This project presents a case study analysis of various indigenous communities originating within the American continent — specifically Mexico, US, and Canada — and relates their knowledge organization, documentation, and transmission practices to the metaphysical, ontological, and epistemological values that underpin each community. Huichol Wixárika, Tataviam, and Inuit knowledge systems will be analyzed to understand how cultural experiences and values undergird the methods utilized to record, organize, and transmit knowledge, and insofar as the juxtaposition of Western practices to indigenous ones is pertinent to understanding the various forms of ontological representation that exist, it will be featured as a way to ground the analysis.

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