Land and Water Pedagogy in TESOL : Centering Indigenous Knowledges

Abstract The intersection of English Language Teaching (ELT), TESOL, and Indigenous knowledges is an important yet often neglected area of inquiry. This paper explores the importance of including Indigenous knowledges – specifically land and water pedagogies – in ELT, TESOL, and broader language education practices. Through duoethnographic inquiry, we – Indigenous language scholars (Gael and Ryukyuan) who teach English in Canada and Japan – reflect on experiences navigating colonial and neoliberal paradigms that reduce ELT to instrumental objectives while marginalizing local and Indigenous knowledge systems. Drawing on Indigenous relational frameworks, we introduce land and water pedagogy as an additive, place‐based teaching approach that centers Indigenous knowledges, such as traditional ecological knowledge, linguistically unique medicinal knowledge, and Indigenous concepts and place names. The study illustrates how recognizing land and ocean as teachers can connect students to surrounding environments, deepen understandings of local histories, struggles, and ecological relationships, and challenge harmful ideologies, such as native‐speakerism and colonialingualism. Our findings highlight three themes: (1) the importance of Indigenous knowledges in ELT and TESOL for relational learning; (2) coloniality in institutions and the mind; and (3) the transformative potential of land and water pedagogies to reconnect students with place, culture, and ecological systems. We discuss implications for TESOL practice, showing how centering Indigenous knowledges can support more inclusive, equitable, and ecologically accountable language education and contribute to global efforts for decolonization, reconciliation, and ecological justice. We conclude with recommendations for educators, teacher educators, and decision‐makers: relational accountability and critical self‐reflexivity; decolonizing language teacher education; ecoliteracy in ELT and TESOL; and cultivating a “rooted self.”