Different Ways of Knowing
Why We Should Value and Preserve Traditional Knowledge
By Sanjna Das ’21
In an article for Nonprofit Quarterly, Elissa Sloane Perry and Aja Couchois Duncan, talk about four different ways of knowing: practical, artistic, generalized, and foundational. These ways of knowing arise from the various means by which we make meaning of our world and use this understanding to effect change.
In my opinion, the model captures the basis of community-engaged leadership: working with communities and their knowledge/skillset to understand how to better meet their needs. Students who earn the Certificate in Community-Engaged Leadership reflect on their relationships with community partners throughout the program. This is especially important in the capstone dialogue, where students develop an engagement plan exploring their visions for the world and how they can listen to a community partner’s needs in order to effect social change.
There are things that can’t be learned simply by reading a textbook or attending a lecture. In many professional settings, especially academic ones, we value generalized knowing, which involves using reasoning and rational thought to understand the world. This doesn’t really come as a surprise — as humans, we’re constantly searching for patterns and ways to organize the world around us using logic and rules.
Just as important, however, is what’s termed foundational knowing. This involves exploring traditional, spiritual, and natural knowledge to create meaning.
I often think of my grandma as a reservoir of foundational knowing. While she does not have a degree or formal schooling past the 8th grade, she has learned through life experience and a culture passed down by generations past. Come to think of it, she is able to offer remedies for a wide variety of ailments: a sore throat begs for hot milk mixed with black pepper, turmeric and honey and a stomachache jeera.
Interestingly, these remedies aren’t medications with fancy names or flavors, but are derived from plants that play an important role in the Indian lifestyle. There’s no doubt that science and medicine require an in-depth understanding of the body and how it works at the microscale. Yet, we have much to learn from communities that have been developing a relationship and experimenting with the nature around them for generations.
The Ojibwe of Wisconsin, for example, have contributed to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ understanding of climate change with the observation that there has been change in natural phenomena that historically coincided. Another great example of drawing upon traditional knowledge can be found in the Menominee Forest, where the Menominee Tribe uses a specific method to encourage the growth of white pines. The forest is notable because of its role in acting as a carbon reservoir and supplying oxygen, according to the president of Menominee Tribal Enterprises, Adrian Miller. What stands out to me is that Miller refers to the forest as a “spiritual home and [the tribe] treat[s] it with love and respect.”
This connection with the land is admirable and rare in a world where we, as a society, value consumption and expendability. In my oceanography class with Dr. Bruce Monger last semester, one of the key themes was that we are an inextricable part of the global ecosystem and this requires, as Miller states, a relationship of “love and respect” with the land and the organisms in it. This sentiment extends to those groups that harbor traditional ways of knowing that are often cast aside (quite literally) to serve the priorities of governing bodies.
I was intrigued to learn of the Iruligas, who are found in the Deccan states in areas including the Banerghetta forest in Bengaluru. In a piece written by Nitin Krishna P. for the Deccan Herald, the author describes an elder’s extensive knowledge of nature during a visit to the forest, which purportedly can cure “snake bites, fever, infected wounds, menstrual cramps, skin diseases — almost everything!” If this isn’t impressive enough, this knowledge is encoded orally.
Moreover, much like the Ojibwe, the Iruligas, cognizant of their dependence upon the forest to survive, treat the forest with a deep reverence. Yet, with the passing of the Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980, the Iruligas have been forced off their traditional lands — all under the premise of conserving forests such as the Banerghatta.
The forcing of groups such as Iruligas off their lands threatens the loss of generations of traditional knowledge. And so, while conservation is very much a necessity in rapidly expanding countries such as India, the answer lies in involving indigenous and often-marginalized groups, who live sustainably, in these discussions. It is clear that we have much to learn from groups that have lived by traditional — and often experientially acquired — knowledge for years, including an appreciation for the planet that has and continues to support us despite our continual exploitation of its resources.
As a community-engaged leader, I frequently find myself challenging my values and beliefs — the very basis of critical reflection. And this extends to my perception of knowledge as well. Socialization in an academic environment has undoubtedly shaped the lens through which I view and value generalized knowing. Yet, my community-engaged learning interactions have pushed me to reflect upon the importance of other ways of knowing and recognize that these can and should be held at the same standard if we are to create change, as Perry and Duncan suggest.
— Sanjna Das ’21 is an Engaged Ambassador with the OEI and is majoring in Biological Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She enjoys writing about science, exploring its intersection with community-engaged work, and highlighting student and community voices.
