The world needs to learn from Indigenous wisdom
D+C: Development and Cooperation, issue 9 (2025), pp. 25-52
"Indigenous communities are the descendants of a country’s first peoples. Their stories are often marked by colonisation, oppression and the loss of culture and land. Today, they are fighting worldwide to preserve their identities and ways of life, which continue to be threatened by land grabbing, exploitation and marketisation. Yet their knowledge and resilience are valuable to all of humanity. We must listen to them, protect them and learn from them." (Page 3)
The world needs to learn from Indigenous wisdom, 25
We must listen to Indigenous groups and protect them – not least for our own sake / Katharina Wilhelm Otieno, 26
Representatives of Indigenous communities discuss the joys and challenges of Indigenous life in modern society, 27
Sonami Baski (Santal, India) -- Alais Ole-Morindat (Maasai, Tanzania) -- Jan Olli (Sami, Norway) -- Rael Nkoi Lomoti (Turkana, Kenya)
The case of a missing land-rights and environmental activist shows how threatened Indigenous groups in Chile have been for a long time / Javier Cisterna Figueroa, 37
With the relocation of the Maasai within Tanzania, their ancient knowledge, for example about medicinal plants, is in danger of being lost / Lawrence Kilimwiko, 40
Germany’s failure to account for the genocide of the Ovaherero and Nama in present-day Namibia / Henning Melber and Jephta Nguherimo, 43
How Indigenous communities in Colombia are using cartography to defend their ancestral lands / Leonardo Jímenez, 46
Bolivia sees itself as a pioneer for Indigenous peoples’ rights – but some of them feel seriously discriminated against by the state / Katja Dombrowski, 50
We must listen to Indigenous groups and protect them – not least for our own sake / Katharina Wilhelm Otieno, 26
Representatives of Indigenous communities discuss the joys and challenges of Indigenous life in modern society, 27
Sonami Baski (Santal, India) -- Alais Ole-Morindat (Maasai, Tanzania) -- Jan Olli (Sami, Norway) -- Rael Nkoi Lomoti (Turkana, Kenya)
The case of a missing land-rights and environmental activist shows how threatened Indigenous groups in Chile have been for a long time / Javier Cisterna Figueroa, 37
With the relocation of the Maasai within Tanzania, their ancient knowledge, for example about medicinal plants, is in danger of being lost / Lawrence Kilimwiko, 40
Germany’s failure to account for the genocide of the Ovaherero and Nama in present-day Namibia / Henning Melber and Jephta Nguherimo, 43
How Indigenous communities in Colombia are using cartography to defend their ancestral lands / Leonardo Jímenez, 46
Bolivia sees itself as a pioneer for Indigenous peoples’ rights – but some of them feel seriously discriminated against by the state / Katja Dombrowski, 50
