections to culture and history to heal from discrimination, loss of identity and the breakdown of cultural belief systems, and negative trauma resulting from assimilative policies (Gone, 2009;King et al, 2009;Kirmayer, Sehdev, Whitley, Dandeneau, & Issac, 2009). Methodologies and practices of observation and experiential learning are critical; therefore, it is important that Native-focused services and/or programs center on holistic approaches that include the spiritual, emotional, physical, and intellectual aspects of health (Absolon, 2010;Durie, 2004). A holistic approach addresses factors beyond specific individual health problems by considering a person's well-being as something that is connected to their social ties and community (Edgerly, et al, 2009;Hurst & Nadar, 2006).…”