Winnipeg, in which were recorded praise of Indigenous peoples’ kindness, their willingness to share survival skills, their laughter, their love of the family unit and support of one another, of sharing especially in times when food was scarce.
Some so-called historians during the fur trade, such as James Isham, serving the company as a writer from 1732 until he died in 1761 at York Factory, and Andrew Graham, an assistant writer under Isham beginning in 1753, were critical of Indigenous egalitarian leadership and their lack of interest in personal gain, calling them inferior merely because of differences to Europeans.
But what those European writers and many others couldn’t know or didn’t bother to take note of was Indigenous knowledge based on what we would now call science.
UNESCO was established by the United Nations in 1945 after the Second World War because enough countries believed that lasting peace required more than political agreements, and instead required cooperation through education, science, culture and the sharing of knowledge. It protects cultures and preserves heritage around the world.
UNESCO’s opening principle is: “Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.” When a particular site is designated a World Heritage Site, UNESCO considers it to have important value to humanity and aids in the site’s protection for the benefit of future generations.
Many of the 1,273 UNESCO sites in 173 countries preserve Indigenous knowledge systems and histories. From the investigation of these sites, we glean a look into the past and the inherent wisdom of those early cultures, shining a light on their truth.
Critics of early Indigenous culture claim “they never even invented the wheel,” as if that is some standard. Drawings and figurines with axles and wheels date back to 1000 BC with the Olmec, one of the earliest major civilizations in what is now southern Mexico. They had the wheel for two thousand years but chose not to use it due to its inefficiency on wet, boggy ground.
What they did have in 1800 BC were early writing systems, trade networks, tracking of planets and a 365-day calendar. What is considered the greatest single human invention by mathematicians is the number zero, which the Maya carved on stone walls in 357 AD, before anyone else recognized its importance. Simply put, of the dozen most important inventions in history, none of them were invented in Europe; they came from elsewhere.
UNESCO tells us the Budj Bim is one of the world’s oldest and most extensive aquaculture systems that uses channels, weirs, dams and traps to control water flow and to harvest eel, supporting Gunditjmara Aboriginal society for six millennia in southeastern Australia.
Polynesian navigators crossed the Pacific using science developed by observations. They examined the stars, ocean swells, wind patterns, bird behaviour and other evidence they gathered from the environment that enabled navigation without compasses or GPS.
The Maya made precise observations of celestial bodies that led them to develop calendars, and their astronomy is considered the most accurate pre-telescope. The Inca built extensive terrace systems and irrigation networks in the Andes to reduce erosion, retain water and create productive farmland on the steep mountain slopes.
The “Three Sisters” planting system of the Iroquois used corn, beans, and squash, their biological interactions improving yields. The corn stock provides support, the beans fix nitrogen in the soil, and the squash suppresses weeds and conserves moisture. This is still studied today.
Indigenous societies developed a thorough understanding of seasonal cycles, weather, animal migrations and ecological relationships that informed their climate adaptation, the importance of biodiversity and their ability to manage the environment. All of this is supported by archaeological evidence, written records, oral traditions and the subsequent recognition by modern science organizations.
Indigenous peoples of the Andes used the bark of the cinchona tree to treat fevers centuries before Europeans were able to isolate quinine for the treatment of malaria. Indigenous peoples in North America used willow bark for pain and fever reduction long before aspirin had been synthesized. Willow bark contains salicin, a compound related to aspirin.
Many of our modern drugs originated first from plants identified through Indigenous medical knowledge. The World Health Organization recognizes the contribution of Indigenous and traditional medical knowledge.
Why does any of this matter? Because we must recognize the great contribution of Indigenous knowledge, refined and distilled over generations, from which we have benefited. Preserving Indigenous language and wisdom is essential to the well-being of humanity and the planet.
