Find important resources on principles and practical guidance to support the braiding of Indigenous and Western knowledges below. Click to expand each topic for resources:
A concept first introduced to the context of Indigenous-Western relations in Canada by Cree scholar and educator Willie Ermine, described as a metaphorical “space between the Indigenous and Western spheres of culture and knowledge.” Ethical space can be understood as an invitation to step outside of our own worldviews and assumptions and step into an undefined neutral zone that is an “abstract, nebulous space of possibility.” New possibilities exist because of our differences, thus ethical space is co-created together as we retain our autonomy and respect our differences. (Ermine, 2007).
Within this context, braiding knowledges is described as the weaving together of Indigenous knowledge and Western knowledge to strengthen them both by using them together. Popularized by Potawatomi botanist and author Robin Wall-Kimmerer, the analogy stems from the idea that a braid does not get its strength from one single fibre running through, rather it gets its strength from many fibres woven together (Kimmerer, 2013).
Developed by Elder Albert Marshall, Two-Eyed Seeing, or Etuaptmumk in Mi’kmaw, refers to learning to see from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing and from the other eye with the strengths of Western knowledges and ways of knowing… and learning to use both these eyes together, for the benefit of all. Other concepts or metaphors relate to bringing together or building collaborations between Indigenous and Western peoples or ways of knowing (Bartlett et al., 2012).
Bartlett, C., Marshall, M., & Marshall, A. (2012). Two-eyed seeing and other lessons learned within a co-learning journey of bringing together Indigenous and mainstream knowledges and ways of knowing. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 2, 331–340. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-012-0086-8
Jull, J., King, A., King, M., Graham, I. D., Morton-Ninomiya, M., Moody-Corbett, P., Moore, J., Arts and Science Online, Brant L for the Group for Ethics and Engagement in Indigenous Community Research Partnerships (EIP) (2020). Indigenous Community Research Partnerships: An Introduction. Indigenous Community Research Partnerships is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
