On "Mishkos Kenomagwen: The Teachings of Grass"

This chapter outlined the struggles of a graduate student and her battles against westernized ideology. I think this chapter highlights the damage that a narrow scope of understanding and appreciation can do. The committee belittles the graduate student because a lack of transdisciplinary thought. Because of this, her discoveries are wrongly dismissed. The use of transdisciplinary research could lead to a more well rounded and complete solution. The very science and results basis of westernized thought might work well with the traditional methods of raising crops. However, this would require both parties to value the other's perspective. I think this is a major issue in western culture. 

The tendency of western culture to dismiss every other culture and knowledge basis can be seen through many historical examples. One that comes to mind are the Native North American tribes that once living in what is now California. Over hundreds of years, they learned the importance of controlled burns to control wildfires. Now, Californian wildfires have never been worse. A western perspective would argue that their own knowledge is above that of other cultures. In this case, this could not be further from the truth. Via a deep understanding of nature and seasons, Native American people were able to learn things that still challenge us in modern times. Obviously, the dismissal of alternative perspectives is a toxic practice that only leads to the destruction of knowledge and a misinformed superiority complex

-Jamie Peacock