Biden Interior Dept puts together handbook to apply 'indigenous knowledge' into agency practices

Officials at the Department of the Interior are pushing to finalize a new "implementation handbook" to guide agency decision makers on how to "apply indigenous knowledge" in their day-to-day work. 

The notion of "indigenous knowledge" puts forward that Native groups possess an understanding about the natural world that others do not, due to their ethnic background.

The aim of the new chapter in the agency-wide manual is to "equitably promote the inclusion of indigenous knowledge," but this new supplemental handbook lays out methods for "applying" indigenous knowledge into departmental practices, such as scientific research, environmental compliance work, community resiliency and more. 

One approach laid out in the handbook instructs employees to seek out indigenous "knowledge holders" to supplement their scientific research, including ensuring that there is enough project time allocated to adequately consider indigenous knowledge and compensating any "knowledge holders" for their participation. The guide also implores hiring mangers to consider employing these indigenous knowledge experts. 

When it comes to scientific research, some laws require the consideration of scientific information, methods and practices. However, the handbook points out that in some cases these statutes allow the inclusion of indigenous knowledge.

"In these cases," the handbook posits, "Bureaus and Offices should include [indigenous knowledge] as an aspect of best available science when it is generally considered authoritative by the Indigenous Peoples who possess it."

The nearly 150-page handbook includes a litany of other "approaches" to applying indigenous knowledge into the agency's practices, including how to create "an ethical space to receive indigenous knowledge" and information about how to shield "sensitive" indigenous knowledge from public disclosure laws.

Chamberlain and his nonprofit dug into how the Biden administration has implemented indigenous knowledge across the federal government, including through the use of public disclosure laws.   

"We've already seen [indigenous knowledge] in action as the Department of the Interior elevated indigenous knowledge that supported their position over indigenous knowledge that didn't in canceling oil and gas leases in Alaska," Chamberlain pointed out. "The fact that the administration explored ways to exempt indigenous knowledge from FOIA adds to the potential for misuse."

Officials from the Department of the Interior declined to comment on the record for this story.