The Potential of Animism as a Meta-Goal in Outdoor Education

: Informed by Canadian Indigenous Land-Based Pedagogy

Abstract

This study investigates the theoretical potential of introducing animism into outdoor education, originating from the observation that the term "therapy" is conspicuously absent in Canadian Indigenous Land-Based Pedagogy (LBP). Unlike Western outdoor therapies that often position nature as a passive resource for human healing, LBP operates on an Indigenous ontology—exemplified by the Nuu-chah-nulth concept of Tsawalk (everything is one)—where the land is viewed as kin and an active subject. Consequently, the subject-object duality inherent in the concept of "therapy" renders it inappropriate for describing this reciprocal relationship. By employing the framework of the "ontological turn" in anthropology, particularly the theories of Philippe Descola and Tim Ingold, this paper critiques Western naturalism and re-evaluates animism as a relational mode of being rather than a primitive belief system. The author proposes that fostering an animistic sensibility should become a "meta-goal" for outdoor education, serving as the foundational "ground" for practice rather than just a specific activity. To implement this in Japan without appropriating Indigenous culture, the study bridges LBP with local traditions of Shinbutsu-Shugo (Shinto-Buddhist syncretism) and Keiji Iwata’s anthropology of "passive animism." Iwata’s distinction between institutionalized religion and the experiential "Kami" (nature’s agency) provides a culturally relevant framework. The paper concludes that outdoor education should aim to cultivate a cycle between "sensory animism" (passive reception of nature) and "ethical animism" (active ecological responsibility). This approach offers a pathway to overcome modern dualism and address global environmental issues through a renewed, reciprocal relationship with the more-than-human world.