Beyond curricular inclusion: An indigenous knowledge sovereignty framework for South African technology teacher education in the AI era

Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) are increasingly visible in curriculum policy, yet visibility can coexist with weak community authority over how knowledge is selected, interpreted, digitised and assessed. This conceptual article develops and theoretically grounds RELATE as a community-accountable framework for evaluating and designing Indigenous knowledge engagement in South African Technology teacher education. A bounded critical integrative conceptual synthesis connected 21 substantive sources across four domains: IKS in science, STEM and Technology Education; epistemic justice and decoloniality; culturally sustaining and Indigenous methodologies; and Indigenous data and artificial-intelligence governance. Sources were purposively selected for conceptual relevance, South African specificity where available, traceability and evidentiary contribution; policy, legal, empirical and conceptual claims were coded separately. The synthesis identifies four recurring deficits: representation without epistemic parity; contextualisation without community authority; digitisation without governance; and innovation without ecological or distributive accountability. RELATE responds through six interdependent dimensions: Recognition, Ethical reciprocity, Local authority, Apprenticeship and agency, Technological translation, and Ecological responsibility. The framework treats these dimensions as a non-linear governance architecture rather than causal stages. It extends adjacent approaches by integrating curriculum, pedagogy, community decision rights, technological mediation and ecological accountability within one Technology-teacher-education framework. RELATE is a theoretically derived proposal, not a validated intervention or measurement instrument. Its contribution is to make authority, permission, benefit, restriction and contestation assessable features of programme design and future empirical inquiry.