Congratulations to the Two-Eyed Seeing Program on receiving NSERC PromoScience funding for a fourth three-year term and marking its 10th anniversary!
The Two-Eyed Seeing (TES) Program is made possible through a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s (NSERC) PromoScience Program. The TES program is currently led by MSVU English Professor Dr. Krista Collier-Jarvis (who is Mi’kmaw), in partnership with communities. Cheyenne Hardy is the Program and Communications Coordinator.
With guidance from Elders, Knowledge Keepers, community partners, and academic researchers, the program co-creates learning opportunities in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) with and for Mi’kmaw youth in Mi’kma’ki. Two-Eyed Seeing (Etuaptmumk in Mi’kmaq), refers to seeing the world through Indigenous and Western perspectives, together.
It’s a guiding principle for relationship building, co-learning, and integrative science, translated by Mi’kmaq Elders and academics (Dr. Cheryl Bartlett, Elders Albert and Murdena Marshall) from Unama’ki (Cape Breton, Nova Scotia). It shapes every aspect of the Two-Eyed Seeing Program, including communication, curriculum development, delivery, and evaluation.
The program started as a pilot in 2017 through a grant obtained by three MSVU faculty (Dr. Tamara Franz-Odendaal, Dr. Danielle Cox and Dr. Shannan Grant) and former MSVU staff member, Art Stevens. Ten years later, the list of sessions delivered is extensive and includes highlights such as:
The Voice of the Drum activity. Originally developed in 2018 by Florence Blackett and former program staff, with the support of program mentors, including leadership team member Velvet Paul, Education Director Sipekne’katik First Nation, and Mount Saint Vincent University Faculty, this activity married Western teachings in physics with traditional knowledge and teachings about the drum.- A new mural in the MSVU Library (2025) called Weligwet, which draws on Mi’kmaq visual traditions to explore identity, growth, and interconnection (an initiative also supported by the President’s Fund—Special Projects Program). The Two-Eyed Seeing Program partnered with Mi’kmaw artist Jessica Jerome and 14-year-old student artist Grace Campbell-Leblanc on the project. Alongside Krista and Cheyenne, they created a large mural that now serves as a permanent installation in the MSVU Library. The mural depicts a woman whose braid transforms into a tree, its roots, trunk, and branches wrapping around her. She represents the vital roles of women in Mi’kmaw traditions, bridging past and future.
A 2023 partnership with the MSVU Art Gallery where Indigenous youth hosted their very own art exhibit. This exhibit showcased boats that they built from scratch and painted, with the support of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Alan Syliboy, program staff and the TES program leadership team. It also showcased the Two Eyed Seeing Program logo, co-created by Grace Berry, proud member of Wasoqopa’q (Acadia) First Nation and Gerald Gloade, artist, educator, and long-term program mentor.
Thank you to Dr. Collier-Jarvis for her work in securing renewed funding, and to NSERC for their continued support of this excellent program.
To learn more about the Two-Eyed Seeing Program, email TESProgram@msvu.ca or visit the TES Program website.