Considering Ecological Métissage: To Blend or Not to Blend?

This article reports on a study that examined the ecological identities and philosophies of Canadian experiential environmental educators who incorporate Western and Indigenous traditions into their pedagogical praxis. Guided by the overarching question, “Can Western and Indigenous knowledge of the natural world be blended theoretically and in practice?” notable findings include the clarification of the relationship between Western and Indigenous knowledge and philosophies of Nature as one with the potential for bricolage (integration) but not absolute métissage (blending) unless Western perspectives other than science, such as deep ecology and bioregionalism, are also considered.