A slight shift in perspective can mean a whole new world to discover. This is certainly true for me as I embark on my academic journey into the Climate Action Leadership program at Royal Roads University. In my case, the slight shift is a rather long journey from Europe to Vancouver Island, Canada. With it comes an abundance of new perspectives as I am being introduced to ways of indigenous thinking and being for the very first time.
Those new perspectives have one thing in common; they are based on emotion, and I’m asking myself:
Am I allowed to feel myself into research? Where does the notion that science and research must be disassociated from emotion even stem from? And how does the process of conscious feeling shape my understanding of leadership?
As I am dipping my toes into relational systems thinking, I am overwhelmed with its potential impact in climate action leadership. Understanding that we are part of the natural system is crucial in developing ways to heal, protect, and support the very system we are a part of. The concept of relationality refers to the indigenous paradigm that we humans are in relation to all living things (Gram-Hanssen, 2022). Indigenous scholar Vanessa Watts emphasizes that “we (humans) are made from the land; our flesh is literally an extension of soil” (2013, p. 27).
Suppose we are related to our environment and understand ourselves as “respectful partners and younger siblings in relationships of reciprocal responsibilities within interconnected communities of relatives inclusive of humans, non-humans (i.e., plants, animals etc.), entities (i.e., sacred and spiritual places etc.) and collectives (i.e., prairies, watersheds, etc.)” (Johnson et al., 2016, p. 26). In that case, we will be naturally called to environmental action in general and climate action in particular, based on our intrinsic motivation to care for those close to us.
During a workshop on resilience in the context of climate action, which was part of our CALS501 course, I tried to actively be in relation with my environment: I stepped outside, looking to form a connection with a non-human relative and was drawn to a rock. But instead of just sitting down and using it as a seat with a nice view, I first introduced myself and asked if I could sit down. Then I actively felt. I felt for a response, and as I sensed that I was welcome, I sat and asked the rock, “who are you?”.
My rational mind tried to convince me that what happened next was not a conversation but a figment of my imagination; however, I heard, felt and understood how the rock supports and carries everything and everyone. How old it is, how much wisdom and knowledge it holds and how its natural relatives around it have been shaped and affected by humans without much consideration for their existence. By feelingly relating to the rock, I cared about it.
If we care about the earth and our human and non-human relatives in the same way we care about our loved ones, we will naturally take action to support and sustain them and take care of them. We will do right by them to the best of our abilities. We will embody leadership by accepting responsibility, taking action and creating room for emergent changes.
So, why is this way of thinking in academic settings so surprising to me?
I have realized that my understanding of science, research, and knowing is fundamentally influenced by my geographical and cultural learning environment, Western Europe. The Western approach to science is based on abstract descriptions instead of lived (and felt) experiences. From a Western perspective, abstraction represents a “higher form of knowledge” (Goodchild, 2021, p. 91).
As I start exploring these new understandings of and perspectives on learning, knowing and being, I see the need to understand the underlying influencing factors for how I (as a descendant of those who left to colonize the world) look at and influence the world.
It is humbling, challenging, and undoubtedly uncomfortable to examine the system that shaped me as part of the white, Western society.
Throughout the Climate Action Leadership program and beyond, I will challenge myself to face how I may unknowingly reproduce and represent colonizing world views. I will examine the structural influences of imperialism, patriarchy, and capitalism on climate change, and I will learn and demonstrate how critically reflecting on them will shape and refine my understanding of climate action leadership.
References
Goodchild, M. (2021). Relational Systems Thinking: That’s How Change is Going to Come, From Our Earth Mother. Journal of Awareness-Based Systems Change, 1(1), 75-103. https://doi.org/10.47061/jabsc.v1i1.577
Gram-Hanssen, I., Schafenacker, N., & Bentz, J. (2022).Decolonizing transformations through ‘right relations’. Sustainability Science, 17, 673-685. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-021-00960-9
Johnson, J. T., Howitt, R., Cajete, G., Berkes, F., Louis, R. P., & Kliskey, A. (2016). Weaving Indigenous and sustainability sciences to diversify our methods. Sustainability Science, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-015-0349-x
Watts, V. (2013). Indigenous place-thought and agency amongst humans and non humans (First Woman and Sky Woman go on a European world tour!). Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 2(1), 20-34. https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/des/article/view/19145