Show Notes
Blackfoot scholar Dr. Leroy Little Bear shares foundational Indigenous ways of knowing—revealing a worldview built on energy, motion, and relationship rather than matter, time, and separation.In this conversation, Little Bear illuminates how Blackfoot philosophy understands reality through "interpretive templates"—cultural lenses shaped by language, land, and cosmology. Where Western thought centers singularity and fixed answers, Blackfoot ways embrace flux, transformation, and "all my relations."
Dr. Leroy Little Bear is a Blackfoot legal scholar, professor emeritus, and prominent Indigenous rights advocate from the Blood Tribe. He is a founding member of the Native American Studies Department at the University of Lethbridge, served as the director of the Harvard University Native American Program, and played a crucial role in shaping Canadian constitutional law to recognize Indigenous rights, including contributing to Section 35 of the Constitution Act. His work extends to international advocacy, advising the United Nations on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and he has received numerous honors, such as the Order of Canada and the Alberta Order of Excellence.
Topics
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:45 Guest Introduction: Dr. Leroy Little Bear
01:42 Blackfoot Tradition and Identity
02:59 Western vs. Blackfoot Worldview
10:15 Energy Forces and Relationships
27:39 Impact of Colonization
34:26 Language and Interpretive Templates
54:38 Closing Remarks and Gratitude
Explore more in Indigenous Worldviews in the SAND film Series The Eternal Song
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