Gender and ethnic equity: what can we learn from ancestral and indigenous peoples to deal with socio-environmental issues?

Authors

  • Sofia Zank Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Faculdade Municipal de Palhoça
  • Natalia Hanazaki Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
  • Clarissa Rocha de Melo Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15451/ec2021-02-10.16-1-9

Keywords:

Ethnobiology 5, Indigenous People and Local Communities, Feminism

Abstract

The socio-environmental crisis that we are currently experiencing requires integrative research approaches and actions. Ethnobiology has important potential in this regard, both for its interdisciplinary nature and for recording the relationship between humans and the environment at different times and places. In this way, this opinion essay aims to discuss what we can learn from ancestral societies and Indigenous peoples for the establishment of a more equitable and sustainable world, considering the intersection between gender and ethnic groups. We will begin by examining the history of societies in Old Europe and how domineering and patriarchal societies have been established. We will discuss a few findings about pre-Columbian peoples in America that reinforces the the existence of more equitable societies. We add discussions related to gender, in the context of Indigenous peoples, and reflecting on the importance of the feminine and of the complementarity in social relationships. Finally, we discuss the role of ethnobiological research in this context and the ways of collaborating to support values that favor the establishment of equitable societies, which are fundamental to address the challenges of this era of change.

References

Baldauf C (2020) Participatory Biodiversity Conservation. Springer; 1st Edition DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41686-7

Baldauf C (2019) From the colonialist to the “autobotanical” approach: the evolution of the subject-object relationship in ethnobotanical research. Acta Botanica Brasilica 33(2): 386-390. DOI: 10.1590/0102-33062018abb0343. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/0102-33062018abb0343

Buss D (2015) Evolutionary psychology: The new science of the mind.Psychology Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315663319

Butler J (2003) Problemas de gênero:feminismo e subversão da identidade. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Civilização Brasileira.

Convention on Biological Diversity – CBD (1992) [https://www.cbd.int/doc/legal/cbd-en.pdf] Accessed on 20 October 2020.

Ciccarone C (2004) Drama e Sensibilidade: Migração, Xamanismo e Mulheres mbyá. Revista de Indias 230: 81-96. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3989/revindias.2004.i230.412

CIMI (2019) Documento final da marcha das mulheres indígenas”Território: nosso corpo, nosso espírito. [https://cimi.org.br/2019/08/marcha-mulheres-indigenas-documento-final-lutar-pelos-nossos-territorios-lutar-pelo-nosso-direito-vida/] Accessed on 20 October 2020.

Eddo-Lodge R (2017) Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Eisler R (1987) The chalice and the blade. San Francisco, CA: Harper Collins.

Fernandes V, Sampaio CAC (2008) Problemática ambiental ou problemática socioambiental? A natureza da relação sociedade/meio ambiente. Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente 18: 87-94. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5380/dma.v18i0.13427

Federici S (2017) Calibã e a bruxa: Mulheres, corpo e acumulação primitiva. São Paulo: Elefante.

Gaard G (2011) Ecofeminism revisited: rejecting essentialism and re-placing species in a material feminist environmentalism. Feminist Formations 23 (2):26–53. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/ff.2011.0017

Gaspar MD, Klokler D, DeBlasis P (2011) Traditional fishing, mollusk gathering, and the shell mound builders of Santa Catarina, Brazil.Journal of Ethnobiology 31(2): 188-212. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2993/0278-0771-31.2.188

Gimbutas M (1973) Old Europe c. 7000–3500 BC: The Earliest European Civilization Before the Infiltration of the Indo-European Peoples. Journal of Indo-European Studies (JIES)1: 1–21.

Horkheimer M (2002) Eclipse da razão. São Paulo: Centauro.

Jácome C, Furquim L (2019) Gender and Feminism in Brazilian Archaeology. In: Smith C (eds). Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, Springer, New York.DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_3347-2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_3347-2

King T, Hewitt B, Crammond B, Sutherland G, Maheen H, Kavanagh A (2020) Reordering gender systems: can COVID-19 lead to improved gender equality and health?The Lancet, 396: 80-81. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31418-5

Krenak A (2019) Ideias para adiar o fim do mundo. Companhia das Letras.

Ladio AH (2020) A new set of tools for Ethnobiologist in the COVID-19 Pandemic. Ethnobiology and Conservacion, 9:29 doi:10.15451/ec2020-07-9.29-1-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.15451/ec2020-07-9.29-1-8

Maffi L (2001) OnBiocultural Diversity. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution

Maturana HR (2004) Conversações matrísticas e patriarcais. In: Maturana HR, Verden-Zoller G (eds). Amar e brincar: fundamentos esquecidos do humano- do patriarcado à democracia, edited. São Paulo. Palas Athena: pp. 25-100.

Mazariegos D (2012) Mulheres Mayas na Guatemala: relações de poder, gênero, etnia e classe. In: Sacchi A, Gramkow MN (org). Gênero e Povos Indígenas.

McGregor D (2005) Traditional ecological knowledge: an Anishnabe womans perspective. Atlantis: Critical Studies in Gender, Culture & Social Justice 29:103–109.

Melo CR (2014) Da universidade à casa de rezas guarani e vice-versa: reflexões sobre a presença indígena no ensino superior a partir da experiência dos guarani na licenciatura intercultural indígena do sul da mata atlântica. PhD Thesis, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil. Available at: https://repositorio.ufsc.br/xmlui/handle/123456789/129551.

Pfeiffer JM, Butz RJ (2005) Assessing cultural and ecological variation in ethnobiological research: the importance of gender. Journal of Ethnobiology. 25, 240-278. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2993/0278-0771(2005)25[240:ACAEVI]2.0.CO;2

Ribeiro D (2019) Lugar de fala – Feminismos Plurais. São Paulo: Pólen.

Rodrigues PM (1999) O surgimento das armas de fogo: alteridade e feminilidade entre os Javaé. Dossiê Mulheres indígenas. Estudos Feministas 7.

Rosaldo M, Lamphere L (1974) Woman, Culture and Society. Stanford University Press, Stanford.

Saini A (2017) How Science Got Women Wrong-and the New Research That's Rewriting the Story. Beacon Press.

Schaan DP (2013) Cronologia das transformações das paisagens amazônicas.III Encuentro Internacional de Arqueología Amazónica,Quito, Ecuador.

Silva TC, Medeiros PM,Hanazaki N, Fonseca-Kruel VS, Hora JSL, Medeiros SJ (2019) The role of women in Brazilian ethnobiology: challenges and perspectives. J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine doi: 10.1186/s13002-019-0322-3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-019-0322-3

Souza J (2020) O Sentido das Artes/Artesanatos: O olhar das mulheres Guarani sobre os usos do artesanato e rituais. Monography, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas. Licenciatura Intercultural Indígena do Sul da Mata Atlântica, Florianópolis, Brazil. Available at: https://repositorio.ufsc.br/handle/123456789/204680

Timóteo GM (2020) Kunhangue arandu rekó, ta´ánga re a´egui nhembopara: sabedoria dos ciclos de vida das mulheres guarani em pinturas e palavras. Monography, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas. Licenciatura Intercultural Indígena do Sul da Mata Atlântica, Florianópolis, Brazil. Available at: . https://repositorio.ufsc.br/handle/123456789/204678

Vandebroek I, Pieroni A, Stepp JR, et al. (2020) Reshaping the future of ethnobiology research after the COVID-19 pandemic. Naure Plants doi: 10.1038/s41477-020-0691-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-020-0691-6

Wyndham FS, Lepofsky D, Tiffany S (2011) Taking Stock in Ethnobiology: Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? Journal of Ethnobiology 31:110-127 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2993/0278-0771-31.1.110

Wolverton S (2013) Ethnobiology 5: Interdisciplinarity in an Era of Rapid Environmental Change. Ethnobiology Letters 4: 21-25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.4.2013.11

Downloads

Published

02/19/2021

How to Cite

Zank, S., Hanazaki, N., & de Melo, C. R. (2021). Gender and ethnic equity: what can we learn from ancestral and indigenous peoples to deal with socio-environmental issues?. Ethnobiology and Conservation, 10. https://doi.org/10.15451/ec2021-02-10.16-1-9

Issue

Section

Opinion