Two-Eyed Seeing
It’s so easy to settle into our own perspective.
Seeing things just one way is clear, direct, and simple — it might also result in us overlooking so much of the world and our place in it.
There is an alternative.
Chief Charles Labrador of Acadia First Nation coined the phrase “Two-Eyed Seeing” in 1994 from the Mi'kmaw word “Etuaptmumk”.
Later, Mi’kmaw Elder Albert Marshall applied the concept in Western contexts. He described Two-Eyed Seeing as a new phrase for a very old concept — the gift of multiple perspectives, treasured by many Aboriginal peoples:
“Two-Eyed Seeing refers to learning to see from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous ways of knowing and from the other eye with the strengths of Western ways of knowing and to using both of these eyes together”
Elder Albert Marshall
Two-Eyed Seeing brings together two ways of knowing, to allow a diverse group of people to use all understandings to improve the world.
Looking for a place to begin your journey towards Two-Eyed Seeing? Consider doing the following:
Watching this video of Elder Albert Marshall
Reading "Braiding Sweetgrass" by Robin Wall Kimmerer.