June 14 to 16, I spent three days at the Turtle Island Indigenous Science Conference. It was very worthwhile. Speaker after speaker talked of the benefits of using both western or mainstream science and Indigenous science. There is much we can learn from both approaches. With me above is Myrle Ballard, one of the principal organizers of the conference. Myrle Ballard, from Lake St. Martin in Manitoba, worked closely with Roger Dube a professor emeritus at Rochester Institute of Technology, and many others to make this conference, the first of its kind, a success. As Roger Dube, Mohawk and Abenaki, a physicist, commented "My feeling is that the fusion of traditional ecological knowledge and Western science methodology should rapidly lead the researchers to much more holistic solutions to problems." Dr. Myrle Ballard was the first person from her community to get a PhD. She is currently a professor at the University of Manitoba and the Director of Indigenous Science for Environment Canada.
Manitoba implemented physical distancing measures in mid-March. South Dakota has still not made physical distancing mandatory. The result is a dramatic difference in the incidence of covid-19 viral infections between the two jurisdictions. This graph shows the number of people with Covid-19 infections from March 27 to April 14. Manitoba ( red line ) started leveling off about April 4 and has seen only a small increase in Covid-19 infections since then. South Dakota ( blue line ) has seen a dramatic increase in Covid-19 infections since April 4. Those who are skeptical of the impact of physical distancing in Manitoba should look at this graph! Data are from the Johns Hopkins daily tabulations
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