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Recently, an old friend of mine expressed irritation at being asked their preferred pronouns.\u00a0Why?\u00a0<\/em>I asked. They responded, \u201cwith all of the other issues in the world, I just don\u2019t have the energy to care about gender identity\u201d. I replay this conversation often in my head. Not because I was surprised by it, sadly I wasn\u2019t. Rather, I think about the special kind of privilege one holds to be so removed from an issue, they can simply choose not to care.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am struck again by this privilege as I read\u00a0Decolonizing Methodologies – Research and Indigenous Peoples<\/em>(Tuhiwai Smith, 2012). This time, I am struck by my own privilege which has allowed me to leave much of my reality unexamined, including what I consider to be\u00a0knowledge<\/em>. I have failed to recognize the rules imposed by the West in determining what constitutes acceptable knowledge; and how \u201cscientific and academic debate in the West takes place within these rules\u201d (Tuhiwai Smith, 2012, p. 45). I am guilty of having unexamined and flawed assumptions. These assumptions are based on an ingrained categorization of knowledge that, in its essence, deems many people\u2019s ways of knowing as irrelevant (Tuhiwai Smith, 2012, p. 44). And as someone whose ways of knowing have\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0been deemed irrelevant, I am removed enough from the issue that I have, albeit subconsciously, also chosen not to care. Going forward, one of my primary goals is to look beyond the surface and instinctively question\u00a0how<\/em>\u00a0something is \u201cknown”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Understanding how something is known requires an examination of where and how that information was sourced. I have been guilty of accepting knowledge without critically evaluating the bias of my own cultural lens, which prevents me from gaining insight into other cultures, including my own. Acknowledging the West as the gatekeeper of \u201can \u2018archive\u2019 of knowledge and systems\u201d (Tuhiwai Smith, 2012, p.44), allows a clearer picture of where knowledge originates, how its relevance is determined, and how it may be misunderstood.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n An example of this comes from Tuhiwai Smith\u2019s (2012) recounting of Maori women fighting for acknowledgement of their Chief status. The colonizing society\u2019s idea of gender roles and leadership positions held exclusively by males complicates the discussion (Tuhiwai Smith, 2012, p. 48). A just and informed settlement is practically impossible if decided upon by a society unfamiliar with and unwilling to accept the context without Maori representation – as if viewing it through a looking glass. Furthermore, failure of examination of their\u00a0own<\/em>\u00a0culture will prevent them from seeing the gender discrimination they normalize. Normalization of which all societies are guilty. For instance, do we sufficiently consider the oddity of the fact that there has been only one female prime minister in Canada, who held the position for only four months in 1993 (Boyko, 2021)? Reflection on my own culture, as a settler, is necessary to understand that it is simply\u00a0my<\/em>\u00a0context, not the\u00a0only\u00a0<\/em>context. Reflective listening is a start, but it is not enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Honestly, I am uncomfortable in this space because I am keenly aware of my limitations to fully understand the context of Indigenous Peoples and would never want to seem as though I am speaking on anyone\u2019s behalf. From my own perspective and within my own privilege, I can acknowledge that true collaboration involves making space for Indigenous perspectives, being\u00a0informed<\/em>\u00a0by these perspectives, and acknowledging the important role of Indigenous Peoples as leaders and decision makers (Whitney et al., 2020). Without equal collaboration and context, the power differential is perpetuated, and the dominant narrative remains unchallenged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There exists an undeserved arrogance in the implication that one society is judge and jury of what is objective truth. This notion of superior knowledge perpetuates an abuse of power and ignores other ways of knowing, that are just as important and relevant (Tuhiwai Smith, 2012, p. 46). The idea of \u201cexpert research\u201d dismisses all other research that uses different methodologies and understanding, incorrectly assuming the search for knowledge exists only in Western culture. (Tuhiwai Smith, 2012). Tragically, this dismissal of understanding robs the well of knowledge needed for human and planet betterment.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n This narrow view of acceptable ways of knowing neglects to ask the question,\u00a0what actually is research<\/em>? If our only quest for knowledge is to maintain the abuse of power, our exclusionary view makes perfect sense. However, if our quest for knowledge, particularly regarding climate change, is to find solutions to adapt and live more harmoniously with the planet, Western research alone is simply insufficient. The pervasiveness of the Western lifestyle and consequent damage is evidence of this inadequacy. This is not to say that I believe\u00a0all<\/em>\u00a0Western knowledge is incorrect or harmful, but it is not the\u00a0only<\/em>\u00a0knowledge. As illustrated beautifully by Mi\u2019kmaw Elder Albert Marshall\u2019s description of Two-Eyed Seeing, \u201clearning 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 using both these eyes together, for the benefit of all\u201d (Bartlett et al., 2012, p. 335).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n What are we doing if it is not in the name of kindness and humanity? Making an effort to understand the context and making room for differing but equal perspectives seems like the only path to true progress. It is my responsibility to ask these questions, as choosing not to ask them is no different than choosing not to care.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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