Date of Award

Summer 8-22-2025

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Open-Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Teaching

First Committee Advisor

Sara Lindsay

Second Committee Member

Tish Carr

Third Committee Member

Heather Falconer

Abstract

This thesis explores how Indigenous Knowledge and Western science can be braided together through the development of the Maine Rivers and Perspectives Toolkit. Using an autoethnographic approach, I reflect on my experiences as a non-Native educator working alongside Wabanaki communities and education partners across Maine. Over the course of an eighteen-month grant period, I engaged in a personal journey of unlearning many of the ideas I had been taught in Western science, and relearning by listening to and learning from Indigenous Knowledge. The toolkit is not a scripted curriculum, but a flexible resource designed to help educators, especially non-Native educators create science lessons that are thoughtful, respectful, and connected to the communities and places they serve. It is grounded in educational frameworks like Two-Eyed Seeing, Positive Youth Development, and Experiential Learning, and encourages a more reflective and inclusive approach to teaching. Through a series of personal stories and lesson design reflections, this thesis shares how each experience in the toolkit was shaped by real moments of learning with youth, Cultural Knowledge Sharers, and other educators. Rather than offering a perfect model, this work highlights the ongoing process of building relationships, asking hard questions, and rethinking what science education can look like when multiple knowledge systems are honored.

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