‘ion from the publisher, except fair uses Copyright © 2013. UBC Press, ALL rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without pe applicable copyright la. Two-Eyed Seeing Physical Activity, Sport, and Recreation Promotion in Indigenous Communities LYNN LAVALLEE AND LUCIE LEVESQUE “Two-eyed seeing,” a term coined by Mi’kmaq elder Albert Marshall, relates to seeing the world through two perspectives: Indigenous and Western or European. In this instance, the term “Western” refers to the dominant ideol- ogy of the western hemisphere (predominantly North America) and “in- digenous” refers to the ideology traced to the earliest known inhabitants of a geographical region. Although the earliest inhabitants of North America ‘were indigenous peoples, the current dominant ideology is that of the early European settlers. For the purpose of this chapter, when referring to the Aboriginal or indigenous peoples of Canada, we are referring to the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit. Two-eyed seeing requires an attentiveness to bi- cultural ways of knowing, which, in this case, means incorporating the strengths of indigenous and Western perspectives to create a hybridized understanding of how to address a particular issue, for example, health pro- motion. It involves using both eyes together, weaving back and forth be- tween perspectives without one perspective dominating the other, to the benefit of all (Kitchikeesic 2005; Marshall and Bartlett 2009). In this chapter, we use two-eyed seeing to discuss and integrate two perspectives related to physical activity, sport, and recreation promotion: the medicine wheel teachings of the Anishinaabek and the socio-ecological model as concep- tualized by Western scholars. Parallels are drawn between medicine wheel teachings and the Western socio-ecological approach to health promotion. Using a two-eyed seeing approach, an integrated indigenous-ecological EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 9/16/2017 10:31 PM via UNIV OF ALBERTA LIBRARIES: AN: 503368 ; Giles, Audrey R., Forsyth, Janice Evelyn.; Aboriginal Peoples and Sport in Canada Historical Foundations and Contemporary Issues Account: $5940788Copyright © 2013. UBC Press, ALL rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright la. Two-Eyed Seeing 207 model for promoting physical activity, sport, and recreation is presented. Illustrations and examples show how the model can be used to promote physical activity, sport, and recreation, as well as how this model represents a means to convey the medicine wheel teachings Bringing together the strengths of Aboriginal and Western approaches through a two-eyed seeing approach is both relevant and essential for the promotion of physical activity, sport, and recreation in Aboriginal com- munities. It is relevant because of the contemporary and westernized con- texts in which many Aboriginal peoples in Canada live and play. For instance, hockey and basketball, two Western-derived sports, are very popular among Aboriginal youth (NAHC n.dj Anderson 2006), as are activities of indigen- ous origin, such as lacrosse, hand games, and dancing. Two-eyed seeing is relevant because non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal practitioners work with Aboriginal peoples to promote physical activity, sport, and recreation; thus, adopting a two-eyed seeing approach can create opportunities for new understanding by requiring the conscious and constant reflection of the merging of ideas and philosophies. Using a framework that fosters the inte- gration of indigenous and Western perspectives for the promotion of well- being is essential because it acknowledges and addresses colonization’s impact on Aboriginal people's health and well-being. The next section ex- plains why this view represents a critical starting point for reclaiming Aboriginal well-being. Colonization and Aboriginal Well-Being Indigenous sport has a complex history. At times extolled for its virtuous proffering of spiritual reward, it has also been used toward other ends. For example, lacrosse has been termed “the little brother of war” because it was used as a surrogate for war; in this context, lacrosse would be played vio- lently, involving the maiming of opposing players (Cohen 2002). The poten- tial for sport to offer both positive and negative experiences is not unique to indigenous sport but can be found in many cultures and across a diversity of sports (Coakley 2002). Ina more positive incarnation, and its most typical application, indigen- ous sport has been used to teach personal and social values, such as “hon- esty, courage, respect, personal excellence, and gratitude for the guidance of parents, elders, and communities, [which] prepared children and youth for the responsibility of adulthood” (Canadian Heritage 2003, para. 1). For many indigenous people, sport and physical activity are considered to hold medicinal value and healing potential. For example, Culin (1907) noted that EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 9/16/2017 10:31 PM via UNIV OF ALBERTA LIBRARIES: AN: 503368 ; Giles, Audrey R., Forsyth, Janice Evelyn.; Aboriginal Peoples and Sport in Canada Historical Foundations and Contemporary Issues Account: $5940788ed under U.S. oF Copyright © 2013. UBC Press, ALL rights reserved. Hay not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses pe applicable copyright la. 08 Lynn Lavallée and Lucie Lévesque Aboriginal people saw the playing of lacrosse as spiritual; the Huron Indians would play it as a way of praying for a sick man or sick country, with medi- cine men often serving as officials during lacrosse games. ‘The notion of sport and physical activity as medicine has been argued as a right for Aboriginal peoples in a contemporary interpretation of Treaty 6, which, in 1876, stipulated that “a medicine chest shall be kept at the house of each Indian Agent for the use and benefit of the Indians, at the direction of such Agent” (Haslip and Edwards 2002, 38). Haslip (2001) contends that similar clauses exist in Treaties 7, 8, 10, and 11, which cover a geopolitical area spanning much of western Canada, and argues that the medicine chest includes the right to have access to sport and physical activity. The Maskwachees Declaration of 2000 echoes Treaty 6 by recognizing sport and physical activity as a central means to promote wholistic health (Canadian Heritage 2006). (“Wholistic” is spelled with a “w” to emphasize the concept of wholeness when the four areas of health — physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual - are in balance. See Antone, Gamlin, and Provost-Turchetti 2003.) Further, the Aboriginal Sport Circle, the national body for Aboriginal sport and recreation development in Canada, considers sport and recrea- tion “powerful medicine that can prevent many of the social ills facing Aboriginal peoples, and foster community healing” (ASC n.d.). Evidence of the positive impact that sport and physical activity involvement can have on Aboriginal people's health and well-being is found in the many stories of- fered by Aboriginal communitiy members throughout Canada. This seems to be especially true where community members have participated in recog- nized events, such as the North American Indigenous Games; received rec- ognition for their accomplishments, as with the Tom Longboat Awards; had their elite status validated in the dominant sports system, for instance, in the Olympic Games (e.g., Alwyn Morris, who won gold and bronze med- als in pairs kayaking at the 1984 Summer Games, and Waneek Horn-Miller, who competed in water polo at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia) (ASC n.d.); have represented their communities on national sports teams; or have become role models in their communities for healthy lifestyles (Macaulay et al. 2005). Regular involvement in sport and physical activity has been found to have a beneficial impact on the physical, mental, and emotional dimensions of health. For example, in children and youth, physical activity is inversely related to obesity (Tremblay and Willms 2003; Janssen et al. 2004), cardio- vascular disease risk factors (Katzmarzyk, Malina, and Bouchard 1999; Eisenmann 2004; Strong et al. 2005), and various physical and psychological EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 9/16/2017 10:31 PM via UNIV OF ALBERTA LIBRARIES: AN: 503368 ; Giles, Audrey R., Forsyth, Janice Evelyn.; Aboriginal Peoples and Sport in Canada Historical Foundations and Contemporary Issues Account: $5940788