Insights from Indigenous and Western ways of knowing can improve how we understand, manage, and restore complex freshwater social–ecological systems. While many frameworks exist, specific methods to guide researchers and practitioners in bringing Indigenous and Western knowledge systems together in a ‘good way’ are harder to find. A scoping review of academic and grey literature yielded 138 sources, from which data were extracted using two novel frameworks. The EAUX (Equity, Access, Usability, and eXchange) framework, with a water-themed acronym, summarizes important principles when braiding knowledge systems. These principles demonstrate the importance of recognizing Indigenous collaborators as equal partners, honouring data sovereignty, centring Indigenous benefits, and prioritizing relationships. The A-to-A (Axiology and Ontology, Epistemology and Methodology, Data Gathering, Analysis and Synthesis, and Application) framework organizes methods for braiding knowledge systems at different stages of a project. Methods are also presented using themes: open your mind to different values and worldviews; prioritize relationships with collaborators (human and other-than-human); recognize that different ways of regarding the natural world are valid; and remember that each Indigenous partner is unique. Appropriate principles and practices are context-dependent, so collaborators must listen carefully and with an open mind to identify braiding methods that are best for the project.

Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS2) guides knowledge production and dissemination in Canada. While it is intended to protect vulnerable populations from harm, it fails to consider Anishinaabe worldviews and, by extension, to effectively direct ethical water research with aquatic plant life. Using Anishinaabe oral testimony and oral stories, Niisaachewan Anishinaabe Nation (NAN) and the University of Guelph (UofG) co-developed a culturally sensitive field protocol to respect Manomin (Wild Rice) as an other-than-human being and guide research into Manomin restoration. By illuminating key directives from NAN, this article showcases the limitations of institutional ethics in Canada. It concludes with recommendations to broaden TCPS2 to better address Anishinaabe teachings about plant and animal relations, but ultimately challenges institutional Research Ethics Boards (REBs) to relinquish control and respect Indigenous Nations’ right to govern research within their territories.