Gatekeeper or gardener? Exploring positioning, paradigms, and metaphors in indigenous environmental education research

ABSTRACT

In this article, I autoethnographically consider my experiences as a Métis scholar of mixed Indigenous and European ancestry based in Canada as an entry point for exploration of critical, interpretive, Indigenous and other traditional and contemporary research paradigms relevant to the field of Indigenous environmental education. Foundational scholarship, metaphorical models for the relationships between Western and Indigenous science and environmental knowledge systems, educators, and researchers, and current trends and tensions within the field are also discussed. In closing, I present future considerations and lingering questions for Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars alike.

KEYWORDS:

• education
• environmental
• indigenous
• paradigms
• research