As part of the conference Circulating Knowledge: 20 Years On, highly respected Mi’kmaw Elder Albert Marshall will speak on his concept of Etuaptmumk – Two-Eyed Seeing: the benefits of multiple perspectives and learning to see with one eye from the strengths of Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing, and the other eye with the strengths of Western knowledges a – learning to use both these eyes together, for the benefit of all.
This event coincides with the final weekend of the Alan Syliboy retrospective exhibition Alan Syliboy: The Journey So Far.
Reception to follow.
This event is part of Circulating Knowledge: 20 Years On. Visit Cosmolocal.org to register and for more information.
About Elder Dr. Albert Marshall
Elder Dr. Albert Marshall is an internationally respected and deeply loved Elder of the Mi’kmaw nation. Proudly of the Moose Clan, he resides in the community of Eskasoni in Unama’ki (unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq known as Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia). Elder Albert and his late wife Elder Murdena Marshall have made vast intra-disciplinary contributions to scholarship. Walking their talk, as activists and Teachers, Elder Albert and Murdena shared their Knowledge and lessons learned as gifts to the collective; their influence extends across and through academic and professional boundaries. Dr. Albert generously advises and lectures internationally on a wide range of topics through the lens of Etuptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing). Etuaptmumk is a guiding principle and an action-oriented invitation to recognize the strengths that exist within diverse cultural knowledges, and in this context, Indigenous Knowledges. Etuaptmumk encourages us to join on a co-learning journey, rather than privileging and valuing one knowledge system over another. Etuaptmumk has been borrowed as a research method, theory, and guiding principle.
Elder Albert’s curiosity knows no bounds. He is passionate and most often asked to speak about: protecting Mother Earth and our environment, the protection and continuance of Traditional Knowledge Systems, survival of Mi’kmaw orthography/Language, and Integrating Indigenous Knowledge with mainstream science. As an ex-inmate of Canada’s residential school system, Elder Albert was denied a civilized education. Elder Albert thrives as a student of life, serves as Elder advisor on numerous national and international boards, and tirelessly advocates for preservation of Mi’kmaw language and Indigenous Knowledge. He also serves as an external examiner for academic dissertation defenses and sits on graduate committees across Canada.
He is the recipient of many awards including an honorary doctorate of letters from Acadia University and Cape Breton University. His most recent achievement was being recognized for the exemplary role he has had in Enhancing the lives of others and awarded a lifetime achievement award as A Professional Champion by the Canadian Council of Psychotherapists Association. (This is the sixth award – past recipients include Senator Murray Sinclair, Lieutenant-General (retired) Romeo Dallaire, Mary Walsh, Grand Chief Sheila North, and Barbara MacCallum.)
Circulating Knowledge: 20 Years On wishes to thank the following sponsors for their generous support:
University of King’s College, Cape Breton University, Dalhousie’s College of Sustainability and the Dalhousie Art Gallery
inset photo supplied by Elder Albert Marshall
banner photo credit: Assistant Professor Trina Roache, BJ’00
