KOHRAC: Measurement of Indigenous Knowledge

BENEFITS OF ACADEMIC PROGRAMS FOR INDIGENOUS PARTICIPANTS

The introduction of academic studies through IIE Model represents the ability to recapture those things taken away due to rampant doctrine of discovery with attendant colonialism and suppression of indigenous culture. Graduation from the IIE Program accomplishes a state of full self-empowerment from within the Indigenous Culture. You may have been repressed and invisible, but it is an eternal truth that free will and the agency to be anything you choose is always under your control. Your great Indigenous knowledge was stolen, and you were forced into a culture that is not your own. Loss of your language, theft of your creation story and traditions, forced off your inherited lands; these were the result of the genocide of colonialism. The Doctrine of Discovery indicated Indigenous were sub-humans, not capable of owning land. The origin of the doctrine goes back to the papal bulls issued by Pope Nicholas V in 1452 and 1455 respectively, allowing the invasion and killing of the Indigenous Peoples. European countries like Spain, Portugal, England, France, and Holland used the doctrine.

The United States Supreme Court also expounded the Doctrine of Discovery in the case of Johnson v. McIntosh in which Chief Justice John Marshall supported a government’s right to hold title to lands that their subjects had travelled to and occupied over the native people who were not European Christians nor under a European Christian monarch. Such cases intentionally invalidated Indigenous possession of the land.

This evil thinking simply is not true and never was. Knowing your true heritage, embracing your culture and learning your own traditions, re-establishes your inherent rights, your self-determination and your sovereign status. You will be the expert of your inalienable right to live as an indigenous person. The yoke of Colonialism is removed and your heritage is to be respected, loved and defended.

The introduction of academic degree programs through IIE Model will offer three levels of achievements. The theme of all graduates is to be E ikaika oe, e koa hoi, be strong and be unafraid. The dichotomy between Western education and Indigenous cultural Way of Knowing lead to distinct entry points into the IIE system.

The Bachelor, Masters and Doctors program represent both the pathway and the broader scope of understanding that takes place through the Indigenous Way of Knowing transformation. The Bachelors focuses on the Participant and their personal experience. The Masters level focuses on Community connection and involvement. The Doctors level approaches a planetary point of view and responsibility for change on a massive scale.