Eskasoni elder to receive lifetime achievement award

An elder from Eskasoni First Nation in Nova Scotia has been recognized for his decades of work to preserve Mi'kmaw culture, language and history.

Indspire, a national charity that invests in the education of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people, announced this week Elder Albert Marshall will receive a Lifetime Achievement award at its 30th award ceremony in June.

According to Indspire, Marshall is one of the co-creators of the two-eyed seeing guiding principle, known as etuaptmumk in Mi'kmaw, which seeks to combine Indigenous knowledge with other systems of thought.

Marshall said Saturday he was "overwhelmed" by the announcement and would accept it on behalf of all the people who have shared knowledge with him, especially his elders in "Eskasoni and elsewhere."

"I've been very fortunate to be able to be the best conduit for the knowledge that they have shared with me," Marshall said.

"I'm very encouraged that this is going to be taken up by the young people and they're going to take it a little further. So knowledge and language is in a good shape, in my humble opinion."

He and his late wife, Elder Murdena Marshall, toured the world to speak about the two-eyed principle "as a model for intercultural collaboration," Indspire said.

Marshall's principle has had a marked impact on the work of Shelley Denny, the director of aquatic research and stewardship at the Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources.

On Friday, Denny said Marshall's concept of two-eyed seeing is now applied in several different fields of study.

Marshall has been able to "articulate the concept that helps people understand the importance of having equality in the knowledge systems, in perspectives, and the respect that's required for moving forward," she said, allowing institutions in environmental stewardship, medicine and fisheries to apply the theory to their own disciplines.

She also noted his work in bringing recognition of the Mi'kmaq to the world outside of court cases and treaty disputes.

"His work, it's international," she added. "He's an innovator who's been able to communicate how he sees the best way that we can go forward to solve some of these environmental issues that we're having."

Marshall's work also extends to writing. In a children's book co-authored with Louise Zimanyi called Walking Together, he explained the concept of two-eyed seeing to youth.

Marshall said he wants to encourage children to sustain themselves, no matter what they do, without compromising the earth's health.

"Nature has rights, humans have responsibility," he said, previously.

You can watch the awards ceremony during National Indigenous History Month on CBC TV on June 18 and listen in on CBC Radio One at 8 p.m. AT.