Reflection on the Experience of Incorporating Indigenous Perspectives into the Wikipedia Entry on the Biophilia Hypothesis
Writing the Indigenous section of the Wikipedia page on the Biophilia Hypothesis was an interesting and fulfilling experience. My work on it has made me realize how important it is to have non-Western viewpoints on digital platforms where encyclopaedic knowledge is shaped by Western tradition.
The main challenge I faced was the sheer diversity of Indigenous worldviews when it comes to nature. It was impossible to cover everything while going into detail about each Indigenous culture and its connection to nature. At the same time, I did not want to generalize all these different philosophies. I did not want to cluster all the diverse Indigenous cultures and pretend they all have the same views on nature. My goal was to represent more Indigenous narratives but that was a challenging task.
Also, the Wikipedia page is for a general audience. Thus, I needed to make sure that the presented information was intelligible to those who might be reading about the Indigenous perspective on the Biophilia Hypothesis for the first time. Notably, some concepts that could have been included in more detail might appear abstract to any reader unfamiliar with the tradition. A good example is the the kinship of humans with non-human beings or the view of nature as sacred. It would have been difficult to explain this. However, I also wanted to maintain the cultural depth of these principles without diluting them.
In spite of such challenges, the exercise has emphasized the significance of digital activism. It has also showed the importance of boosting the voices that are ignored online. As an information source that is widely accessed and influential, Wikipedia can influence global narratives and perspectives. Nevertheless, incorporating Indigenous perspectives on Biophilia hypothesis page can challenge western dominance. It can also increase knowledge and understanding about how humans relate to nature in different ways.
This exercise further revealed how valuable indigenous knowledge systems could be in addressing current environmental problems. This is because understanding sustainable practices as well as deep ecological wisdom found within indigenous cultures allows us one way of going in fostering healthier more reciprocal connections with natural world. This knowledge is timely as it comes at a time when ecosystems are crumbling under pressures of climate change and other forms of environmental degradation.
Generally, this analysis has shown just how important inclusive digital spaces are. It has also revealed how multiple narratives matter for understanding concepts like human-nature connection. It is one step towards decolonizing knowledge by appreciating the wealth present in different experiences from humanity’s diverseness.
Here is a link to the Wikipedia page that was edited to include Indigenous perspectives on Biophilia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophilia_hypothesis
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