Indigenous knowledges and development: a postcolonial caution

Abstract

As a result of the failure of formal top‐down development, there has recently been increased interest in the possibilities of drawing upon the indigenous knowledges of those in the communities involved, in an attempt to produce more effective development strategies. The concept of indigenous knowledge calls for the inclusion of local voices and priorities, and promises empowerment through ownership of the process. However, there has been little critical examination of the ways in which indigenous knowledges have been included in the development process. Drawing upon postcolonial theory, this article suggests that indigenous knowledges are often drawn into development by both theorists and development institutions in a very limited way, failing to engage with other ways of perceiving development, and thus missing the possibility of devising more challenging alternatives.

Notes

John Briggs and Joanne Sharp are both in the Department of Geography and Geomatics, Centre for Geosciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK. Email: [email protected]

This was underlined in the UN Human Development Report 2003 which showed that living standards had declined in 54 countries in the world between 1990 and 2001, 21 of which are in Africa.

A disclaimer appears at the end of this article which states that ‘The views expressed in this paper are entirely those of the author and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent’. However, the prominence of this article on the World Bank's website suggests a degree of convergence of viewpoints.

This set of arguments does assume that the subaltern want to be heard. However, there are suggestions that the identification of the ‘hidden transcripts’ of resistance makes them legible to the very people they seek to evade (Scott, 1985). Alternatively, some may want to adopt silence as a strategy of resistance. Katz does accept the possibility that there are times when the most appropriate method might be one of silence, acknowledging that ‘ethnographic work can (inadvertently) expose sensitive practices of subaltern people to those who (might) use this knowledge to oppress them’ (Katz, 1994: 71; see also Stacey, 1988).

This, however, is an intention more often discussed than practised (Parpart, 1993: 455).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

John Briggs

John Briggs and Joanne Sharp are both in the Department of Geography and Geomatics, Centre for Geosciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK. Email: [email protected]