A/HRC/51/28 45. In north-east Arnhem Land in Australia, Aboriginal women are revitalizing sovereign birthing knowledge and practice. Yolngu and western medical pregnancy and childbirth knowledge systems are being integrated through the establishment of culturally safe birthing centres and programmes.38 46. Indigenous women’s scientific knowledge is living, resilient and adaptable to new situations, such as the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Indigenous women have treated people with COVID-19, saving the lives of those unable to access hospitals, doctors and clinics. 39 In Mexico, indigenous medical practitioners were able to help the community understand the symptoms of COVID-19 and promoted hygienic practices. In Brazil, indigenous women gathered during the pandemic to share scientific knowledge of medicines and remedies to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 in their communities. 47. In Nepal, a study conducted during the pandemic highlighted how women were at the forefront in organizing and performing rituals for protection from the pandemic and their capacities to respond to the stress showed that they were more resilient than their male counterparts were.40 48. The Lakota (Oceti Sakowin) women in the United States of America have been able to transmit a wealth of indigenous knowledge, passed down intergenerationally. The Lakota acknowledge that “women are where all life begins,” they bear, nurture, and sustain life from the sacred spirit (Wakanyeja). Oceti Sakowin women have linked gut health to traumainduced neurological imbalance and treat the imbalance by prescribing the consumption of fibre-rich bison intestines.41 Western science research on DNA confirms what the Lakota people have always known and indigenous spiritual beliefs support modern advancements in biotechnology. D. Arts and crafts 49. Indigenous women have a knowledge of arts and crafts that is of spiritual, cultural and practical significance. Artistic practices have been shared among women for purposes of selfempowerment, environmental sustainability and healing from trauma. In Colombia, during situations of armed conflict, women’s textiles represent the archive of memory and resistance, a system of knowledge and a way for women to exercise leadership in the collective transmission of knowledge.42 In Mexico, indigenous women possess a diversity of cultural knowledge that is reflected in weaving, embroidery and pottery-making. 43 Inuit women are responsible for crafting clothing for the harsh Arctic environment and for the construction of whaling boats, an essential and revered role in their communities. 50. In Nepal, indigenous women carry the knowledge of craftsmanship, such as pottery, carpentry and carpet- and garment-making, and women have created entrepreneurial ventures that contribute to the preservation and transfer of indigenous knowledge and skills, while also enhancing economic resources.44 51. In the United States, indigenous peoples of the plains incorporate geometric patterns and abstract depictions meaningful to their tribes and regions in quillwork, a method of stitching animal hide using sinew.45 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 Submission by the Australian Human Rights Commission. Submission by the Government of Guatemala, p.4. Submission by Nepal National Indigenous Women Forum. Submission by Stephanie Little Hawk-Big Crow, Oglala Lakota, Oceti Sakowin, on behalf of Lakota women. See report of the mujeres Arhuacas de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to the Truth Commission in 2020 (in Spanish only). Submission by the Government of Mexico. Submission by the Nepal National Indigenous Women Forum. See Keli A. Tianga, “The next generation of indigenous knowledge keepers”, Shelterforce, 5 September 2019. 11