Rooted in Tlingit Knowledge, Practice, and Continuity
James Charles Reed and Sheree Lincoln — December 23, 2025
A Living Philosophy of Making
Indigeneering explores the ways Indigenous knowledge, culture, and creativity shape problem-solving, design, and making.
What Indigeneering Means Here
Ḵínsá win (formerly written as Kingsawin), also known as James Charles Reed, is a 4th-generation Tlingit boat builder and artisan. For him, every creation begins with questions rooted in tradition, guided by intuition, and shaped by experience. In this conversation, he reflects on when tradition begins, how innovation flows from cultural practice, and the philosophy that informs his work.
Indigeneering is an Indigenous approach to problem-solving that centers responsibility to the earth, community, and future generations.
James (Ḵínsá win) has used the term Indigeneering continuously since 1991–1992, originating during his studies at Northwest Indian College while attending boat-building school, and carried forward through decades of work as a builder, instructor, and practitioner.
The term emerged organically from practice — from designing, building, repairing, and teaching — long before it appeared in academic or online contexts. Its meaning was shaped by lived experience, cultural knowledge, and the realities of making things that must endure.
In recent years, similar language has appeared in educational and professional settings, reflecting a broader recognition of Indigenous knowledge systems within engineering and design. Kingsawin’s Indigeneering stands as an early, practice-rooted expression of that way of thinking.
Indigeneering, as practiced here, does not begin on paper. It begins with observation, respect for materials, and an understanding that every object exists within a larger system — ecological, cultural, and human.
The Photograph
The photograph accompanying this page was taken in Saxman Village, Alaska, inside the community carving house. It shows Master Carver Nathan Jackson working with Ḵínsá win, demonstrating the use of the adze — a tool central to Tlingit carving traditions.
Nathan Jackson learned this technique from his grandfather, Master Carver Charles “Charley” Brown, who worked during the New Deal era with the Civilian Conservation Corps on the carving projects that helped create the totem parks in Saxman and Totem Bight, Ketchikan.
The image captures more than instruction. It shows knowledge being transferred the way it has always been — through presence, observation, and shared work. This is Indigeneering in practice: learning by doing, guided by elders, and rooted in responsibility to craft, community, and continuity.
Practice Before Theory
As a 4th-generation Tlingit boat builder and artisan, Ḵínsá win’s work spans traditional and modern vessel construction, repair, and instruction. His experience includes teaching kayak and canoe building and working directly with materials in real environments — where choices matter and failure carries consequence.
Indigeneering (in Ḵínsá win’s Voice)
Indigeneering is Indigenous problem-solving at its heart — where challenges are met first with curiosity and respect, and solutions are shaped to honor the earth, community, and longevity.
It isn’t just engineering. It is engineering guided by ancestral memory, ecological mindfulness, and cultural purpose. It asks not “What can we build?” but “What should we build — and how can it last and give back to Mother Earth?”
Indigeneering stands in contrast to planned obsolescence. It seeks solutions that heal, sustain, and resonate with Indigenous knowledge and lived experience.
A Conversation
What is Indigeneering?
Ḵínsá win:
“Indigeneering is problem-solving first — looking at what’s broken or missing in our relationship to the world, and then finding ways to fix it that stay close to the earth. Corporate systems often push waste, disposability, and separation from nature. Indigeneering says, ‘No — we can do this differently.’ We solve not just for today, but for the next seven generations.”
How does your Indigenous perspective shape your approach?
“Our culture teaches interconnectedness. Everything we make must consider community, land, spirit, and the future. Innovation without responsibility isn’t enough.”
How does this differ from mainstream engineering?
“Mainstream approaches often prioritize speed and profit. Indigeneering prioritizes purpose and sustainability — and refuses to separate knowledge from responsibility.”
A Continuation
Indigeneering, as practiced at Ḵínsá win: is not about reclaiming a word — it is about honoring a way of thinking that has always existed.
Making is memory.
Design is responsibility.
Engineering is relationship.
Context & Academic Use of “Indigeneering” and “Indigineering”
The term Indigeneering has been documented in academic and professional contexts in recent years, reflecting a growing recognition of Indigenous knowledge systems within engineering, design, and education.
Deanna Burgart, a Canadian Indigenous engineer and speaker, refers to herself as an Indigeneer — a term she uses to describe the integration of Indigenous identity, values, and professional engineering practice. In academic and educational settings, related work is sometimes described using the term Indigineering (with an “i”), reflecting a pedagogical framework for bringing Indigenous knowledge systems into engineering education through talks, workshops, and inclusion-focused initiatives.
Read more about Deanna Burgart at: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/indigeneer-scientific-methods-indigenous-knowledge-1.4655478
More broadly, Indigenous engineers and educators have used the term Indigeneering to describe ways Indigenous knowledge systems and Western engineering education can coexist and inform one another. This usage appears primarily in academic, institutional, and educational settings.
Organizations such as the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) have also hosted and archived discussions and workshops exploring Indigeneering as a framework for engineering education and inclusion.
These contemporary uses developed independently and reflect parallel efforts to articulate Indigenous approaches to problem-solving within modern engineering discourse.