Native and Western Science: Possibilities in a Dynamic Collaboration

Leroy Little Bear is a Canadian indigenous people, member of the Black Foot tribe, professor at the University of Lethbridge, founder of the first Canadian program of Native American Studies. In this lecture, given at the University of Arizona in the spring of 2011, Leroy Little Bear reflects on modern Western science from the perspective of the culture and teachings of North American Indians. He explains several principles of this perspective and comments that it could be used to overcome some of the obstacles blocking the Western scientific community. It speaks of constant flux, place, interconnection and renewal, as well as the bias that the modern individualistic approach poses to the traditional, more grounded, community vision.