Indigenous perspectives on efs in australia and new zealand

Abstract

INTRODUCTION The term “Indigenous” comes from Latin, in which it means “born of the land” or “springs from the land” (Cardinal, 2001, p. 180). Indigenous perspectives are generated from the land. As Cardinal explains: “Indigenous peoples with their traditions and customs are shaped by the environment, by the land. They have a spiritual, emotional, and physical relationship to that land. It speaks to them; it gives them their responsibility for stewardship; it sets out a relationship” (p. 180). UNESCO highlights the significance of Indigenous knowledge in relation to sustainability: Indigenous knowledge is the local knowledge that is unique to a culture or society. Other names for it include: ‘local knowledge’, ‘folk knowledge’, ‘people’s knowledge’, ‘traditional wisdom’ or ‘traditional science’. This knowledge is passed from generation to generation, usually by word of mouth and cultural rituals, and has been the basis for agriculture, food preparation, health care, education, conservation and the wide range of other activities that sustain societies in many parts of the world.