Traditional Knowledge in the Mixteca Alta of Oaxaca: Proposals to Promote Its Protection and Preservation from an Indigenous DATA Sovereignty Approach

Currently, one of the topics that has become relevant in studies on Indigenous Populations are those that address their right to control, use, appropriate and decision-making over their knowledge systems and practices that they possess, as well as the territories in which they are located and interact. Therefore, this proposal focus on the study of traditional knowledge resulting from the interaction between society and the territory of nine Indigenous Mixtec municipalities that integrate the territory called by UNESCO as Mixteca Alta Geopark (MAG) in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Based on a qualitative approach, the most important traditional knowledge of the nine Mixtec municipalities of the MAG was identified through a census, including the data related to it. Subsequently, the identified knowledge was validated with the communities through various methodological strategies such as participatory workshops with the aim of further explaining how such knowledge is generated, used, adopted, disseminated and transformed, and thus identifying who has control over it. This helped to understand how privacy and security are fragile. In addition, the roles played by the various community actors and actresses in its protection and dissemination is explained. Finally, the challenges faced by the communities of the MAG territory were documented for them to be taken into account eventually to protect and preserve their traditional knowledge and data and serve as input to take informed decisions about their use and appropriation, as well as strengthening their capacity to protect and preserve them.