Practices for braiding Indigenous knowledge systems and Western science for research and monitoring of terrestrial biodiversity in Canada

Reciprocal learning and Sharing Circles.
Interviews with community members and workshop participants (In total, 37 individuals participated, including 8 Elders, 3 knowledge holders, and 15 youth).
Literature review of relevant academic content on the issue.
Data collection and analysis.
Policy analysis and recommendations on natural and social sciences.

The authors organized the “Connecting Guardians in a Changing World” workshop where participants shared concerns about animal and plant life cycles, water cycles and water quality, and impacts to ways of life, including reduced capacity to perform cultural practices and erosion of their knowledge. Workshop participants (Elders, youth, and environmental professionals representing 12 Anishinaabek communities in the Great Lakes region of the Robinson–Huron Treaty Area) highlighted the challenge of prioritizing a single impact of climate change, emphasizing that impacts to the environment and ways of life are interconnected.

The workshops and programs described in the article were conducted with high ethical standards shown through a strong commitment to respecting and engaging with Indigenous values and concerns within the field of sustainability studies.

Through the educational materials and training provided to participants, it is expected that they (including the authors) can imprint research and policy cultures that move beyond interdisciplinarity to include intercultural philosophy and research that better reflects Indigenous worldviews and incorporates Indigenous methodologies. Moving forward, they hope to construct meaningful partnerships and opportunities for knowledge sharing that ensure solutions are generated together, with all the tools and knowledge available.

Documents produced in community consultations and meetings.
Community knowledge, in material (written, visual, and audio) or oral history.
Academic publications on Indigenous knowledges and sustainability.

The experiences from the workshop are well-documented and available through their websites and the cited published article.

“While Indigenous Peoples are widely acknowledged to be highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, their unique knowledge systems and experiences remain vastly underrepresented in discourse surrounding climate change impacts and, particularly, solutions for the future. Although Indigenous worldviews are diverse, there are common philosophical and spiritual underpinnings that guide relationships with the natural world, centered around respectful relationships, environmental sustainability, and persistence for future generations. Plus, because of holistic relationships with the environment and associated phenologies, Indigenous Knowledge has potential to identify changes undetected by Western science, including in-depth, place-based observations of environmental change over greater time-scales than Western science allows. Moreover, Indigenous Peoples have developed a capacity for adaptation and resilience through generations of surviving environmental change including the undermining of political, economic, legal, and governance systems through historical and ongoing colonial policies and practices of cultural genocide. As such, creating space for Indigenous voices in climate change research and decision-making will provide a more robust and accurate characterization of environmental change and associated socioecological impacts, as well as “instructions” for adaptation, sustainability, and living in harmony with the environment.” (p. 510)

“When considering the impacts of climate change on their communities and traditional ways of life, workshop participants expressed the greatest concern for their capacity to perform cultural and spiritual practices (13 of 24 participants). Indigenous Peoples have an interdependent relationship with the land where identity, culture, and spiritual well-being emerge from one’s connection to the land and to place. Therefore, changes to the land or reduced time spent on the land can lead to cultural disruption and can affect sense of self and cultural identity. Many did not mention specific practices but, rather, emphasized the concern for their culture, beliefs, and teachings as a whole.” (p. 516)

Science and Technology Studies
Environmental Studies
Education