Native Epistemology and Embodied Cognitive Theory

In this chapter, I delve into the intersection of phenomenological embodiment and embodied cognition as developed by Mark Johnson and George Lakoff to help set up the frame that I construct to demonstrate the philosophical relationship between dance and Native American ways of knowing. This partnership elucidates how meaning is embodied, as both frameworks are grounded in experiential, phenomenological approaches to knowledge. This blending of Native American epistemology and an embodied cognitive theory of meaning helps to flesh out my claim that metaphorical knowledge lends itself to an analysis of procedural knowledge. Using pivotal Native American knowing practices, I will show that metaphorical knowledge is not merely expressive; it is a function of Truth insofar as it is lived truth.

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