THE INDIGENOUS WORLDVIEW OF YUPIAQ CULTURE - ITS SCIENTIFIC NATURE AND RELEVANCE TO THE PRACTICE AND TEACHING OF SCIENCE

Is science an invention of European thought, or have legitimate scient ific bodies of knowledge and scientific ways of thinking emerged separ ately in other cultures? Can indigenous knowledge systems contribute t o contemporary science teaching? Here we describe evidence from the Yu piaq culture in south-western Alaska which demonstrates a body of scie ntific knowledge and epistemology that differs from that of Western sc ience. We contend that drawing from Yupiaq culture, knowledge, and epi stemology can provide not only a more culturally relevant frame of ref erence for teaching science concepts to Yupiaq students, but also a po tentially valuable context for more effectively addressing many of the recommendations of U.S. science education reform initiatives. (C) 199 8 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.