Synergy of systems theory and symbolic interactionism: a passageway for non-Indigenous researchers that facilitates better understanding Indigenous worldviews and knowledges

Figures & data

Table 1. Parallels between Indigenous worldviews and systems theory (Adopted from McKenzie & Morrissette, 2003)

	Tenet	Indigenous worldview	Systems Theory
1	World	Everything is relational	Everything exists in relationship with others for survival
2	Human	A part of the universe just like all other livings and non-living things	Every entity is a sub-system of a bigger system
3	Life	Adaptability and adjustability with ecology	Act of survival pulses with natural energy and cycles of the earth
4	Origin of life	All creatures have a common origin and share universal consciousness of primary primitive force	All things are an extension of the grand design and contain the same essence as the source from which it flows
5	Health & wellbeing	Healthy life depends upon relationships, reciprocity and kindness	All things have a role to ensure balance and harmony of system
6	Source of survival	Spirituality	Spirit which links parts of systems together to work in harmony

Table 2. Parallels between Indigenous worldviews and symbolic interactionism

	Tenet	Indigenous Worldview	Symbolic Interactionism
1	Society	Emerges as a result of Indigenous relationships with their ecology	Emergent phenomenon based on interactions
2	Knowledge	Emergent and based on experiences	Subjective and interpretative
3	Universality of knowledge	Heterogeneous and local	Focuses on local narratives
4	Construction of knowledge	Socio-historical and cultural	Focuses on history and culture
5	Inquiry to Knowledge	Qualitative methods	Narrative and textual
6	Sharing of Knowledge	Storytelling	Human biographies based on lived experiences

Figure 1. Synergy of systems theory and symbolic interactionism in Indigenous research.

McKenzie, B., & Morrissette, V. (2003). Social work practice with Canadians of Aboriginal background: Guidelines for respectful social work. In A. Al-Krenawi & J. R. Graham (Eds.), Multicultural social work in Canada: Working with diverse ethno-racial communities (pp. 251–282). Oxford University Press.

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