Science is a concept I have loved since I was a kid. I love the clear structure, organization, and answers. I figured that my future career would be just that, however, this course has altered the way I perceive science. In Western culture, science gains answers from drawing conclusions through an objective viewer. All experiments must be replicable. Taking a different approach, Indigenous peoples see science as more than numbers. It is a way to learn through emotional experiences. Such hard data that lacks emotion limits the validity of how we can use it approaching the real world. How we experience life holds value and instruction. From one of the course readings, “The fundamental premise is that we cannot ‘misexperience’ anything; we can only misinterpret what we experience,” (Deloria). Native Americans see value in everything, even mysteries.
Throughout this course, every experience was used for learning and discussion. It is one thing to listen to a lecture and memorize flash cards, but meeting people with new perspectives and walking in the very place of discussion hold much more value. To feel the emotions of Alicia and Taos from the Blackfeet tribe made their history and traditions more clear. I left that meeting with my mind reeling about how I could take this new information and apply it to my own life. Feeling the frigid water of the Grinnell Glacier between my toes shocked a sense of responsibility throughout my entire being. This experience comes with emotion which is not a weakness, in fact, emotions make experiences stronger. Behind emotion is passion. Passion can be used towards science to bring wisdom and reflection for a direction of the future.
WRFI’s Environmental Ethics has challenged me to think about science and how we experience the environment in a new way. It was not an easy course, but there is no easy way to grow without discomfort. I am grateful for the time I spent engaging with the instructors and forming friendships with the incredible course group. The amount of laughter will be unforgettable. WRFI, thank you for the summer of a lifetime.