3.5 Looking Beyond the Epistemologies of Our Disciplines
Let’s pause our use of the case study to recognize some of the diverse ways of knowing not yet discussed in Chapter 3. As we’ve seen throughout this resource, academic disciplines tend to rely heavily, if not exclusively, on knowledge forms privileged by Eurowestern thinking (Battiste, 2000).
Many of you, though, as well your future clients, come from cultures that honour diverse domains of knowledge, beyond only those produced by humans. The short video below shows the First Nations Holistic Lifelong Learning Model as one example of an epistemology that incorporates land-based, spiritual, and tribal knowledges as well as languages, ceremony, and the self.
Knowledge justice is not about replacing one way of knowing with another. Nor are we trying to compare epistemologies, and we must resist that urge. Instead, we (your authors) encourage you to hold space for multiple truths at once, and to explore diverse ways of knowing with open-minded curiosity.
Holding Multiple Epistemologies
As we shared earlier in this chapter, part of knowledge justice is learning to engage in meaningful dialogue across multiple and diverse perspectives. How might a scientist align the First Nations Holistic Lifelong Learning Model with their understanding of the world, for example?
Two-Eyed Seeing
The teaching of Two-Eyed Seeing, gifted by Mi’kmaw Elder Albert Marshall, offers one way to honour our knowledge justice responsibilities. Two-Eyed Seeing, or Etuaptmumk, encourages us to “see from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing, and from the other eye with the strengths of Western knowledges and ways of knowing”—and to use both together for the benefit of all (Bartlett et al., 2012).
Two Row Wampum
The Two Row Wampum, or Kaswentha 
, is a living treaty between Dutch settlers and the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations) from 1613, and it similarly provides guidance on how we might approach the world from multiple perspectives. The wampum stands for equity and respect, represented by two boats paddling alongside each other, travelling along the river of life without disrupting one another or the river itself (Canadian Museum for Human Rights, 2025 ). To learn more about the teaching of Two-Eyed Seeing, or about the Two Row Wampum, watch the optional videos below.
We can use Kaswentha and Etuaptmumk to deepen our understanding of knowledge justice. Both teachings remind us that multiple worldviews can co-exist side by side in relationship, and not in competition. The epistemic injustices we explored in Chapter 2 are some examples of how treaties like Kaswentha have not been upheld. Too often, Canadian and Western institutions have tried to steer both canoes.
Practicing knowledge justice is about returning to relationship. It’s not about blending worldviews into a single truth or creating a new hierarchy – it’s about honouring difference and moving forward with mutual respect. When we learn to see the world through more than one lens, all of us stand to benefit.
In this short clip, Albert Marshall, Mi’kmaw spiritual leader, discusses the concept of “two-eyed seeing” with Silver Donald Cameron. Check with your university, college, school or public library- they may subscribe to one of the aggregator services that carry The Green Interview- like Kanopy, Gale-Cengage, McIntyre Media and others.
Elder William Woodworth, PhD (Elder Bill) to talk about his role as the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Engineering’s Elder in Residence. During this discussion, Elder Bill shared the captivating story of the Two Row Wampum Belt of the Haudenosaunee. The belt symbolizes an agreement of mutual respect and peace between the Haudenosaunee and European newcomers to North America.
Gifted by Mi’kmaw Elder Albert Marshall, Two-Eyed Seeing, or Etuaptmumk, encourages us to “see from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing, and from the other eye with the strengths of Western knowledges and ways of knowing”—and to use both together for the benefit of all (Bartlett et al., 2012).
A living treaty established in 1613 between the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations) and Dutch settlers, documented with a wampum belt made of beads from clam shells representing equity and respect of the two peoples.
