Climate Science and Indigenous knowledge: a Model for “Two-Eyed Seeing”
As climate change accelerates, so does the need for diverse ways of understanding its impacts. Western scientific methodologies have traditionally emphasized quantitative, empirical data collection—through instruments, experiments, statistical analyses, and measurements—to track and interpret climate trends. While these methods have yielded valuable insights into physical processes such as temperature shifts, sea level rise, and greenhouse gas emissions, they often fail to capture the lived, experiential knowledge of those most directly affected by these changes.
The concept of “two-eyed seeing,” as articulated by Mi’kmaw Elder Albert Marshall, offers an alternative paradigm. It advocates viewing the world “from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous ways of knowing, and to see from the other eye with the strengths of Western ways of knowing.” This framework promotes the respectful integration of Indigenous and Western knowledge systems, encouraging mutual learning between Indigenous knowledge holders and scientists. In doing so, it fosters a more holistic understanding of environmental challenges while affirming the continuity of Indigenous traditions in contemporary knowledge production. Rather than treating Indigenous knowledge as supplementary, “two-eyed seeing” emphasizes its importance in shaping climate discourse.
Over the past two decades, this approach has gained increasing recognition within Canadian science and policy. It has informed legislation such as the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (2012), which mandates the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge alongside scientific analysis, recognizing the value of epistemological diversity in decision-making. Federal initiatives, including For Our Future: Indigenous Resilience Report published by Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN), further reflect a growing governmental commitment to Indigenous perspectives in environmental governance.
Ethical frameworks have evolved in parallel. The Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans emphasizes respectful collaboration with Indigenous communities, highlighting the importance of mutual respect and co-creation in research. On an international level, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, endorsed by Canada, affirms the rights of Indigenous peoples to maintain, control, protect, and develop their traditional knowledge and cultural expressions. The Council of Canadian Academics (CCA), in its Expert Panel on the Future of Arctic and Northern Research, similarly underscores the necessity of accommodating Indigenous knowledge systems.
Taken together, these frameworks indicate a meaningful institutional shift. However, despite its promise, “two-eyed seeing” remains constrained in its scope. Broadening the epistemological lens of climate science is not, in itself, sufficient to disrupt the underlying assumptions that govern knowledge production. Nor does it fully honor the deeply embodied, sensory dimensions of Indigenous ways of knowing.
To genuinely center Indigenous knowledge in climate science, it is necessary to move beyond the metaphor of seeing. What is required is a fuller embrace of sensing—an approach that values the intuitive, affective, and relational ways of knowing that have long guided Indigenous relationships with land and water.
Beyond Seeing: Toward Holistic Sensing
Sensing refers to an embodied relationship with the environment—one that moves beyond visual observation to encompass intuition, emotional resonance, and lived experience. This holistic approach is central to many Inuit ways of engaging with the environment, as articulated by the late Inuk writer from Nunavik (Arctic Quebec), Taamusi Qumaq. He emphasized the importance of ‘sensing’ environmental shifts through the term ippigi—a sense of wonder in response to unusual occurrences. This concept was often used in relation to changes in weather patterns, animal behaviors, and transformations in the land. Such sensory awareness is a way of being that has long enabled Inuit communities to sustain life in the Arctic across generations.
Sensing also lies at the heart of unipkaut, or storytelling—a vital mode of Inuit knowledge transmission. Through unipkaut, knowledge is conveyed through lived experience, tactile observation, and emotional insight. This method offers a holistic understanding of the interconnected social, political, cultural, and environmental dimensions of climate change, including its impact on food security, housing, and mental well-being. Crucially, this sensorial knowledge system cannot be fully grasped through intellectual or visual means alone—it must be felt throughout the entire being.
Songs, for instance, express deep relationships with animals and the land (nuna), resonating physically and emotionally. The Inuit and Inuvialuit concept of avatit—the land as an extension of one’s body—embodies this connection, with avativut signifying “our extremities.” Stories and the sense of ippigi convey important lessons about changing hunting conditions and invite new ways of understanding. Similarly, drumming operates as a powerful mode of conveying relationships with the land, with its rhythmic beat prompting an alternative way of knowing.
Appreciating sensorial knowledge requires more than recognition—it calls for attunement to ippigusunniq, the act of sensing. This shift demands changes in scientific practice and policymaking, creating a space where Indigenous knowledge is not only included but deeply felt and respected.
The 2024 initiative Changing Climate Conversations sought to highlight sensorial knowledge within Inuit-scientific exchanges. The gathering brought together Inuvialuit youth leaders from Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories with scientists from Environment and Climate Change Canada and NRCAN. Hosted at the University of Victoria, on the territory of the Songhees, Esquimalt, and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples, the event was intentionally co-designed to ensure that Inuvialuit youth could share knowledge on their own terms.
The Inuvialuit Youth Advisory played a central role in shaping the gathering, sharing various artistic expressions, including drumming, murals, music videos, and film. These creative forms served as direct expressions of the Inuvialuit homeland’s well-being. Among the most impactful contributions was the youth-led music video “Don’t Give Up,” created in collaboration with N’we Jinan Mobile Production Studios. Through its lyrics and rhythms, the piece communicated both the pain of potential climate displacement and the resilience of Inuvialuit youth in fighting for their future.
Public servants and scientists were invited into these experiences—not as passive observers but as active participants in a shared sensory exchange. The impact was unprecedented. Scientists remarked that hearing music live, feeling its vibrations, exchanging stories over shared meals, and spending time outdoors offered a completely different kind of engagement than reading empirical data or viewing testimony on screens. Many were visibly moved, with some brought to tears. In the wake of the event, commitments were made to incorporate these insights into scientific and policy work.
These commitments produced tangible results. Environment Canada’s Changing Climate Assessment Report (2025) now prioritizes the creative, sensorial accounts shared by Inuit youth. Likewise, the Map of Adaptation Actions includes these narratives in spaces where Indigenous knowledge had previously been marginalized. The success of this initiative illustrates the transformative potential of holistic sensing in shaping policy and informing scientific understanding.
Conclusion: A Call for Radical Policy Futures
Moving beyond performative inclusion requires rethinking the structures that shape scientific and policy exchanges. Engagement with Inuit knowledge must not be reduced to a checkbox exercise—it must be understood as an immersive, reciprocal process that values holistic ways of knowing.
Implementing such a process involves reimagining research protocols to center the kinds of experiential knowledge that the CCA recognizes as essential. In practice, this has meant establishing an Inuvialuit Advisory to guide decisions on location, structure, and approach to knowledge exchange. It has meant co-designing agendas that prioritize traditional welcomes, closing circles, and youth-led storytelling. Most importantly, it has meant enabling Inuit youth to define their own criteria for success, assessing not only how well scientists recognize their knowledge, but how deeply they can sense it.
This article advocates for a shift from I see you to I sense you. This reference is not to disembodied remote sensing methodologies of gathering knowledge but to a deeper, relational commitment to the surrounding environment, inclusive of non-human beings. Such a shift demands time and space for knowledge to be shared on Inuit terms: whether in northern communities or beyond; through short, focused exchanges or long-term immersive engagements. It also demands material support—direct financial investment in Inuit-led climate initiatives that allow for autonomous research and documentation.
Inuit are not passive victims of climate change, but active knowledge holders and innovators. For Indigenous knowledge to shape policy in meaningful ways—rather than be folded into pre-existing frameworks—it is necessary to move beyond seeing to sensing. This shift demands more from the scientific and policy communities—a willingness to listen, to be moved, and ultimately to transform their own ways of knowing and being in the world.
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Jen Bagelman is a Professor of Geography at Newcastle University. Her research focuses on anticolonial environmentalism, migrant justice, and the many dimensions of displacement. She serves as Co-Principal Investigator of “Carving out Climate Testimony,” a collaborative project that explores the intersections of climate change and mental health across Inuit Nunangat.
Karla Jessen Williamson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Foundations at the University of Saskatchewan. She is the first Inuk scholar to be tenured in Canada. Born and raised in Greenland, she speaks three languages. She also serves as Co-Principal Investigator of “Carving out Climate Testimony.”
Sarah Marie Wiebe is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Administration at the University of Victoria. As a political ecologist and critical policy studies scholar, her research centers on environmental justice and public engagement. She is also a Co-Investigator of “Carving out Climate Testimony,” contributing to the focus on the intersections of climate change and mental health within Inuit Nunangat.
Image Credit: Maria Scheel, (CC BY 3.0), via Imaggeo
