Weaving ways of knowing

In a world of unprecedented environmental change, interdisciplinary, culturally-inclusive research that weaves together multiple ways of knowing is crucial to fostering the preservation of biodiversity and culture. A major barrier to reconciling Indigenous and Western ways of knowing for both Indigenous stewards and Western scientists is a general uncertainty of how to achieve this in practice. Through a series of semi-structured interviews and a systematic literature review, we aim to summarize perspectives on best practices and on-the-ground examples of weaving knowledge systems in natural sciences. In addition, this work brings together First Nations to determine regional environmental concerns and research priorities, uses a two-eyed seeing approach to answer important ecological questions identified by Indigenous communities, and works to identify how Indigenous Peoples perceive cultural keystone species versus Western academic discourse, and the consequent impacts of this understanding on how species are managed