Un-Mapping and Re-Storying the Land: Finding our way towards
Indigenous Philosophies and Pedagogies
Emily Root, PhD student, Lakehead University
All through school and university I had been given maps of life and knowledge
on which there was hardly a trace of many of the things that I most cared about
and that seemed to me to be of the greatest possible importance to the conduct
of my life. I remembered that for many years my perplexity had been complete;
and no interpreter had come along to help me. It remained complete until I
ceased to suspect the sanity of my perceptions and began, instead, to suspect
the soundness of my maps.” (Schumacher, 1977)
Mainstream maps of Canada, replete with English place names, linear borders, and metric
measurements, are perhaps apt visual metaphoric representations of the pervasive imposition of
Euro-centric systems and institutions faced by Aboriginal peoples, communities, and Lands. The
Schumacher quote above reminds us that maps, while they are powerful forces that can shape our
perception of the world, do not represent an absolute truth. Rather, they represent particular
worldviews that comprise only partial narratives of complex places. “Experiences” always occur
"somewhere," on geographic landscapes that have multiple social, political, ecological, and
cultural histories. These situated contexts, whether they are discussed or not, implicitly inform
what students and educators learn from an experience. In the Canadian context, learning to
question the soundness of Euro-centric maps and acknowledge that the places where we live and
teach are Indigenous traditional territories, may be a significant turning point for Euro-Canadian
outdoor environmental educators engaged in lifelong decolonizing journeys (Root, 2010).
Many Aboriginal peoples and communities are actively resisting environmental
destruction and communicating to settler-Canadians (including White, Euro-Canadians)
traditions of respect for the land. Moreover, some Indigenous scholars and educators are calling
for a foregrounding of Indigenous ways of knowing in environmental education for all students.
However, Western and Indigenous worldviews differ significantly (Smith, 1999) and EuroCanadian educators have much to learn from Aboriginal peoples who are already re-imagining a
fundamentally different approach to education that pays attention to land, relationships,
traditions, Elder knowledge, and place (Battiste, 2000, 2005; Barnhardt and Kawagely, 2005).
Yet, it is difficult for White environmental educators to find effective and respectful roles as they
learn from and work with Aboriginal peoples (Fitznor, Haig-Brown and Moses, 2000; Tompkins,
2002). My study sought to understand the complexities of decolonizing journeys of White
outdoor environmental educators. Findings of the study examine participant conceptualizations
of decolonizing, recognition of Eurocentrism and White privilege, feelings of fear and anxiety,
and experiences that facilitate decolonizing journeys. Major themes include: relationships with
Aboriginal peoples, exposure to Aboriginal culture, relationships with non-Aboriginal peoples,
cultural self-awareness, and time on the land (Root, 2010).
As we attempt to integrate academic discourses with our lived socio-ecological-politicalcultural experiences, many questions emerge: How might we come to better understand multiple
worldviews and how can other worldviews enrich our praxis as outdoor education researchers
and practionners? Can and/or should Indigenous and mainstream ways of knowing be integrated
in outdoor education and what are the challenges and complexities of doing so? How can
outdoor education scholars and practitioners contribute to the complex goal of meaningful
reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples working towards a healthy,
vibrant land? Within the realm of Western outdoor education, which of our existing philosophies
might help shift us towards this goal and which of our philosophies may in fact be neo-colonial,
perpetuating both the overt and subtle injustices faced by Indigenous peoples worldwide? This
presentation aims to shift from a Canadian to a global perspective and engage participants in
dialogue about these questions and themes.
Barnhardt, R., & Kawagley, A. (2005). Indigenous knowledge systems and Alaska Native
ways of knowing. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 36(1), 8-23.
Battiste, M. (2000). Reclaiming Indigenous voice and vision. Vancouver: University of
British Columbia Press.
Battiste, M. (2005). You can’t be the global doctor if you’re the colonial disease. In P. Tripp
& L. Muzzin (Eds.), Teaching as activism (pp. 121-133). Montreal: McGill Queen’s
University Press.
Fitznor, L., Haig-Brown, C. and Moses, L. (2000). Editorial: (De)colonizing academe: Knowing
our relations. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 24(2), 75-81.
Root, E. (2010) This land is our land? This land is your land: The decolonizing journeys of
White outdoor environmental educators. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education,
15.
Schumacher, E. (1977) A Guide for the Perplexed. Harper and Row: New York.
Smith, L. T. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. New York:
Zed Books.
Tompkins, J. (2002). Learning to see what they can’t: Decolonizing perspectives on Indigenous
education. McGill Journal of Education, 37(3), 405-422.