An award-winning indigenous writer, ethnobotanist, and environmental activist will be the featured speaker at University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu’s next Math + Science + X Seminar, 10 to 11 a.m. on Friday, April 16, via Zoom.
Dr. Rosalyn La Pier, an environmental studies professor and co-founder of Saokio Heritage, will be giving a talk titled, “Honor Our Ancestors Knowledge.” La Pier will share how students have learned to blend their academic studies with community-based research projects that honor our ancestors’ knowledge.
Saokio Heritage is a community-based organization led by indigenous women that works to revitalize traditional ecological knowledge and indigenous languages in a modern context, according to its website. They hold gatherings and workshops to share and educate about ethnobotany, traditional food systems, and traditional ecological knowledge. They conduct community-based research, in collaboration with the community and with academic researchers.
La Pier works to revitalize indigenous and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) to address environmental justice and the climate crisis within indigenous communities, and to strengthen public policy for indigenous languages. La Pier is an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe of Montana and Métis.
The event is hosted by the Mathematics, Natural, and Health Sciences Division at UH West Oʻahu. Math + Science + X seminars help to promote fascinating and current STEM topics. Seminars are geared to introduce UH West Oʻahu students to a variety of research and career opportunities.
Click here to register for the Zoom event (meeting ID is 979 0075 0251). For more information, email ogeorge@hawaii.edu.