Scientific study of issues at the nexus of food–energy–water systems (FEWS) requires grappling with multifaceted, “wicked” problems. FEWS involve interactions occurring directly and indirectly across complex and overlapping spatial and temporal scales; they are also imbued with diverse and sometimes conflicting meanings for the human and more-than-human beings that live within them. In this paper, we consider the role of language in the dynamics of boundary work, recognizing that the language often used in stakeholder and community engagement intended to address FEWS science and decision-making constructs boundaries and limits diverse and inclusive participation. In contrast, some language systems provide opportunities to build bridges rather than boundaries in engagement. Based on our experiences with engagement in FEWS science and with Indigenous knowledges and languages, we consider examples of the role of language in reflecting worldviews, values, practices, and interactions in FEWS science and engagement. We particularly focus on Indigenous knowledges from Anishinaabe and the language of Anishinaabemowin, contrasting languages of boundaries and bridges through concrete examples. These examples are used to unpack the argument of this work, which is that scientific research aiming to engage FEWS issues in working landscapes requires grappling with embedded, practical understandings. This perspective demonstrates the importance of grappling with the role of language in creating boundaries or bridges, while recognizing that training in engagement may not critically reflect on the role of language in limiting diversity and inclusivity in engagement efforts. Leaving this reflexive consideration of language unexamined may unknowingly perpetuate boundaries rather than building bridges, thus limiting the effectiveness of engagement that is intended to address wicked problems in working landscapes.

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This article focuses on the loss of identity through cartographic colonization. From an Anishinaabe perspective, many of the most diverse urban centers in the Great Lakes region of North America are currently located in bays, along shorelines or at the confluence of lakes and rivers. Over time these places have changed, yet many of them have remained for centuries. Identifying some of the oldest cities before and after colonization, a period known as the time of disruption, reveals a spectrum of ideas related to the experience of loss, which in Anishinaabemowin is wanitoon, and the act of reclaiming and remembering, which is mikan. Using multiple languages and genres, offering definitions, descriptions and several poems originally composed in Anishinaabemowin and translated into English, this article asks questions about history through the lens of other languages and cultures. This methodology challenges us to see how cities are shaped by relations with the human and other-than-human world and demonstrates how cities are interconnected points. By revealing the names lying underneath colonial-era maps, we are reminded of the connections that shaped Indigenous ancestral practices, contemporary realities, and future possibilities for reconciliation. Anishinaabemowin is used as a means of historiography to trace the genealogy of urban centers and reveal the process by which the colonial landscape was constructed. By foregrounding Anishinaabe ontologies and poetics we can map reparation and social healing. As we are faced with extinction or evolution it is important to study Indigenous languages and philosophies as we seek ways to survive.

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