🌱Indigenous Science 🔬
🌱Indigenous Science 🔬
Sounds Like Impact: A newsletter for audio and action - Vol. 30
Welcome to Sounds Like Impact!
This edition, in honor of Native American Heritage Month, is about Indigenous science. But before we dive in, some updates.
ICYMI: Last week we had a guest curation from Jamil Simon of Making Peace Visible and I interviewed Jenna Spinelle from When the People Decide.
Support: A member of the #SoundsLikeImpact community could use your help. Jaime Albright, a previous guest curator and interviewee, suffered a terrible tragedy: her family’s home burned down. A neighbor started a GoFundMe to help the family and I saw it on LinkedIn. Jaime did not ask me to share this fundraiser, but I did get her permission before sharing. If so moved, you can donate here.
🆓 Opportunity: #SoundsLikeImpact community member Lindsay Patterson has an exciting, free, new course that she is graciously offering. In January, she will launch a webinar series teaching foundational skills to create and produce a science podcast for kids. Lindsay is a recognized leader in the kids’ podcast space and a science journalist. You can learn more and sign up here.
Thank You! Erin C for upgrading to a paid subscription and Jane C for your donation. All of this support is so appreciated. 💜
Quick Q: In the first few months of the newsletter, I used to update a weekly podcast podcast playlist on Spotify, but stopped because it didn’t seem like people were using it. Please let me know your thoughts, as I’m wondering whether to revisit. If at least 5% of readers are interested, I’ll re-up.
And lastly, please help us grow by sharing! It would be great to get to 600 readers by the end of November; we are 15 people shy! 😀
Reminder: To guest curate, be interviewed, advertise and more, click here.
🎧 #AudioForAction Theme of the Week
Indigenous Science
November is Native American Heritage Month. There is so much we owe Indigenous people, not just in the Americas, but all over the world. I recently came across a photo series about the impact of climate change on South Pacific Islanders. While the photos taken underwater aren’t yet reality, sea level rise will continue to have catastrophic effects if we don’t address.
When I worked at Spotify, on multiple occasions I curated shows or episodes about about Indigenous environmental wisdom. Shows that I came across during that time, such as Good Fire, were really instructive. A lot of the solutions we need to climate and environmental problems are already known.
This curation is a bit broader, as we will look at not just climate and environment, but food and technology as well. There is so much to be gained when we broaden our understanding of science and pay respect to those with deep ancestral knowledge.
On Point | Podcast, A new approach to science rooted in Indigenous tradition
The National Science Foundation in the U.S. has funded its first ever research hub focused on Indigenous knowledge. Learn more about what this hub aims to do.
Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, The Untold Story of California’s Mighty Predator
Going Wild spotlights the people behind animal conservation. This episode features Tongva Tribal Archaeologist Desireé Reneé Martinez, who shares an Indigenous perspective on conservation.
Proof, Best of Proof: Nixtamalization and Indigenous Science
Navajo reporter Andi Murphy helps us to understand how corn is processed to become tortillas and other goods made from the fermentation process known as Nixtamalization.
The Good Robot, Grace Dillon on Indigenous Sciences, Technologies, and Science Fiction
Grace Dillon is an Anishanaabe cultural critic that coined the term “Indigenous futurisms.” Sci-fi fans, you’ll especially want to tap in. Here is also a CBC read or podcast episode with Grace Dillon, alongside technologist Jason Lewis and Dr. Lisa Richardson, MD if you want to go further on the topic.
This episode from from the organization Seeding Sovereignty is an interview that talks not only about Indigenous influence on solar energy development, but also about other issues affecting the Indigenous community such as Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP).
Melina is Lubicon Cree from Northern Alberta Canada and active in the environmental movement not just near her home, but also elsewhere as co-founder of Indigenous Climate Action.
Bonus: Another conservation related episode from Short Wave about addressing water contamination by integrating Western and Diné science methods, a practice of Navajo environmental chemist Ranalda Tsosie.
🚨 Calls to Action
Read / Listen: Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes Through Indigenous Science by Dr. Jessica Hernandez. You can learn a little bit more about Dr. Hernandez through this podcast episode on Latino USA.
P.S. If you are a Spotify Premium user in certain markets*, you now get 15 hours of audiobooks included each month. Fresh Banana Leaves is on the platform for around 10 hours if you are interested!
*This isn’t an ad for Spotify, I’m just passing along info as a user.
Learn: Land Acknowledgements became more prevalent in 2020. If you haven’t taken a chance to learn what they are, review this resource and also learn how you can go beyond the acknowledgement.
If you prefer an audio option, NPR has a 5-minute All Things Considered episode about Indigenous land acknowledgements.
Donate: Help support the education and expansion of Indigenous people in the sciences. Indspire (Canada) and AISES-Advancing Indigenous People In STEM (US).
🌟 Classifieds
Nothing to promote but still want to support? You can donate here.
