The White House has reportedly issued a memo directing federal agencies to apply “Indigenous Knowledge” to “research, policies, and decision making.”
QUICK FACTS:
- The Biden administration has allegedly issued a memo to dozens of federal agencies urging them to use “Indigenous Knowledge” in their research policies.
- The 42-page document reportedly urges agencies to speak with “spiritual leaders” and reject “methodological dogma” when creating policies.
- The move would allegedly combat injustices against Native people living in the United States.
- The memo also directed agencies to “include Indigenous Knowledge as an aspect of the best available science,” despite President Biden’s initial campaign promise to “follow the science.”
- “This is extremely dangerous,” Anna Krylov, a professor at the University of Southern California, said. “When I conduct experiments, I need to follow the rules and procedures and think about safety. I have to keep track of what I’m doing, I’m not thinking about chants or dancing.”
- In addition, the White House has also released more than three dozen documents citing Indigenous Knowledge.
- “From March through September 2022, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) engaged more than 100 Federally recognized Tribal Nations and more than a thousand individuals and organizations in a White House-led effort to elevate Indigenous Knowledge in Federal decision making,” the Biden administration said.
THE BIDEN ADMIN. ON “COLLABORATING” WITH INDIGENOUS TRIBES:
“As described in a November 2021 Memorandum, the White House committed to a collaborative process for developing Guidance for Federal agencies on Indigenous Knowledge informed by the perspectives and experiences of Tribal Nations, knowledge holders, and Indigenous communities,” the memo says.
BACKGROUND:
- In November 2022, the Biden administration announced an initiative to give three different Native tribes a total of $75 million to move away from coastal areas or rivers due to “climate change.”
- The three communities, one residing in Washington and two in Alaska, would receive $25 million each to move their buildings onto higher grounds and away from rising waters.
- The federal government also pledged to give eight additional tribes $5 million each in an effort to relocate the groups to a different region.
- It was reported at the time that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would be spending $13 billion on funds from Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act towards “environmental justice” and “climate change.”
