The Political Hat

     One of the more insidious assaults on Western Civilization is the attack on science and scientific expertise. Sometimes this done by a direct assault that not only posits the validity of anti-science “ways of knowing” and the rights and freedoms that allowed scientific innovation to flourish, but also the demand that medicine and space be “decolonized”. Other times this is done by subversion of substitution, specifically painting things like mysticism and animism as “science”. The incorporation of these non-Western “ways of knowing” is a wolf in sheep’s clothing amongst us. And that incorporation is woke.

“My drive is to make science a safe, equitable, inclusive space that’s accessible for everyone. The content we teach in chemistry or biochemistry is all in a Western context. I’m trying to work out how we can share the discoveries other people and cultures have made, so science isn’t taught through just one lens.

“I wanted to build a curriculum that creates an accessible experience and builds a sense of belonging in science, technology, engineering and mathematics while respecting cultural perspectives. In Western science, humans are organized at the top of systems, whereas my Indigenous world view has interconnectedness at its centre.

“When teaching chemistry, I try to include an engaging story. For example, what were the thought processes and experiments used to first identity subatomic particles? There are also Indigenous world views on how we perceive the Big Bang that I share. With Naomi Lee, a biochemist at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, I co-wrote The Chemistry and Culture Workbook for the Reformed Experimental Activities (REActivities) programme, a redesigned chemistry curriculum with a more student-driven, inclusive approach. It incorporates Indigenous knowledge in chemistry with laboratory experiments to follow along.

“Outside the classroom, I’m interested in finding the unique mentoring styles that serve our students best. The lived experiences I’ve had guide what I share with students and how I bring perspectives to spaces that other people don’t have a chance to share. Maybe I will be able to loosen my DEI and antiracism focus a bit when more faculty members are open-minded, or when the US National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation are allowing more creativity in grants and when lab spaces become more inclusive. For now, there are some places where I will not give a talk because I don’t think they’re inclusive. My work isn’t going to change them; it has to come from a higher institutional level.”

Pictured: The application of indigenous wisdom?

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