Tag Archives: collectivism

module 1: post 5 – indigenous worldviews

I’m not sure how I came across this video (Youtube algorithm at work perhaps), but it’s called Foundations of Indigenous Worldviews, and it is clear, informative, and rather inspiring:

The speaker, Lewis Cardinal (who is a prominent Indigenous Canadian – I was surprised I hadn’t hear of him), discusses living in relationship not only with other people, but with other beings. He says Indigenous peoples don’t put themselves at the centre of the circle.

With my new understanding of ‘root metaphors’, what I took from this video is that the circle is a root metaphor for Indigenous worldviews. We are all part of a whole.

Key quotes:

“Each person, family and nation is unique and has much to offer.”

“The individual needs the community and the community needs the individual.”

Module 1: Post 3 – wisdom of belonging

For a previous MET course, I watched this video about the Circle of Courage:

If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth watching. The speaker describes Indigenous ways of teaching as involving: Generosity, Belonging, Independence, and Mastery. It’s a really beautiful talk and related to, but a bit different from, the First People’s Principles of Learning.

This video really stuck with me, so I looked up the speaker, Martin Brokenleg, and read the articles on his website.

I especially liked the article “Native American Wisdom on Belonging.” In it, Brokenleg writes, “Belonging is the organizing principle in Partnership cultures. Significance is assured by belonging, whereas in Dominator cultures one gains significance by stand ing out from the others, as seen in the hyperindividualism of U.S. society today.”

I really think I want to focus on individualism vs collective for my research project, but I may need to narrow down that huge topic a tiny bit… We’ll see. 🙂

Module 1: Post 2 – A field of poppies

This brief article caught my attention as I looked for information about collectivism and Indigenous cultures:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/19/indigenous-culture-relies-on-knowledge-sharing-we-need-new-leaders-to-reflect-that

The writing style seems Indigenous to me; it had a slightly different rhythm than I’m used to. I found it oddly soothing. It’s about moving toward an antidote to individualism and competition. About standing tall and proud, while avoiding the pitfalls of the ego. About a rising tide lifting all boats.

The author, Carla McGrath, is part of IndigenousX, an Indigenous owned and run media organization.