Date of Graduation
Fall 12-13-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Organization and Leadership (O&L)
College/School
School of Education
Department/Program
Education
First Advisor
Seenae Chong
Abstract
Non-Indigenous environmental educators must incorporate Indigenous knowledges and worldviews to successfully teach about contemporary environmental problems such as sustainability. However, there are several barriers for non-Indigenous environmental educators to incorporate Indigenous knowledges, such as (a) Western science as the primary epistemology of environmental education, delegitimizing Indigenous ways of knowing, (b) non-Indigenous peoples’ reliance on the privileges gained by settler colonialism which works to erase and replace Indigenous peoples and knowledges, and (c) the historical and current injustices experienced by Indigenous peoples in schools because of settler colonialism. This study explored how experienced non-Indigenous environmental educators who incorporate Indigenous knowledges and worldviews into their work navigate the complexities and tensions of settler colonialism while uplifting Indigenous voices and knowledges. Through a grounded theory methodology, this study found that the non-Indigenous environmental educators overcame settler colonial pressures through understanding systems of oppression and drawing on childhood affinity with nature. After their decolonial catalyst moment, the participants worked through the complexities of their positionality to take action, uplift Indigenous voices, and share Indigenous knowledges respectfully.
Recommended Citation
Bisbee, Emeric, "Decolonial Possibilities for Non-Indigenous Environmental Educators" (2024). Master's Theses. 1596.
https://repository.usfca.edu/thes/1596
