Indigenous Ways of Knowing: Dr. Leroy Little Bear

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

Support the mission of SAND and the production of this podcast by becoming a SAND Member