Blackfoot Ways of Knowing: The Worldview of the Siksikaitsitapi

by Betty Bastien

This book clearly articulates the philosophical and epistemological foundations of Blackfoot ways of knowing. It examines the interdependent, interconnecting and reciprocal relationships of identity, knowledge, and research among the Blackfoot-speaking peoples. It is a journey of connecting the ancient pieces of the knowledge processes of indigenous peoples. This book is an important contribution to indigenous scholarship and offers a special insight into the stories being told through a moving personal narrative.

Genres: Nonfiction, Indigenous

235 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Lise Mayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would highly recommend this book to anyone trying to understand the process of decolonization and the need to respect the Indigenous peoples way of knowing. I read it from cover to cover. It is a doctoral thesis, so it is very dense and I can't say I understood it all, but the introduction and conclusion make the principles quite clear. This was produced long before the Truth and Reconciliation process, and serves as a beacon for that work. I find the information on the Blackfoot ways of knowing very compatible with yogic and other traditions: the belief in the oneness of all things, the importance of relationships, the power of prayer and the need to approach life with a "good heart." Bastien's work is seminal in fostering a deep appreciation of the fact of cultural genocide deliberately inflicted on the First Nations people, and why it is so difficult but crucial to retrieve and develop their traditional ways of understanding the world, in order to thrive in the future.

[Conan Van Der Crom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not an easy read. Dense, filled with terms from the Blackfoot language (as it should be), and complex, the book is nonetheless a highly significant description of traditional religion and epistemology within the Blackfoot culture written by a member of this cultural community. Many books of Native American and/or First Nations religions are little more than condescending presentations of "mythology" with little to no cultural context. Ms. Bastien's work is the opposite, and manages to present a worldview that is radically different than the mainstream Western one with dignity and complexity.