Question #2 (part four)

The conversation involved reflections on indigenous knowledge sharing, particularly focusing on the significance of the sharing circle concept. The experience of transitioning from a traditional classroom setup to a circle format emphasized equality and active participation. Various readings and discussions highlighted the interconnectedness of different aspects, such as spirituality, community, healing, and action within indigenous perspectives. The importance of reciprocity, community involvement, and deep listening was also discussed, emphasizing the value of being present and engaged in learning from oral traditions. The cyclical nature of reciprocity was compared to concepts in Western science, showcasing the similarities and differences between indigenous and Western ways of knowing. The overall theme emphasized the importance of community, equality, and active participation in knowledge sharing and learning. All right, I think we've talked about a lot of really interesting issues and concepts throughout the course. But I'm very curious as to what has resonated most with each of you. Sam, did you have something that specifically stood out to you? I think what stood out to me was sort of the way that indigenous people share knowledge. I think if you think about from the first class, what I remember the most, just from briefly looking back, is initially the classroom was set up in sort of this design where Dr. Beatty would sit at the front, and we were all in these tables all staring at her with her being sort of in charge and all of us being able to sort of hide behind each other. And I think that what she did was she had us all get up and turn the classroom into a circle. And I think that this circle and sort of this idea of the sharing circle, which is shared amongst many different indigenous peoples and is very sort of shared generally across indigenous peoples, is that sort of this idea where you form this sharing circle where everyone is able to contribute equally and talk about their own perspective while feeling like we are all equals in the circle. I think that sort of these teaching circles, she effectively implemented this in our classroom, where we then each had to discuss our own opinions on individual topics, and I think this was a very effective way to do this. This resonated with me because this sort of introduced the idea of sort of the ontological perspective of how to share knowledge equally and invite others to contribute what all they can. I think this was sort of echoed in the readings with Serviceberry, which showed the importance of reciprocity and the importance of sharing. I also found that another thing that really resonated with me, which relates to the circle, sort of our own experiences with this course, where we went to the medicine wheel, we gave these tobacco offerings at Nose Hill, and I think this was one of the most meaningful parts of the course, because it brought to life sort of all that we have learned so far, where I remember we were sitting on, I've been to Nose Hill many times before, and I've walked by this medicine wheel, but I've never really thought of it, where we were sitting at this medicine wheel looking at the whole river valley, which now includes these massive skyscrapers, but Dr. Beeney talked about how previously this would have been, previously, if you imagine, how it was naturally before it sort of changed my perspective, and the site sort of brought about the importance of the medicine wheel to myself, and this was echoed in many of the other teachings, and I think that it sort of shows how this sacred ground, sorry, sorry, apart from the medicine, the Nose Hill part, sort of how this Nose Hill was important, and then say how the medicine wheel marks how this sacred ground was once used for ceremony, and highlights to me the critical connections between the First Nations peoples, modern diginity, and indigenous ways of knowing. I think that this, sort of how this indigenous ways of knowing and these circles can be applied to helping people who struggle with mental health was also sort of shown by, I think it was Navigon, who showed, who talked about how the holistic perspective of an individual, rather than sort of treating them as a disease if they struggle with mental health, and sort of the idea of this sharing circle, which is used in many mental health perspectives, which gives people the ability to just talk about their condition, which may be on a spectrum, and may differ between people, sort of, I found it very important because it introduced how this can be used for a medical perspective. Furthermore, I think the topic, or the reading, I guess, which resonated with me the most was the one titled Caffey-Obsalon's Indigenous Holistic Theory, the knowledge set for practice. Throughout this topic, she discusses the medicine wheel, which can be applied back to our own relationship with the medicine wheel, and the circular function. However, she breaks it down into these four different cardinals, where the East represents spirit and vision, the South represents sort of the relationships, community and the heart, the West represents ancestors, and well, along with indigenous knowledge and teaching, and the North represents healing, action and movement. I think this really resonated with me because in Western knowledge systems and ways of knowing, we think of these four quadrants and these four, I guess, ideas as completely separate, where they, although they are important, they don't really tie into each other, or your relationships don't really tie into healing or action or movement. I think that sort of the idea of the circle and as represented by the medicine wheel shows that even rather than this being a cross, it's a medicine wheel where each of the four quadrants are tied together and they're tied together equally. Same with the sharing circle where each of them contributes to each other and each of them builds upon each other. So I thought that was kind of what I'm sort of thinking about how these were separate, yet they all tie in together was one of the things that really also ties into sort of the connectedness of the indigenous community, which I talked about earlier, with Kirby Manifigures, how the idea that this sort of community which all builds upon each other and works together in a sort of a circular fashion is so important. So I think that was really what resonated with me the most. I think that's so important. I also would love to reflect on when you mentioned kind of that first day of classes and how we were all sitting watching the professor as if we could just hide. You could sit at the back of the room and you didn't have to be seen. You didn't really have to raise your hand. You didn't, you just had to be there physically, but not necessarily mentally. I found when Ramona had said, okay, let's make a circle with our chairs, my first reaction was fear, to be completely honest. I was nervous. And I didn't necessarily know why, but I realized it's really hard to hide in a circle. Honestly, you can't just sit there and not be present. It forces you to be part of the community. It forces you to be involved and an equal to everyone else. There was no front row and back row. And I think that this was a really cool reflection on how important community is in a lot of different indigenous world views. And it just shows how you can't hide. It takes the team. It takes everyone in that circle. Yeah, I think that's a really great point, Ella. And such an honest reflection, too, because I think a lot of people in the class relate to that feeling of getting into that circle and thinking, oh, my goodness, it's so much easier to be called on. You feel kind of, exposed isn't the right term, but you feel very, yeah, like, like, anyway. Anyway, I think that's a great point. I think that's a feeling that a lot of people can relate to when you talk about being put in the circle. I think it really encourages you to be very involved in the class. And I think it really reflected another learning we have had in the paper by Michael Hart, his paper, Indigenous Worldviews, Knowledge and Research, where he defined it, he defined an indigenous axiology or value system for indigenous research paradigms. And I think point six, which is that deep listening and hearing with more than the ears, where one would carefully listen and pay attention to how his or her heart and sense of being is emotionally and spiritually moved, really applied to that experience. I think that circles really allow for one to be present in that action and develop knowledge in this way by truly paying attention to others, and being engaged in the conversation, which I think, like you said, is so important for community. And being able to see and fully experience someone sharing their oral knowledge, and learning from people in that fashion and really being present in hearing those oral stories. I also really liked the discussion we had on the cyclical nature of reciprocity. So giving back to nature the way it gives us giving back to others the way they give us and showing that appreciation, like Simon talked about with our experience with the medicine wheel. I thought that not only like the cyclical nature of the medicine wheel itself, but the cyclical nature of the reciprocity we have with that medicine wheel by giving or offering a tobacco and such with such an impactful way to view the world and really have that value shift for myself. Yeah, I totally agree. I think one thing that that makes me think of as someone who studies in the sciences, my major is microbiology. So I get a lot of my everyday just very deep in the sciences is nutrient cycling. And that might seem like a really weird comparison or thing to draw on right now. But I feel like this idea of the cycling of reciprocity has been around for so long, and the science community really backs it. But Western, like the Western medicine and Western science has tried to almost separate it from that. So when we think of nutrient cycling, it has the idea of when a virus dies in the earth, it is giving nutrients to the soil, the soil is giving nutrients to the plant, the plants are giving nutrients, the birds to the bees, the insects, those insects give nutrients to more animals, and it just ends up being a whole cycle that continues to go because then those animals would decompose on the soil, giving nutrients for the viruses and bacteria. And I think that that is just really interesting to see that Western science has almost come to the same conclusion that a lot of nature is cyclical, but we still have that disagreement or I guess, just that gap between Western views and indigenous ways of knowing.