News Fusion | 066

NewsFusion for March 2020

Science...

• Astronauts Peggy Whitson and Scott Kelley offer advice on isolation | Space.com
• Squids can edit their RNA outside the nucleus, maybe humans can someday too to help cure genetic diseases | WIRED
• Beijing-based CloudMinds sends multiple robots to Chinese hospitals to help fight coronavirus | CNBC

Design...

• The curious history of the N95 mask | Fast Company
• Prada joins fashion houses producing medical facemasks to help fight COVID-19 | The Guardian
• How COVID-19 will change built environments | Architectural Digest

Culture...

• American Indian communities turn to one another, teachings in response to Coronavirus pandemic | The Seattle Times
• NAACP highlight unique coronavirus risks to communities of color | NAACP
• Artists on Instagram challenge coronavirus-related racism | KQED

Native American Physicians Meet in Portland

Image Credit: Jamie Francis, The Oregonian
The Association of American Indian Physicians (AAIP) held their 40th annual meeting and health conference August 8th-15th, 2011 in Portland, OR. The theme for the conference was "Shared Visions - Blending Tradition, Culture, and Health Care for Native Communities". The Oregonian published a great article on the conference, "At Portland conference, Native American doctors urge a return to old ways to cure a population hit by chronic disease" by Bill Graves, as well as an exellent video available here.

Pacific Voyagers on Historic Journey

A group of Pacific Islanders representing many nations have set out on a voyage across the Pacific Ocean to strengthen their ties with the sea, renew their commitment to healthy ecosystems for future generations, and to honor their ancestors who sailed before them. The journey began in Aotearoa (New Zealand) in the Spring of 2011, is wintering in San Diego, CA, and will end in the Solomon Islands sometime in 2012. You can follow the historic voyage at Pacific Voyagers.

Below is the first teaser for the documentary film, "Our Blue Canoe" that highlights the initial steps of the Journey.

SeanChron - Prince Charles' Harmony

I just finished watching Prince Charles' film "Harmony - a new way of looking at the world" on NBC. Wow! I'm really impressed!!! It is the first such film that truly raises issues of broad sustainability, including both environmental and social elements. Most impressive to me is that the film makes a strong connection to the worldviews and particular challenges of Indigenous Peoples around the world. Among many other people and issues presented in the filrm, Dr. Vandana Shiva (pictured above) told the story of sustainable agriculture, Janine Benyus discussed biomimicry, and Gitg'at Elder and Coastal First Nations Executive Director, Art Sterrit, recounts brokering the Great Bear Rainforest Agreement in British Columbia. A lot of science, a lot of design, a lot of culture...I need to see it a few more times to take it all in! Check out the trailer below:

Harmony Movie Trailer from Balcony Films on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday Fabindia!

50 years ago, John Bissell started Fabindia to showcase the tradition, culture, and crafts of India. Today, Fabindia brings handmade textiles, home furnishings, and other products from over 40,000 rural artisans to the marketplace, a win-win situation by all accounts. We look forward to another 50 years of Fabindia combining traditional techniques with contemporary designs that improve the quality of life for everyone.

New Book | Conservation Refugees

Originally posted on: Brothers After All...A much anticipated book by Mark Dowie explores the tenuous relationship between global conservation efforts and indigenous peoples. Conservation Refugees shows that even though conservation and indigenous movements share many objectives, they also come into conflict, particularly when Western ideas, opinions, and worldviews don't match up with Indigenous ways of thinking, being, and doing. The field of integrated conservation and development (ICD), also referred to as community-based conservation and/or participatory conservation, has been around for several decades but the challenge of protecting diversity without impacting the indigenous peoples that often inhabit the same critical areas is still just that...a challenge. Heated discussions on ICD have played out in both the academic and mainstream press but in the end, Indigenous Peoples are still becoming refugees in the name of conservation. Perhaps Dowie's book will bring a new perspective to the diversity dilemma.

An evening with Melanie Cheung

9/19/09. This evening I had the great honor of attending a lecture by Maori neuroscientist Melanie Cheung on her research into Huntington's disease, her efforts to apply Tikanga Maori (Maori ways of thinking, being, doing) to her work with human brain tissue in a culturally safe and sensitive way, and her experience in both Indigenous and Western science. Cheung's lecture was part of the Indigenous Wellness Research Institutes annual celebration and having just finished Gregory Cajete's book, Native Science, and then finding a fantastic article by Cheung on Indigenous science, I was very much looking forward to hearing Cheung in person.

The results...she was FABULOUS!. Her research is fascinating and her journey to apply Tikanga Maori to her work is nothing less than inspiring as it invites a deep respect and sensitivity for people, protocol, and life back into science, something that has been lacking in Western science...well for centuries. As opposed to the Western worldview in which science and spirituality don't get along so well, in Indigenous Science science and spirituality are often one and the same. In fact, Cheung considers her ability to bridge the two worldviews as a benefit as it allows for more open-mindedness and more diverse perspectives in both asking and answering research questions. Add to all this a great sense of humor and fantastic storytelling skills and you've got one really fun, really inspiring evening.

Indigenous knowledge valuable in mitigating natural disasters

An article by Andrew Stevens on emergencymgmt.com demonstrates how Western emergency managers benefit from Idigenous Knowledge in mitigating damage from natrual disasters.

Image: The Barangay Disaster Coordinating Council gives out the initial warning using the kanungkung, from "Indigenous Knowledge for Disaster Risk Reduction: Good Practices and Lessons Learned from Experiences in the Asia-Pacific Region", available here.