In this post, I will talk a bit about what the term Etuaptmumk: Two-Eyed Seeing means and how I have applied it to my science classes as a teacher teaching in a first nation school.
Albert Marshall is a Mi’Kmaw Elder from Eskasoni First Nation. Albert Marshall brought forward the concept of Two Eyed Seeing in 2004, and is shared as, in Bartlet (2007) :
Learning to see from one eye with the strengths of (the best in) Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing, and from the other eye with the strengths of (the best in) Western knowledges and ways of knowing, and to using both these eyes together, for the benefit of all. Thus, Two-Eyed Seeing intentionally and respectfully brings together our different knowledges and ways of knowing, to motivate people, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal alike, to use all our gifts so we leave the world a better place and not comprise the opportunities for our youth (in the sense of Seven Generations) through our own inaction. (p.14)
This concept was a very important teaching to come across for me. I am Metis and have been learning about my culture and traditions and knowledge as an indigenous person. I am also a scientist, and have learned a lot about the western knowledge and empirical applications. However there was a time when I had the science knowledge and only a little bit of indigenous knowledge. It was difficult as a science student raised in western culture and perspectives to be able to embrace traditional knowledge as much more than a fairy trail or myth.
It was during my education undergraduate degree that I learned about Albert Marshall and the concept of Two Eyed Seeing. This changed and helped heal my connection with cultural knowledge. It was through this perspective that I was able to connect the important knowledge that I was learning in story to western perspectives, in a way that gave respect and authority to traditional knowledge. I found a new appreciation for indigenous ways of knowing and was able to give context to my students of western perspectives and how they could align with the teachings. All indigenous groups have their own set of teachings and stories that are part of their epistemology. It is through these stories that important and valuable knowledge has been shared and passed down to generations. It is my observation that Indigenous ways of knowing have a playful way of weaving story and knowledge together. These teachings hold observations and knowledge about the world that they lived in, they provided lessons and understanding that helped guide people to live prosperous lives. The true value of these stories is unmeasurable. There are understandings and observations that have taken generations to gather. An example of how this goes can be demonstrated through some of the research I did as a scientist in my Bachelor of Science at the UofL. I was working in a neuroscience lab, were we researched preterm birth and stress correlations. I was given a set of data to see if we could see a difference in the preterm behaviour of rats that had been exposed to stress during pregnancy. The model looked at the effects of generational stress during pregnancy and its impact on behaviour. My first publication showed a novel behavioural model demonstrating the impact of stress on preterm behaviour and the compounding effect that stress had across generations. What I would later learn from an Elder is that the Blackfoot people were already aware of this effect and had measures in place, learned through observation and applied though story, to help prevent the effects of stress on pregnant women. Learning this was a wonderful moment for me, it really helped to highlight the authority and authenticity of indigenous knowledge, and gave me a personal connection and tool to be able to share what two eyed seeing is.
How can we use this lens to frame Indigenous ways of knowing in the classroom :
With my students I make a point of teaching them about two eyed seeing and how to give space to the traditional knowledge that is shared with them in the context of a western education system that allows for belonging, value and respect of that knowledge.
In the classroom this has various applications and integrations. For example my prior post about the VR videos my students made about traditional water knowledge. However it does not always need to look this complex. As a Metis person I do not have access to stories or knowledge of the Blackfoot people, some of it is very strongly protected and only certain people with special qualifications can access it. However that did not mean I could not encourage my students to pursue this knowledge on their own. It was not an irregular occurrence that a student would ask about a traditional piece of knowledge that I did not have access to, and so could not give them an answer. We could, however, provide them some tobacco as an offering and send them off to speak with one of the elders and usually a teacher or maintenance staff in the school for an answer. They would return and if they were allowed to share they would give a summary that could be graded or add it to evidence of summative learning. There was on occasion teaching they could not share for various reasons, in this case I would have the student reflect on how that information and experience was important to them.
The following is a video of a TED talk what helps further explain the concept of Two-Eyed Seeing.
Earlier this month I was able to give a talk at the First Nations Educational Administrators Association, National Gathering on indigenous STEM, on how I have used the Two Eyed Seeing approach to STEM in the First Nation Classroom. Elder Albert Marshall attended my talk and I was later given the opportunity to meet him, and share the impact he has had on my teaching approach.
Bartlett, C.M., Marshall, A., and Marshall, M. 2007, Integrative Science: enabling concepts within a journey guided by “Trees Holding Hands” and “Two-Eyed Seeing”. Two-Eyed Seeing Knowledge Sharing Series, Manuscript No. 1, Institute for Integrative Science & Health, Cape Breton University, Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. Acquired from : http://www.integrativescience.ca/Articles/2007/