Two-Eyed Seeing

Looking at the species of a habitat as more than objects is an important component of the Two-Eyed Seeing approach, a way of looking at the world that is grounded in the traditions of Mi’kmaq, a Tribal Nation whose traditional territory, Mi’gma’gi, is located in what is now the Atlantic region of Canada. Variations of this approach are found in Tribal Nations across North America, also known as Turtle Island in many Indigenous cultures.

Two-Eyed Seeing involves using one eye to understand the strengths of Indigenous knowledge and the other to understand Western knowledge, then braiding those perspectives together for mutual benefit.

Larson imparted the tenets of that approach to students as part of a burgeoning partnership with Steven Dorland, assistant professor of anthropology, who led the field school efforts at the site of Blendon Landing, a logging town from the mid-1800s that once bustled along the Grand River near what is now the Allendale Campus.

For that partnership, Dorland, Wesley Jackson, assistant director of the field school, and other scholars worked to ensure they included an Indigenous perspective as they built upon research already done at the site.

“We wanted to tell the students, ‘Our focus doesn’t start with Blendon Landing and its features and artifacts; it starts with Indigenous peoples who were removed from the land, so that we can learn about the landscape and changing relations to the land,’” Dorland said.

Dorland connected with Larson through Lin Bardwell, assistant director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, after he reached out to her to see how he could connect with members of the Indigenous communities.

To honor a true partnership, Dorland asked Larson how they could collaborate to ensure an Indigenous perspective and Larson’s interests were woven into the field school, rather than Dorland setting an agenda and seeing where Larson’s insights might fit in.

Larson’s response included a Two-Eyed Seeing approach and collaboration with Ali Locher, associate professor of natural resources management, to develop a plan to map the site, remove the invasive plants and analyze the human impact on the ecosystem around the site.

What that looked like in action was a true intersection of mindsets that recognized the original, displaced inhabitants of the land where Blendon Landing once stood.

At the dig site, some students worked to unearth artifacts such as nails, ceramics and pieces of glass to help tell the history of Blendon Landing. They incorporated techniques to minimize disruption to the land, such as working around tree roots to avoid cutting through them.

“It’s important to look past the historical site to see both sides of the story.”

  Michelle Oberlin, Student

And in the nearby vegetation, another group of students focused on addressing dynamic changes of the landscape by identifying and removing the species that invaded the land that Indigenous peoples knew and restoring conditions for native plants to once again thrive.

Larson said foundational ecosystem members such as trillium and mayapples are engaged in a “silent battle” as they fight for space against invasives, including the garlic mustard, multiflora rose and autumn olive that the field school was primarily targeting.

“With a lot of invasives, their presence changes the ecology of a system,” noted Locher, the faculty member who partnered with Larson. “For example, autumn olive will actually change the nitrogen levels of the soil to promote their own growth but inhibit the growth of other native plants. So the invasives have a competitive advantage and it ends up being a monoculture.

“If you have natural native diversity, a system is more intact and stable than if you have invasives that outcompete the native communities and make habitat for themselves.”

Ultimate goal: a true connection

Two students who have studied anthropology at GVSU said the field school offered important insights.

“It’s very important to be a member of a community and we respect the fact that this land that we’re on was populated by Native Americans so many years ago,” said Andrea Vitales-Lanuza. “As far as my experience personally, I do have Native American ancestry, not from this area, from farther south, but it’s great to be able to reconnect with that aspect of who I am, even if it isn’t this particular area where my family is from.”

Added Michelle Oberlin, who is considering a career in archaeology: “It’s important to look past the historical site to see both sides of the story.”

For Larson, the power of connection is a recurring theme as he reflected on this work.

“Everything came from the land; there was this inherent connection. They couldn’t separate themselves from it,” Larson said. “That was our pharmacy, it was our grocery store. They depended on and were interconnected with every aspect of the ecosystems.”

The field school and the still-developing partnership represent efforts in the anthropology field to create a platform for inclusivity growth, particularly for Indigenous communities, Dorland said.

Larson said he is grateful for the connection with Dorland and how he has conveyed these philosophies to students. Larson is hopeful this interdisciplinary collaboration will help launch more opportunities for understanding and transformation.

“As long as there is an investment, relationships continue to grow,” Larson said. “It is my hope, working with Steven and possibly others on campus, to build a continuing collaboration based on mutual trust and respect that benefits the greater good, the campus community, our society as a whole and the good of our Grandmother Earth.”