Relational model of knowledge

Decolonial scholars inquire into various forms of indigenous knowledges in their efforts to decolonize knowledge and worldviews.^[29] Louis Botha et al make the case for a "relational model of knowledge," which they situate within indigenous knowledges. These indigenous knowledges are based on indigenous peoples' perceptions and modes of knowing. They consider indigenous knowledges to be essentially relational because these knowledge traditions place a high value on the relationships between the actors, objects, and settings involved in the development of knowledge.^[29] Such "networked" relational approach to knowledge production fosters and encourages connections between the individuals, groups, resources, and other components of knowledge-producing communities. For Louis Botha et al, since it is built on an ontology that acknowledges the spiritual realm as real and essential to knowledge formation, this relationality is also fundamentally spiritual, and feeds axiological concepts about why and how knowledge should be created, preserved, and utilized.^[29]