About the Initiative
What is Two-Eyed Seeing?
Etuaptmumk, or Two-Eyed Seeing, means learning to see from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing, and from the other eye with the strengths of Western knowledges and ways of knowing—using both eyes together for the benefit of all. This transformative framework was introduced in 2004 by Mi’kmaq Elders Dr. Albert and Murdena Marshall at Cape Breton University in Nova Scotia.
This methodology is beautifully exemplified by Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer, a Potawatomi Nation member and Professor of Botany. Her paradigm-shifting book, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, continues to expand thinking across scientific, artistic, and design disciplines.
The Two-Eyed Seeing & Third Spaces Collaborative
Our work began as a Research and Creative Collaborative funded by the University of Minnesota’s Institute for Advanced Study. Instigated by Rebecca Krinke, Professor of Landscape Architecture, this interdisciplinary group brings together university scholars and Indigenous community knowledge holders to learn from the land and each other.
Our collaborative grew from a web of interrelated relationships:
The Catalyst: A photograph of a tamarack bog by Rebecca Krinke led to an immediate connection with Dr. Caitlin Barale Potter, Associate Director of Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, who shares a deep interest in tamarack bogs.
Community Roots: Rebecca and Jewell Arcoren (Oglala Lakota) have long collaborated through the Indigenous-led Healing Place Collaborative, an interdisciplinary group dedicated to healing people and place along the Mississippi River.
Founding Frameworks: Dan Shaw, a restoration ecologist with the State of Minnesota's Soil and Water Board, joined the work as a long-time colleague. Fawn YoungBear-Tibbetts (Native language revitalization leader) and Nick Bad Heart Bull (builder-designer) were also vital to the foundation and early stages of this collective work.
Our Field Sites
Our inquiries are grounded in active, on-site fieldwork across two distinct, ecologically critical landscapes. While there is overlap between the two cohorts, each location features a unique mix of local artists, scientists, and culture bearers:
Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve (Minnesota): Spanning 5,000 acres, Cedar Creek sits at the unique intersection of North America’s three major ecosystems: prairie, coniferous forest, and deciduous forest. This land carries deep history; it was divided on paper between Ojibwe and Dakota sovereign stewardship via the 1825 Prairie du Chien treaty, before being entirely expropriated by the United States government in the 1837 Treaty of St. Peter’s.
Robert J. Bernard Biological Field Station (California): In 2023, our collaborative expanded to this 80-acre protected chaparral station in Claremont, California. Nestled directly adjacent to the five campuses of the Claremont Colleges Consortium, it serves as a highly accessible incubator for alternative environmental pedagogy and artistic research.