Interview with Albert Marshall

Albert Marshall is one of the most respected wisdom keepers of the Mi’kmaq people whose territory of Mi’kma’ki includes all of Atlantic Canada and parts of both Quebec and Maine. In this exclusive Green Interview, Marshall speaks with Silver Donald Cameron about indigenous ways of understanding science and the environment. He’s particularly celebrated for his concept of “two-eyed seeing,” using the insights of western science in combination with the traditional wisdom of his culture and language to obtain a depth of understanding that neither could achieve alone.

In this exclusive interview with Albert Marshall we discuss the concept of “two-eyed seeing,” which combines the strengths of Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing with the strengths of Western knowledge with the aim of benefiting all.

Two-Eyed Seeing

Marshall has been particularly celebrated for “two-eyed seeing,” a concept he says he “coined” but is too modest to take credit in developing. Essentially this way of seeing takes the insights of western science in combination with the traditional wisdom of Mi’kmaq culture and language to obtain a depth of understanding that neither could achieve alone. Marshall says the concept was initially used with the youth in his community, “to look at everything from another perspective.” He says the Creator intended for humans to be constantly learning from one other. “That was one of the main reasons why She not only created four sacred colors but also created four races, black, red, yellow and white.” He explains: “The fundamental principles of two-eyed seeing is not meant to question the integrity of something, of an action, of a word but rather to encourage you to put your curiosity in higher gear, invoke that curiosity so that you can fine tune this action or this word to be much more reflective so you will be that much more effective as a community member or a nation.”