Indigenous epistemologies and decoloniality
Starting with the proposals of the Latin American intercultural philosophy, which puts forward a decolonization of philosophy through intercultural dialogue, this article seeks to show that the Amerindian knowledge includes theoretical, ethical and practical backgrounds that are not only valid for understanding Indigenous knowledge and behaviours, but also likely to help meet the major challenges of life in common and the environment. To this end, the author first outlines the main theoretical lines of Latin American decolonial studies and some of the proposals of intercultural philosophy. Then he traces the ethical specificities of the indigenous concepts of reciprocity, in the Andes, and respect, in northeast America using different types of sources (oral traditions, Native American intellectuals and western researchers). Finally, he explores some ideas to see how these concepts could inform a joint reflection on contemporary ethics.