Research Outline: Transmission of traditional ecological knowledge through participatory videography among the Giriama

Research Outline: Transmission of traditional ecological knowledge through participatory videography among the Giriama

IS830Brenda Peat

In what ways does participatory videography reshape Traditional Ecological Knowledge? A case study of Kigiriama language workshops in Kenya

What are the relational impacts and power-dynamics created? How is the knowledge itself transformed though this medium and in this process?

Kigiriama speakers, through a church network

Who

NGO partners: Arocha Kenya, SIL

What

Participatory video storytelling

How

Depth over breadth

Emphasizing depth over breadth

Epistemic (Foucault)

Relational (decolonial theory)

Why?

Sharp decline in biodiversity and Indigenous langauges is linked

Barriers to addressing decline includes: lack of documentation and generational gap in investment in TEK

Many indigenous groups still rely on local flora and fauna for survival or resilience, and these resources can have cultural significance

Limitations

• Less thorough
• Incomplete and subjective
• Complex, less-visible mechanisms can be underrepresented compared to visible problems and engaging narratives

• Limits with use and access to technology .

Advantages

• Context, story-based communication is possible
• Keeps with oral traditions
• Accessible with smartphones
• Youth show high interest and engagement
• Wide participation is possible among the tech-savvy
• Shareable on social media and online

VS

Hypothesis?

How nature of NGO partnerships and Christian-affiliation creates power dynamics and filters knowledge.

Participatory videography is an accessible way to achieve intergenerational transmission of TEK, within certain limits.

OR

Data collection

Mostly inductive, not deductive

Look at what is included, excluded, simplified

Semi-structured interviews

Recorded materials from workshops

Participant observation

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Limits of the research

Christian NGO association vs. indigenous leadership

Annecdotal, qualitative data

Limited timeframe and scope

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Ethics and positionality

Primary audience

Positionality of researcher

TEK itself remains anonymous

Mitigating risks

Researcher limitations

Integration into existing workshops

Ways to reduce reduce extractivism

Potential consequences of research

Questions?

• Use of translators and mediators
• Harder to decontextualize
• Less generalizable
• Annonimity is harder
• Subjectivity of researcher
• ETC.

Looking to answer these types of questions:

Who iniatites the process? What are the goals of this project? Who participates in the process? Who decides what counts as TEK? Does the community recognize the knowledge? Is authority or expertise reshaped in this process? What do the recipients think? What is the role of the partner organizations? How heavily is this process led by institutions vs. Giriama speakers? How is TEK filtered, reframed or eroded based on Christian religious belief of participants? Did this address some of the concerns regarding intergenerational transmission, in the short-term?

Highlights:

• Currently working for an organization associated with an NGO partner
• Academic formation in Western social science, with a history of extractive research
• I come from a historically colonizing society and proselytizing background
• Almost no knowlege of Giriama people group; no ties to thier region of Kenya

Semi-structured interviews about process and knowledge - Community members involved in video workshops, through a translator and mediator - Elders, through a translator and mediator - Linguists involved in dictionary making - Facilitators of video workshops - Youth who viewed videos

• I will lack insight into the community context, culture, processes and unspoken dynamics. Nuance and tensions will go unnoticed

• Information shared with me may be heavily filtered through translation and positionality

Field notes will be taken immediately after encountersThese will be reviewed in evenings, and revised with more details

Looking to answer questions like:

How is TEK conceptualized, before and after? How is TEK limited in this format? How is TEK expanded in this format?

Limited applicability elsewhere: These workshops are done through Christian Giriama speakers and a Christian-affiliated NGO. This particularity limits the significance of findings to other, less similar cases.

Christianity itself erodes or significantly transfoms TEK: In other groups in Nigeria, SIL (the partner organization) saw that Christianity provided an ideology that justified letting go of much traditional knowledge, authority of elders and gender roles. Utilitarian TEK was not necessarily eliminated, however, but reframed through Christian moral categories and separated from traditional spirituality. I wonder if Giriama have had a similar experience.

• Consciously create accountability structures towards the Giriama people group themselves.
• o I will need to inquire about, and adhere to, traditional frameworks and guidelines around research, ecology and knowledge sharing.
• Pay attention to power dynamics
• Question the involvement of NGO partners, and Western perspectives

• Academic and institutional, rather than community-based.
• I will not claim to benefit the community with this research, but will make it accessible to them
• I will also make this paper accessible to institutional partner involved.

• Critical lens could disparage participants and facilitators
• Strong critique could raise eyebrows in my workplace and have effects on my role

• I will not claim to benefit the community with this research, but will make it accessible to them through arranging translation of a summary document
• Idea: offer an exchange, asking the community if there is an area where I could be of assistance, since my research may or may not be helpful to them. Ideas include helping with set up or fundraising for their next workshops.

- Workshop outputs: videos, surveys of participants - Teaching materials - Planning materials and correspondence