Isaac St John, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, spoke in the sanctuary on September 25. Isaac discussed the difference between indigenous and western worldviews of the environment and the self. From how we see ourselves appearing in nature to how we interact with that same natural world, how do people in both spheres rectify that difference in understanding? His talk and discussion with audience members helped shed some light on this problem by using the concept of “Two-eyed Seeing” to show how it is possible for Native researchers to rectify those two spheres as well as actions being taken to help with mitigation of climate change within the tribe using this concept. Isaac’s message to us about working to restore the environment both locally and globally using two-eyed seeing is an important and hopeful one.
An audience of about 28 people were there in-person and a few more watched on the Facebook stream. Isaac spoke for about a half hour and then there was a full half hour of questions from the audience, which gave us all a chance to learn more. This was an appropriate conclusion to our Season of Creation activities.