Matthias Steiert

Loss of Traditional Medicinal Knowledge through the Loss of Indigenous Languages

The loss of an indigenous language undermines a people’s sense of identity and belonging, which uproots the entire community losing their cultural identity, heritage, and communal knowledge. Along with losing their language, their ways of expressing a connection to nature is lost for lack of equivalent meanings in the new dominant language, resulting in further disconnection from the natural world. This includes the loss of invaluable traditional medicinal knowledge, which is closely tied to the natural environment, namely plants and other natural resources.

Indigenous languages and traditional knowledge, including herbal medicinal and traditional healing practices, are under threat globally. The disappearance of these languages and knowledge systems is caused by a variety of factors, including colonialism, forced assimilation, and economic development. These factors have disrupted the transmission of knowledge from one generation to another and have led to the erosion of traditional knowledge systems.

When indigenous languages disappear, so does traditional ecological knowledge, such as the names and uses of plants for medicine. The loss of this knowledge can have serious consequences for both the health and wellbeing of indigenous communities and the preservation of biodiversity.

Matthias Steiert is a cofounder of Afaf Translations LLC, a language services provider based in California/USA and has had a long career in pharmaceutical and biomedical research. He holds a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Basel/Switzerland.