Indigeneity and emergency management: an emic “gaze” on the role of traditional knowledges and cultural practices in emergency management contexts

There is increasing recognition within disaster research and practice that Indigenous cultural technologies may be drawn on to strengthen disaster risk reduction. This rapid review presents an emic and discursive analysis of Indigenous emergency management noted in disaster research literature between January 2000 and July 2022. There is a limited body of peer-reviewed research literature that specifically discussed Indigenous Peoples’ engagement with emergency management. Review findings indicate that Indigenous knowledges and practices are shaping emergency management initiatives locally, regionally and nationally. Yet epistemological tensions between Western European science and Indigenous understandings of emergency management have impacted effective uptake of Indigenous knowledges within disaster science and emergency management sectors. Despite challenges due to deeply embedded colonial practices worldwide, there are opportunities for the advancement of Indigenous Peoples to have greater autonomy in emergency management research, policy and practice.