Bridging Indigenous knowledge systems and western science to protect the Great Lakes

For IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2023

Contacts: Greg McClinchey, Great Lakes Fishery Commission, [email protected]; Paula McIntyre, International Association for Great Lakes Research, [email protected]

ANN ARBOR, MI — Learning to see as another sees isn’t just a nice idea, it’s a requirement for meaningful relationships aimed at supporting the current and future health of the Great Lakes. In recognition of this fact, the International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) has been bringing together Indigenous and western scientists to co-determine how best to work with one another for the good of the lakes and those who rely on them.

“Although Indigenous and western approaches to science have long been suspicious of each other, recent work is discovering that Traditional Ecological Knowledge and scientific knowledge are not mutually exclusive, but mutually reinforcing,” notes Henry Lickers, a Haudenosaunee citizen of the Seneca Nation, Turtle Clan and Canadian commissioner of the International Joint Commission. “Opportunities to share knowledge, build mutual respect, and work in harmony are fundamental to the health of our shared waters.”

Over the past several years, an Indigenous Nation (Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation), a university research group (Centre for Indigenous Fisheries, University of British Columbia), a provincial government (Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry), and an international treaty organization (Great Lakes Fishery Commission) began to collaborate on bridging knowledge systems. Efforts began in earnest at IAGLR’s 2021 conference, with a session that attracted nearly 100 Indigenous participants, an unprecedented number for an IAGLR conference. This collaboration led to a special journal issue and a second conference session on bridging knowledge systems. IAGLR is pleased to offer these two resources for free online:

• A special, all open-access issue of IAGLR’s Journal of Great Lakes Research titled “Bridging Indigenous and non-Indigenous Knowledge Systems.” Sponsored by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, this special issue of the journal contains 17 articles that span the globe and share lessons for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and communities to work together to understand and act as stewards of the environment.  
• Recordings from a session at IAGLR’s 66th Annual Conference on Great Lakes Research held in May titled “Valuing Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Being, Doing, and Connecting in an Era of Climate Change, Crisis, and Uncertainty,” where more than a dozen speakers shared their experiences from around the globe.

These resources highlight IAGLR’s progress toward adopting and promoting Etuaptmumk (the gift of multiple perspectives, or “Two-Eyed Seeing”) and represent important steps to strengthen relationships, build trust, and begin to build a new path forward.

According to Dr. Andrea Reid, citizen of the Nisg̱a’a Nation and principal investigator of the UBC Centre for Indigenous Fisheries, “To create safe spaces for the sharing and co-generation of knowledge is the ultimate goal here─not only through these first initiatives, but in the long term. This requires transformational changes to existing systems and structures, from the ins and outs of how we conduct conferences and publish research in a good way, to the big picture of how we make decisions about our shared waters.”

Andrew Muir, director of science with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, echoes this sentiment. “Communication and collaboration between Indigenous and western science communities are invaluable to the betterment of the Great Lakes ecosystem,” he says. “Recognizing the vast history and knowledge that Indigenous communities have about the Great Lakes ecosystems is essential to moving toward innovative science that can help all Great Lakes communities.

“We value IAGLR’s efforts to create opportunities for partnership,” Muir notes, “and enthusiastically sponsor Indigenous participation at IAGLR’s annual conference.”

Other organizations have also sponsored Indigenous participation at the conference and include the American Fisheries Society, the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources, and the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission.