The space between two knowledge systems

A space exists where there is refuge from the undercurrents that divide nations, according to a First Nations University of Canada ethicist and researcher.

The heart of destructive undercurrents exists in recurring viewpoints that portray one model of society, such as the western narrative, Willie Ermine told delegates at the Indigenous Scholars' Conference, which took place March 8-10 at the University of Alberta.

He referred to the story of the west as an embedded consciousness that transcends generations and institutions.

"The construction of western knowledge has constructed our image. The story of the west is what our children are getting. The danger is that there is a mono-cultural point of view about how humans are supposed to be, and this does not create an optimal condition," he said. "This is not God-given but indoctrinated into people. They were not born with unethical behaviour; the system constructed it."

Ermine's work focuses on the ethical practices of research involving indigenous peoples, with particular interest in the ethical space, a term coined by Roger Poole in 1972. For Ermine, this space creates a contrast by dislocating and isolating two disparate knowledge systems and cultures.

"There have been lots of good attempts by sincere people who have tried to build bridges, but these undercurrents are powerful and keep washing away good intentions," said Ermine. "When we have had breaches and ruptures in the past, it is because we have failed to look at the area in between our two worlds. It is in this ethical space that we can understand one another's knowledge systems."

Ermine referred to the grand institution of western learning as a place where students become entrapped in one world view. "The west needs to detach from this world view to see what it is doing by presenting a mono-cultural monopoly," he said.

He presented the two knowledge systems as alternate forces such as natural versus artificial contexts, oral tradition versus written tradition, holistic versus a physical world view and asked delegates to imagine the possibilities if society could learn from both.

"My grandparents knew how to get medicine from a plant. They talked to the plant, studied it. Our people knew how to move and work with living entities that are intelligent in nature," he said. "It's a gift to walk in two worlds, but also a responsibility. Ethical space does not exist unless you look at it, affirm it."

Hosted by the U of A's Department of Educational Policy Studies, the Indigenous Scholars' Conference highlighted aboriginal and indigenous scholarship, perspectives and research approaches in advanced education across Canada and internationally.