What are the differences between Western Science as a way of knowing and Indigenous Ways of Knowing?

Western Science as a way of knowing is reductionist, individualistic and often considered to be objective and empirically grounded with a strong focus on observations, experimentation, and the reliability and validity of data. While Western Science has been important for certain advancements in society, Eurocentric forms of knowledge and practices disregard spirituality, remove agency from non-human animals, beings, and the land, and dismiss the validity/credibility of alternative ways of knowing.

Indigenous Ways of Knowing (IWK) are centred around relationality, community, reciprocity, respect, storytelling, spirituality, and intergenerational relationships. IWK are non-hierarchical and centred around the principle that all beings and the land are connected, rely on one another, and work in balance. It is also important to note that there is not one collective Indigenous way of knowing, but that ways of knowing differ among Indigenous Peoples and across different Nations.

Understanding, incorporating, and embracing IWK is not only important to make Indigenous students feel comfortable in the spaces we create in STEM, but is an essential aspect of expanding scientific knowledge and understanding. It offers a different outlook and new perspectives that expand upon what we already know in the Western scientific context and, with appropriate collaboration, can benefit the scientific community as a whole.

To learn more, see “The Application of Both-Ways and Two-Eyed Seeing Pedagogy: Reflections on Engaging and Teaching Science to Post-secondary Indigenous Students” by Michie, Hogue, and Rioux (2018), which provides a generalized comparison between Western and Indigenous worldviews.

References

Michie, M., Hogue, M., & Rioux, J. (2018). The Application of Both-Ways and Two-Eyed Seeing Pedagogy: Reflections on Engaging and Teaching Science to Post-secondary Indigenous Students. Research in Science Education, 48(6), 1205–1220. 10.1007/s11165-018-9775-y