What constitutes indigenous knowledge in this context is not mystical intuition or romantic instinct.

It is a set of specific skills, learned through years of practice and instruction, that are directly applicable to the problem of surviving in a cold-climate environment without the supply networks that Euro-American expedition life depended upon.

Finding food in winter required knowing where to look.

The mountains held populations of small animals that could be trapped or caught.

Deer moved through the valleys.

Roots and other plant foods could be found in specific places, under specific conditions.