#10 - Indigenous Thought: Communicating and Transforming Academic Knowledge for Tribal Communities

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In this episode, the IRC team discusses how we can communicate indigenous thought and knowledge gained from academic institutions to our tribal communities. The episode starts with the Snyeʔstn, a scout song used to welcome back the scout that was sent out to gather knowledge of enemies and game near the camp. Whenever a Scout was seen returning, loping his horse, riding in a zigzag manner, and singing it was known he was bearing news and had seen something. A party of men, old and young, went to meet him. They advanced in a line, singing the song. The people of the camp would then gather and go out from the camp to some spot and would stand there. They had a leader and he would stand out from the crowd and drop a blanket on the ground; that is where the scout would stop. He must have power, and the power tells him where to throw down the blanket.” He drops the blanket in a bundle, not spread out, and then backs away from it to the waiting crowd. The leader has a stick, and after the scout has dismounted and come to the blanket, the leader strikes him with the stick. It is a signal to him that he may talk. Then the scout tells whatever news he has, whether good or bad.
The IRC Team used this song as a springboard to discuss their experiences in completing their academic degrees and the process of disseminating this knowledge to tribal and academic communities. The IRC team finds that the presence of witnesses from their family and community is an important part of validation for the knowledge they gained and how that gained it.
The IRC team continues the discussion after listening to a clip of the Sninyultmtn or parade song. There are several different types of Parade Songs. Some were associated with warriors returning from war or raids, weddings, telling of deeds, etc. Parades seem to have been quite common. This song was for a parade was called, “Sninyultn” and could be held at any time. This resembled the ride around the camp circle of returning victorious warriors except that it was held for entertainment. Both men and women participate in horseback riding parallel in rows. There would be a number of these rows of mounted people. A man and woman would often ride double. This parade would take place inside the camp circle and it would move around the row of teepees. Both men and women would join in singing the song.

The IRC Team finished their discussion by exploring ways to transform the academic process that may align more closely with a traditional way of informing their communities of the knowledge they have gained. The Team finds that a variety of modes of communication may work best to capture and repackage academic knowledge that is useful to Tribal communities.
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