Apela Colorado’s Distinctions of Indigenous Science
NINE DISTINCTIONS OF INDIGENOUS SCIENCE by DR. APELA COLORADO
Just like western science, indigenous science relies upon direct observation; there are
tests to insure validity and data are used for forecasting and generating predictions.
Individuals are trained in various forecasting and generating predictions. Individuals are
trained in various specializations, for example, herbal ism, weather observations, mental
health and time keeping. Unlike western science, the data from indigenous science are
not used to control the forces of nature, instead, the data tell us ways and means of
accommodating nature. Other critical distinctions include the following:
1. The indigenous scientist is an integral part of the research process and there is a
defined process for insuring this integrity.
2. All of nature is considered to be intelligent and alive, thus an active research
partner.
3. The purpose of indigenous science is to maintain balance.
4. Compared to western time/space notions, indigenous science collapses time and
space with the result that our fields of inquiry and participation extend into and
overlap with past and present.
5. Indigenous science is concerned with relationships, we try to understand and
complete our relationships with all living things.
6. Indigenous science is holistic, drawing on all the Sense including the spiritual and
psychic.
7. The end point of an indigenous scientific process is a known and recognized place. This
point of balance, referred to by my own tribe as the Great Peace, is both peaceful
and electrifyingly alive. In the joy of exact balance, creativity occurs, which is why
we can think of our way of knowing as a life science.
8. When we reach the moment/place of balance we do not believe that we have
transcended — we say that we are normal! Always we remain embodied in the
natural world.
9. Humor is a critical ingredient of all truth seeking, even in the most powerful rituals.
This is true because humor balances gravity.
Colorado, Pamela. -1994. Indigenous science and westem science: a healing convergence.
Presentation at the World Sciences Dialog I, New York City, April 25-27, 1994
Wisdom Teachings: Dr. Apela Colorado
My dear friend and mentor Dr. Apela Colorado speaks on the importance of traditional ancestral knowledge.
More on the Sacred Fire
Apela has uploaded another video to youtube of her talking about the Sacred Fire Ceremony on March 21st. The lighting is a little eerie, it’s like she is talking from the Spirit World. She says some very important things about the meaning of the ceremony:
“40,000 years ago, the ancestors built the sacred fire. They built this fire with great power & great purpose. They built it in such a way that we, their descendants would awaken in the right time and reignite the sacred fire to remember our relationships with each other and to remember our sacred relationship with the Earth.”
Link to Sacred Fire Website
Apela Colorado now has a website dedicated to the Sacred Fire on March 21st. Check it out:
OneSacredFire.org
Healers from all over the world will be joining together in this ceremony, including Zulu High Sanusi, Baba Credo Mutwa in South Africa, and Tata Yawanawa from Brazil.
Here’s an excerpt from the site:
An Invitation to Light Your Sacred Fire and
Renew the Earth March 22, 2008
“In reigniting this fire in Kyrgyzstan, its leaders will stand in the last location that the people of the earth stood together as a single community of humanity, 40,000 years ago. By supporting this ceremony with your simultaneous global fires, this event will powerfully re-create the single community of humanity.
The ceremony’s ability to spark remembrance is exponentially enhanced through global participation; the more of us participate, the more fuel is created to feed this sacred fire.”
Sacred Fire on March 21st for Ancestral Remembrance
Apela Colorado, my elder & mentor, recently came back from her travels with a message from spiritual elders in Central Asia. Circle of Ancestors sponsored an evening lecture with Dr. Colorado last November. We taped her talk and have posted part of it on youtube so the word can get out about the Sacred Fire ceremonies to take place this year on March 21st.
Circle of Ancestors
onesacredfire.org
