Indigenous wisdom meets Western science at Sam Noble
Overcoming environmental and cultural challenges can make for unexpected partnerships that result in extraordinary outcomes. With its newest exhibit, “Roots of Wisdom: Native Knowledge. Shared Science,” the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History shares the knowledge of native peoples and cutting-edge Western science.
“Roots of Wisdom,” on display beginning Saturday and continuing through May 7, features stories from four indigenous communities, giving visitors real-life examples of how traditional knowledge and Western science together provide solutions to ecological and health challenges.
Through the voices of elders and youth, video interactives and handson games, visitors will gather resources, examine data and take part in the movement toward sustainability and the reclamation of age-old practices.
“In one manner or another, indigenous knowledge is reflected in every realm of our lives,” said Daniel Swan, curator of ethnology and interim curator of Native American languages at the Sam Noble museum.
“Unfortunately, much of that knowledge was appropriated without the associated indigenous philosophies and practices that supported sustainability and stewardship of the environment. This exhibition demonstrates the tremendous strength that can be realized when indigenous knowledge systems work in partnership with Western science.”
The exhibit covers the following topics:
•Traditional Knowledge/ Western Science: Visitors explore the relationship between Western science and native ecological knowledge. From everyday items from duck decoys to surfboards, popcorn to chocolate, guests will learn how native knowledge affects daily life.
•Re-establishing a Native Plant (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians): River cane plays a role in revitalizing cultural practices and restoring ecosystems. Guests will learn how this hardy plant affects water quality and how Cherokee elders are teaching new generations about the traditional craft of basket weaving.
•Restoring Fish Ponds (Hawaii): Guests are given a chance to act as a caretaker of a fish pond or join a stream on a journey down a Hawaiian mountainside in handson interactives. Visitors learn how native ecosystems have been disrupted and what is being done to restore innovative forms of aquaculture.
•Rediscovering Traditional Foods (Tulalip Tribes): Through a computer interactive, hands-on activities and recorded stories, guests learn how Tulalip Tribes are striving to find access to natural resources against the loss of land rights and environmental degradation. Visitors learn about traditional practices of harvesting native food plants and gardening fruits and vegetables.
•Saving Streams and Wildlife (Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation): Seen as a pest in some areas of the country, the lamprey is an eel-like fish that is important ecologically and as a food source to indigenous people. Visitors can pick up a replica lamprey as would a fisher for the tribes and find out how traditional ecological knowledge and Western science are being applied to bring the fish back from the brink of extinction.
Funded by the National Science Foundation, “Roots of Wisdom” is specially designed for ages 11 to 14. The exhibition was developed by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, the Indigenous Education Institute, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Tulalip Tribes, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Waikalua Loko Fishpond Preservation Society in Hawaii, and was made possible through funds from the National Science Foundation.
The exhibit is sponsored locally by Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores.
For more information, call 325-4712 or go to SamNobleMuseum.ou.edu.