Welcome to knowledge & indigenous societies. This page gives you a quick overview of this optional theme of TOK, and four padlets offering quotes, knowledge questions, real-world stories, and important thinkers.
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Indigenous societies: a quick overview
Knowledge and indigenous societies explores the relationship between indigenous communities and the acquisition, transmission, and interpretation of knowledge. It examines the unique perspectives, values, and worldviews that shape indigenous knowledge systems, and connects directly to key concepts including culture, perspective, and values.
Two thinkers who illuminate this theme particularly well are Vine Deloria Jr., who challenged Western perspectives on indigenous knowledge and advocated for the recognition of indigenous worldviews, and Winona LaDuke, whose work on environmental sustainability and indigenous sovereignty remains essential reading.
Contemporary issues make this theme especially urgent. Debates about cultural preservation highlight the struggle of indigenous communities to safeguard traditional knowledge and languages from extinction, while discussions about land rights expose the clash between indigenous perspectives that prioritise sustainability and external forces driven by economic interest.
Engaging with this theme invites students to explore the profound wisdom of indigenous cultures, examine the power dynamics that have historically marginalised indigenous knowledge, and reflect on the ethical responsibility we all share to protect and honour that heritage.
1 QUOTES Who said “In an eagle there is all the wisdom of the world”?
Explore these quotes on indigenous societies by a wide range of different thinkers. Which quotes are the most and least insightful?
How do they challenge assumptions about the core theme? What do they reveal about links between the this and other aspects of the TOK course?
2 KNOWLEDGE QUESTIONS Can we only know the culture in which we grew up?
Exploring knowledge questions is at the heart of TOK, prompting us to reflect on our assumptions and evaluate the reliability of our knowledge.
They give us a focus point for deeper understanding, and play a central role in both the essay and the exhibition assessment tasks.
3 REAL-WORLD STORIES How significant is art deprioritising western belief systems?
Grasp indigenous societies, see how TOK ideas manifest in the real-world, and support exhibition commentaries, via these examples.
They’ll also help you to challenge your assumptions and biases, and become an authentic critical thinker.
4 NOTABLE THINKERS Why does Oren Lyons stress the ‘urgency’ of indigenous wisdom?
These thinkers will help you consolidate your understanding of indigenous societies, and articulate your ideas about the world.
Draw on them to support exhibition commentary discussions, and add depth and authority to the claims you make about knowledge.
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