Dreams, stories, and medicine gardens: a case study on indigenous knowledge sharing through a work exchange in the Buffalo Nations

Abstract

Restoring and expanding Indigenous knowledge systems after centuries of settler-colonial violence against Indigenous Peoples, cultures, and worldview in the United States (US), can contribute to the resilience of the food system in the extreme change of the Anthropocene. To explore this, this thesis presents an intrinsic case study on how traditional ecological knowledge is shared between Indigenous land-stewards (ranchers, gardeners, farmers, gatherers, hunters, fishers, food processors) in the Northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountains of the US when they meet in the setting of a paired work exchange on each other's lands. Indigenous research methods were chosen to guide an understanding of the occurrence of knowledge-transfer from the exchange. Data was gathered through story-sharing circles, conversations and by shadowing the exchanges by participating in work tasks and was processed by combining both Western and Indigenous methods of analysis. To identify themes, the conversations, stories, and observations were coded. The codes were then reapplied to the original narratives to honor the storyteller and preserve the relational integrity of each story. The deeper understanding of findings was then conveyed with abstract paintings, whose symbols are informed by the stories and conversations that occurred during the exchange. While four key themes emerged from the exploration of how knowledge is shared, the theme of healing generational trauma by returning to traditions and culture was most central, emerging in every conversation. The depth of the connection shared between the two participants, highlights the potential work-exchanges hold to empower Indigenous stewards and knowledge.