Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledges and Science Launch
Photo Credit: Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledges and Science, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Launched last week, the Center for Braiding Indigenous Knowledges and Science (CBIKS) “will examine how to effectively and ethically braid Western and Indigenous science research, education, and practice related to the urgent and interconnected challenges of climate change, cultural places, and food security.”
CBIKS is supported by a National Science Foundation 5-year, $30-million grant.
The Principal Investigators are Dr. Sonya Atalay (Anishinaabe-Ojibwe; University of Massachusetts Amherst), Dr. Ora Marek-Martinez (Diné, Nez Perce, and Hopi; Northern Arizona University), Dr. Bonnie Newsom (Penobscot Nation; University of Maine), and Dr. Jon Woodruff (University of Massachusetts Amherst).
The Center is partnering with 57 Indigenous communities and dozens of institutions and organizations, and has a team of over 50 scientists and scholars from around the world.
Local Contexts Council Founding Members and Strategic Advisors Maui Hudson (Whakatōhea, Ngāruahine, and Te Māhurehure; University of Waikato) and Jane Anderson (New York University) will lead the Data Sovereignty Working Group that is part of this work.
