Vision
Society for indigenous education envisions a world where communities are free and able to use their local and indigenous knowledges.
ራእያችን ህዝቦች ሃገርበቀል እውቀቶቻቸውንና ልምዶቻቸውን በነጻነት ለመጠቀም የሚችሉባትን አለም ማየት ነው።
Mission
Our mission is to work with communities to reimagine, recreate and reinterpret the world using their own experiences.
We call for an end to the use of colonial languages in education where the majority of the population doesn’t speak those languages. We advocate for the preservation and repatriation of spiritual, cultural and intellectual heritage based on full participation of affected communities. We call for an end to the commercialisation of cultures and the destruction of the environment.
Featured Publication
The Hagiography of Ethiopian Saint Woletta Petros was recently translated from Ge’ez into English by Wendy Belcher and Michael Kleiner. Belcher has no knowledge of Ge’ez and simple errors in the translation suggest that Kleiner lacks the fluency required to accurately interpret the language. A western lens with a deliberate distortion of the facts has been applied to the text, using contemporary western understandings of marriage and monastic life to interpret a 17th century Ethiopian nun. Belcher represents Woletta Petros as a violent, diseased and lustful nun, reproducing racist stereotypes about black women. Sexual scenes and a same-sex partnership between nuns have been inserted into the text where they do not exist in the Ge’ez original. This article will detail the most significant misinterpretations and also offers an Ethiopian interpretation of Woletta Petros, considering her legacy within context and drawing on the testimony of the local scholars. This article seeks to prompt a change in the writing of African history, where the agency of black people to narrate their own histories and experiences is respected and supported.
Relevant Education
Relevant education emanates from peoples’ lived experiences, inherited wisdoms and traditions. We focus on what gives communities life, a sense of belonging and dignity, and on the importance of their languages in education
Environment
The environment is a living system where life is reproduced. As many indigenous communities all over the world believe, Mother Earth is a living being imbued with sanctity, agency, and self-regeneration. It is a home for past, present and emerging generations, and life systems.
Heritage
Heritage includes living memories, sacred entities and objects of communality. They are more than museum artefacts; they bind communities historically, spiritually and culturally.