Nature publishes call demanding scientists and universities 'attend to their own racism,' hand power to indigenous people
An article demanding sweeping changes to higher education and accommodation for indigenous minorities has been published in Nature.
The authors are calling for exclusive benefits for indigenous people, claiming diversity efforts already in place at universities and laboratories are "often performative."
A new article in Nature is calling for sweeping changes to higher education, including mandatory Indigenous-led research, free tuition for Indigenous students, and the return of land and resources to tribal communities.
The August 8 piece, authored by Indigenous scientists from the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, claims modern science is “rooted in colonization, racism, and white supremacy.”
Their proposals call on scientists to “attend to their own racism” and adopt anti-racist practices in laboratories and classrooms, while creating “safe spaces” in predominantly white research institutions for Indigenous faculty and students.
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They argue that universities should prioritize funding for Indigenous-led research, expand “flexible funds” for community partnerships, and increase the hiring and promotion of Indigenous faculty, often through “cluster hiring” to prevent cultural isolation.
The article also advocates free tuition for Indigenous students at universities located on what the authors call ”stolen lands” and urges institutions to return land or resources to Indigenous nations as part of the “Land Back” movement.
In addition, it pushes for embedding “Indigenous Knowledge” into scientific disciplines, treating reports for Indigenous communities as equivalent to peer-reviewed research, and rejecting “extractive research” conducted without Indigenous consent.
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While diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs have expanded in recent years, the authors contend that these efforts are “often performative” and must be replaced with policies that give Indigenous people decision-making power in academia.
The article frames these steps not as optional reforms, but as necessary for the scientific community to achieve what the authors call “real change.”