"Indians were first-rate geneticists and agronomists," says Hopi tribal member Frank Dukepoo, an associate professor of genetics at Northern Arizona University. "If we'd been able to evolve [without European contact], we'd have had Indian scientists," he argues. "But as they evolved into being scientists, they would have had different values: Mother Earth, respect for living things, the importance of balance in nature"--values that Dukepoo says are finally beginning to take root in Western science.
In the book Indian Givers (New York, Fawcett Columbine, 1988), anthropologist Jack Weatherford looks at contributions native American cultures have made to numerous aspects of Western life, including science. For example, Indians throughout the Americas developed sophisticated corn breeding techniques, selecting seed according to various traits, and taught them to European newcomers to the continent, says Weatherford. Another example from Weatherford's book is quinine, the first known treatment for malaria. Quinine came from a bark used ...
