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FACE TO FACE
Nourishing a Science for the 21st Century: An Interview with Rose von Thater-Braan

PEGASUS CONFERENCE CORNER
Spotlight on Concurrent Sessions

LEARNING LINKS
Viewpoint: I Am Your New Neighbor  

FACE TO FACE
An Interview with Rose von Thater-Braan:
Nourishing a Science for the 21st Century

Rose von Thater-Braan (Tuscarora/Cherokee) is cofounder of the Native American Academy, a network of Native and non-Native people engaged in the study of Native science. She served as the director of education at UC Berkeley’s Center for Particle Astrophysics for 11 years.

Rose, along with Leroy Little Bear and Amethyst First Rider of the Native Science Academy, will illuminate the value of relationship at the heart of the Native world view in a keynote presentation at the 2005 Pegasus Conference (learn more). In the following interview with Leverage Points editor Vicky Schubert, Rose shares her perspective on the possibilities for a way of knowing that embraces both Native and western principles.

LP Your work and training have given you an understanding of both western and Native science paradigms. Is there an easy way to describe the fundamental differences between these two ways of knowing?

RvT-B My work in western science has focused on the culture of the scientific community and the profound influence of western science in the world. Western and Native science have two distinctly different ways of seeing and of being in the world—both are valid and important. In the western scientific method—which, as you know, is only a few centuries old—scientists use mathematics to describe subjects as large and complex as the essence of the dark matter in the universe. By fragmenting the subject into pieces which they study with depth and passion they discover principles which they extrapolate to the whole.

Native science is the knowledge held by Indigenous people around the world that has been gathered adapted, refined, and transmitted following precise protocols, traditions, and values maintained since pre-history. It is a dynamic, inclusive knowledge which, like western science, gives rise to new technologies. The core of Native science is relationship which reflects itself in our way of being in the world; we concern ourselves with the interdependencies and relationships that make up the whole. We are not looking for a single solution or a comprehensive answer or application. We observe, experiment, study, and enact how the knowledge which emerges from relationship and the actions we take influence and impact the harmony and balance of the creation of which we are a part and to which we belong.

If you bring those divergent world views into relationship, the discourse between the two holds the potential for a paradigmatic shift and the emergence of a new kind of science: A science of the 21st century.

Read the complete interview

Learn more about the 2005 Pegasus Conference

PEGASUS CONFERENCE CORNER
15th Annual Pegasus Conference
Embracing Interdependence: Effective and Responsible Action in Our Organizations and the World
San Francisco, California, November 14–16, 2005

Spotlight on Concurrent Sessions
Concurrent sessions allow you to select a mix of skill building and case-study options tailored to your own needs—Register by October 31 to Save $200!

In addition to exploring the broader topics featured in our keynote and forum presentations, you will have the opportunity to drill down into specific applications of systems principles and learning tools by choosing from among 24 diverse concurrent sessions. These are formatted either as skill-building workshops or case studies that allow you to start where you are and address your most critical learning gaps.

Skill-building workshops offer practical, hands-on tools for leveraging the interdependencies in your organizations and beyond through disciplines such as systems thinking, leadership, communities of learning, and conversational practices. Examples include:

• Introduction to Systems Thinking, Parts I and II, with Ginny Wiley
• Going Deeper with Systems Archetypes, with Michael Goodman
• “Once Upon a Time”: Using Storytelling to Spark Strategic Action, with Charles Alday, Michelle Boos-Stone, and Craig Watson
• Living in the Question: A Path Toward Personal Mastery, with Sarita Chawla and Ken Murphy
• Professional Learning Communities: Raising Student Achievement Through Collective Inquiry, with Les Adelson and Ellen Dougherty
• Igniting the Spirit of Interdependence at Philips Electronics, with Gerard Harkin and Evan Root

Case Studies give you a look at how other organizations are using systemic tools to take more effective and responsible action, and offer insight into how you might apply those skills in your own setting. Examples include:

• The Nuts and Bolts of Transformational Change: Building New Capacities in Ford’s IT Activity, with Jeremy Seligman and Shelia Covert-Weiss
• Creating the Future Together at Bassett Healthcare, with Sara Albright and Carolyn J.C. Thompson
• “Getting Better Together” to Leave No Child Behind in the Pekin 108 (Illinois) School District, with Lynda Irvin and Don White
• Realigning with Society: A Tobacco Company’s Long Journey Forward, with Howard Willard, Stacey Smith, and Juanita Brown
• Systems Thinking for the Public Good: The CDC’s Diabetes Modeling Effort, with Drew Jones
• Gaining Traction on Complex Issues: Systems Thinking in Developing Countries, with David Stroh and Jim Ritchie-Dunham

Learn more about these and other session options at the conference website. The final discounted registration rate expires at the end of this month. Act by October 31 to save $200 off the full registration rate and open the door to an unparalleled learning opportunity.

Final Conference Brochure—Now Available!

Download a copy of the final brochure for the 2005 Pegasus Conference. Find out about the exciting sessions and dynamic presenters, along with the many learning opportunities designed to build your skills and give you the inspiration to face the challenges that lie ahead.

Register by October 31 to Save $200
Register through October 31 for only $1395 (a $200 savings!). When you register, get a special subscription price for The Systems Thinker Newsletter—only $89 for a one-year subscription (regularly $109). Register on our web site, or call 1-800-272-0945. Significant team discounts are available for groups of 4 or more. Call Vicky at 1-781-398-9700, or email info@pegasuscom.com for details!

LEARNING LINKS
Viewpoint: I Am Your New Neighbor
by Rod Williams

I have moved to everyone’s neighborhood. No, I am not talking about my spate of real-estate acquisitions or my newfound mastery of time and space. What I mean is that the reach of my thoughts and actions has never been greater and their capacity to affect the world never more profound. The ways I choose to live and work have an impact on the ways others live and work, not just down the block but across the planet. I toss a stone into the water, and the ripples race away beyond my horizon for parts unknown, carrying unknowable consequences.

Well, I wish that were true, anyway…. Like many others, I can no longer plead ignorance or pretend surprise when the trash I throw over my fence (figuratively, of course) lands in my neighbor’s backyard and poisons their dog, or worse. Even my best intentions can have disastrous unintended consequences far removed from where I stand. Am I still responsible, even if I can’t immediately see over the horizon?

I think the only honest answer is “yes.” It is my responsibility to continually seek to extend my vision, to see further. Doing so requires a sort of personal moral discipline, i.e., an intention to keep awake that sense of responsibility for knowing, as best I can, and caring about the effects of my choices on others. Once I know, then I can act, not hysterically, wildly, or compulsively, but with concern, forethought, and a willingness to make adjustments according to the results I get.

Needless to say, I discover many “horizons” right under my nose; sometimes we’re most ignorant about the things that are closest to us. At work, my blind spots often are related to use of resources—cash, people, and ideas— and affect the success of our efforts and the well-being of the people involved. Some examples include launching into a new project without enough preparation, causing an almost completed one to founder; not coordinating the availability of talent with when that talent will be needed; letting functional silos develop and persist; focusing too much on short-term firefighting and not enough on long-range direction and vision; and working harder and longer, but not smarter. Many such problems arise from not fully recognizing the interdependencies inherent in the system.

Read the complete article or see The Systems Thinker, V16N6 (August 2005)

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