EP21: Critical Indigenous fish philosophy and Indigenous Re-Sturgeon-ce with Dr. Zoe Todd

In this episode, Heather Castleden and guest host Carey Newman chat with Zoe Todd about Indigenous planetary health from the perspectives of fish. Zoe discusses how through critical Indigenous fish philosophy, we can view fish as more than human beings with whom we have a diplomatic responsibility. They discuss how every Nation across so called Canada has a wealth of knowledge and protocols for how to be in good relation with fish. As a species that has survived multiple mass extinctions, we have a lot to learn from fish. The discussion turns to gender and sexuality and particle physics. What may seem like a tangent, Zoe explains what light refraction, seeing through the eyes of fish, has to do with expansive understandings about gender.   Western sciences are realizing more and more what Indigenous peoples have known for a long time: Everything is interrelated.

Zoe Todd is Red River Métis and a practice-led artist researcher who studies the relationships between Indigenous sovereignty and freshwater fish futures in Canada. They are an Associate Professor in the Department of Indigenous Studies at Simon Fraser University, and the co-founder of the Institute for Freshwater Fish Futures, which is a collaborative Indigenous-led initiative that is re-storying fish futures together across three continents. In 2020, she was elected to the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists.

This podcast is created by the Impact Chair in Transformative Governance for Planetary Health at the University of Victoria, with production from Cited Media. We are supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Researchand the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. You can find us at https://indigenousplanetaryhealth.ca/


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About the Podcast

We’re burning down our house, and we’re in for nasty weather. But Indigenous peoples have ideas for planetary resurgence and restoration. Professors Heather Castleden and Hōkūlani Aikau bring you conversations with artists, activists, scholars, and other knowledge keepers tackling the climate crisis.

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