Considering Ecological Métissage

Abstract

This article reports on a study that examined the ecological identities and philosophies of Canadian experiential environmental educators who incorporate Western and Indigenous traditions into their pedagogical praxis. Guided by the overarching question, “Can Western and Indigenous knowledge of the natural world be blended theoretically and in practice?” notable findings include the clarification of the relationship between Western and Indigenous knowledge and philosophies of Nature as one with the potential for bricolage (integration) but not absolute métissage (blending) unless Western perspectives other than science, such as deep ecology and bioregionalism, are also considered.

Outdoor education in Canadian post-secondary education: common philosophies, goals, and activities

“…A number of scholars discuss opportunities and challenges related to current social issues. For example, Canadian Lowan-Trudeau ( 2014 ) states that experiential environmental education is an opportunity for educators to “foster locally grounded authentic engagement and collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and epistemologies…” (p. 363) which can help Canada move towards reconciliation with Indigenous people who live in what we now know as Canada and serve as a means to addressing a number of issues related to privilege and racism more broadly. For example, Meerts-Brandsma et al ( 2020 )–speaking internationally–points out that while some aspects of OE are “steeped in colonial thought” (p. 2), OE is also an “ideal environment for teaching about privilege” (p. 2).…”

Indigenous Storytelling, Cherokee Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and Place-Based Education

“…These place-based principles within TEK environmental philosophies cultivate a symbiotic exchange between people and nature and portray their sustainable coexistence possibilities (Gritter et al, 2016;Lowan-Trudeau, 2012;McKeon, 2012). Every ecosystem described through an Indigenous story shares a communal literacy with that culture and promotes nature's agency through engagement (Datta, 2018;Lowan-Trudeau, 2013;Sabet, 2018;Somerville & Hickey, 2017). Integrating these Indigenous ecological meanings with place-based lessons cultivates an evolving comprehension of those approaches and scaffolds them into a universal educational framework (McKeon, 2012).…”

“…By emphasizing experiential insight, ecopedagogy suggests a cooperative merger between non-Indigenous and Indigenous members with local places in nature. However, ecopedagogy supports an agenda of world unification that may nominate Indigenous groups as the Other, minimize Indigenous authority, eliminate their community participation, and embroil diverse cultures into deeper conflict (Bowers, 2004;Dussart & Poirier, 2017;Lowan-Trudeau, 2013;Zocher & Hougham, 2020). Bowers (2004) contends that this occurs by cloaking an awareness of environmental sensitivity under traditional Eurocentric constructs.…”

“…These biases deny the individuality, human rights, and accumulated wisdom about their outdoor environments by those idealizing, dominating, or expunging Indigenous worldviews about nature (Nesterova, 2020;Sabet, 2018;Somerville & Hickey, 2017). Place-based constructs that minimize the absorption of Indigenous cultures under dominant economic demands, frequently accompanied by ecological destruction, reiterate these injustices by desecrating Indigenous relationships and understandings, and negatively affecting the entire environmental landscape in a degenerative cycle of misconceptions (Gruenewald, 2003;Lowan-Trudeau, 2013). However, practicing an integrative reconciliation between the educational discipline and Indigenous TEK can empower collaborative growth that supports students in authentic environmental sustainability (Gritter et al, 2016;Lowan-Trudeau, 2013;Roberts, 2012).…”

Reflections on Métissage as an Indigenous research praxis

“…For example, I read a journal article that spoke of the possibility of blending and blurring various research elements—bricolage-fashion—until the individual parts are no longer distinct from one another (Lowan-Trudeau, 2012). I then came across another that spoke to the importance of delineating the Indigenous and Western elements so that we aren’t engaging in tokenism and are, instead, championing Indigenous ways of thinking and doing (Lowan-Trudeau, 2013). In hindsight, I think these two seemingly contradictory views spoke more to the emergence of Métissage as an Indigenous research framework rather than to a “right” or “wrong” perspective.…”