Disasters through an Indigenous Lens in the Philippines
The indigenous Kankanaey people in the Philippines, like other indigenous groups elsewhere, have always existed with natural hazards as part of their everyday lives. Indigenous perspectives in the Philippines often situate a community's co existence with nature, one of harmony that includes major natural hazards such as typhoons and earthquakes. However, it has become difficult to situate this harmonious relationship due to the indigenous communities' increasing vulnerability to hazards. The historical and contemporary practices of Western development and modernisation have changed this human nature relationship by framing natural phenomena within a technocratic realm that 'scientifically' translates these events as disasters. This study presents the results of an insider critical ethnography with three indigenous Kankanaey villages in the Northern Philippines as to how they conceptualise and respond to disasters. The data were drawn from 10 months' intensive ethnographic fieldwork with 37 in depth interviews, participant observation and three village and one municipal level consultations with approximately 1, 000 combined participants. In addition, I conducted four bonfire sessions that were focused on elders' chants and story telling. Inherent in all these methods is building and fostering solidarity that facilitated further understanding of indigenous everyday lives in relation to disasters. These methods are consistent with the principles of critical ethnography and considered culturally meaningful and appropriate ways of engaging with the Kankanaey people.