we tend to ignore basic knowledge that is available to us. However, as southern scientists, it is absolutely necessary that we develop a system to provide traditional knowledge with a "scientific" framework that allows native and scientific knowledge to interact in a complementary fashion. Southern scientists must learn that "western" scientific knowledge and native knowledge and experience both have validity, that both must be used if the objectives of scientific research in the North are to be achieved. An effective system must be developed to collect and classify native knowledge, particularly with respect to northern resources, environment, and culture. Means must be found to interpret such knowledge so that it will be meaningful in other contexts without losing its essential native content and value. Often overlooked is the fact that the survival of northern aboriginal peoples depended on their knowledge, their special relationship with the environment, and their ways of organizing themselves and their values. Traditional knowledge was passed on from one generation to the next. Today, aboriginal peoples are aware that they must integrate traditional knowledge into the institutions that serve them; it is essential to their survival as a distinct people, and it is the key to reversing the cycle of dependency which has come to distinguish aboriginal communities. Only recently has the value of traditional knowledge been recognized beyond the communities-even internationally-as western scientists attempt to manage the environment and renewable resources. Traditional knowledge is the accumulated knowledge and understanding of the place of human beings in