Topics that stood out to me

In the two-eyed seeing paper that we read this week and then discussed with Dr. Andrea Reid, the phrase “Incorporation is a euphemism for assimilation” really stood out to me. I’ve used this term myself with regards to indigenous knowledge, so it made me sit back and think about the words that I was using – yes they may have the right idea but were my words a representation of the bias that I hold? Recently in a lab meeting I suggested that incorporating indigenous perspectives into our work could be beneficial – and now I understand exactly what this paper is saying. I was trying to sprinkle dashes of indigeneity into “western” science instead of treating it as its own entity that has equal value.

I attended a seminar recently with Dr. Deborah McGregor, an environmentalist who works specifically with indigenous issues. She spoke in length about the difference between knowledge and knowledge systems, which I think is very applicable to recent conversations we’ve had. Indigenous knowledge are facts such as where to find ‘nuts and berries’, and how and when to fish etc. However, this indigenous knowledge isn’t separate from the community – it is embedded within their systems and the community functioning. Indigenous knowledge systems are supported by governance, laws, education, and other frameworks, and are essentially the foundation of the community. She also talked about how Indigenous people, like herself, fear that people care more about their knowledge than they do about indigenous peoples. Thus, this creates a tension between sharing their knowledge and the drive to protect themselves from getting used for their knowledge. So even thought they often want to share, they also need to protect their knowledge from exploitation.

For me this brings up an important point, WHY do we want to gain insight from indigenous communities? If it is for personal benefit– this can create further trauma to an already bruised relationship. It’s important to consider not just the knowledge, but the communities behind the wisdom and make sure that we are supporting them for the gifts that they give.

Another highlight from the session with Dr. Reid was the story that she told about the crow/hunter. I really enjoyed the strong message of this story, and how it was conveyed in such an accessible way. I think this also touches on the topic of indigenous styles of learning that we discussed with Dr. Reid. I learned that indigenous ways of teaching are often more holistic and personalized than the (often rigorous and standardized) practices that are usually used. This is a really important sentiment because it made me realize that people (and myself included) value western education/ways of knowledge as the gold standard, when in reality there are most definitely shortcomings. Valuing and listening to indigenous perspectives is not only important to the indigenous students who are educated here, but also is beneficial to all students regardless of their background.

Personal Musings

Something that resonated with me strongly was the idea of blood quantum and identity. In the TedX Talk, Rebecca Thomas talked her own struggles with identity, because her mom is non-native, but her dad is indigenous. She made it clear that indigeneity is not a matter of blood quantum, but also lived experiences, family relations and history. I relate to this because I am half- Punjabi and half-Caucasian. Because of the way I look, I get to move through the world with white privilege, I look ‘white’, speak English fluently and have no accent. However, I feel Indian, as my grandma makes curry, we celebrate Diwali and I have a multitude of Punjabi suits stored under my bed for extravagant Indian weddings. I’ve had people argue with me over my background, claiming that there is ‘no way’ that I could be Punjabi since I don’t look it and don’t speak the language. In a way, the talk that Thomas gave was strangely reassuring, because she was able to claim her identity as a white-passing person who doesn’t speak the language of her ancestors.

Future directions

Sometimes I feel as if approaching these topics can be challenging, and I’m worried that I’m not using the right terms or if the way in which I ask a question may come off as insensitive. I find myself adding a land acknowledgement at the beginning of presentations but questioning whether this may come off as ritualistic or tokenizing. At the end of the session Dr. Reid mentioned an “ally tool kit” which I am interested in reviewing and using in the future interactions. Additionally, I want to explore how indigenous perspectives are being honoured and used in the science that is going on at UBC, especially in the zoology department (which I take most of my classes in). Dr. Reid talked about the new Center for Indigenous Fisheries at UBC which I think is a great step. I also would like to explore further into how I can be touching on these topics in the research that I am doing currently, even though it is focusing on biochemical mechanisms. One strand that I can already think of is the that I do my work on mussels, and mussels have been cultivated and used my indigenous peoples on the BC coast for thousands of years.

One other thing that I would like to understand better are treaty rights. This was something that we discussed during the lecture on moderate livelihoods in the Canadian lobster fisheries with Dr. Megan Bailey. She talked about how a lot of the fishermen she talked with said “I respect the First Nations’ treaty rights but only if they exercise them during the commercial season”. She laughed and said, “The treaty right is that they CAN fish anytime they want to!”. This is something that I want to put more research into as it is evident that not understanding the rights of Indigenous people can lead to misinformed judgements. And additionally, we talked about how there are more treaties on the East Coast, compared to here on the West Coast. Because of this, I would also like to look into how indigenous people here interact with governments to assert their rights that may have not been formally laid out in a document.