Two-Eyed Seeing and the Language of Healing in Community-Based Research

Abstract

Universities share responsibility fo r creating obstacles to postsecondary education fo rIndigenous peoples. This article introduces a community participation model ofresearch and teaching intended to restore health and make the university a welcomingplace. Cape Breton University's Institute fo r Integrative Science and Health drawson the strengths o f Indigenous and Western knowledges, basing its integrativeIndigenist practice on the guiding principle o f "Two-Eyed Seeing" and linguisticcomponents o f health such as the Mi'kmaq "healing tense." Critical analysis anddramatic reenactment describe efforts to revitalize language and restore relationshipswith each other and with the land.