Decolonizing Research Practice

Author(s):  
Michael Evans ◽  
Adrian Miller ◽  
Peter J. Hutchinson ◽  
Carlene Dingwall

Indigenous approaches to research are fundamentally rooted in the traditions and knowledge systems of Indigenous peoples themselves, although Indigenous methodologies and methods have become both systems for generating knowledge and ways of responding to the processes of colonization. Very specific Indigenous methods emerge from language, culture, and worldview. This chapter describes two such Indigenous research approaches drawn from the work of two Indigenous scholars with their communities in Australia and Canada. Although creative and new, these approaches draw deeply from their communities and thus express and enact traditional knowledge systems in contemporary terms. This approach may result in more pertinent research, better take-up and dissemination of research results, and a general improvement in the situations of Indigenous communities and peoples.

Author(s):  
Michael Evans ◽  
Adrian Miller ◽  
Peter J. Hutchinson ◽  
Carlene Dingwall

Indigenous approaches to research are fundamentally rooted in the traditions and knowledge systems of indigenous peoples themselves, although indigenous methodologies and methods have become both systems for generating knowledge and ways of responding to the processes of colonization. Very specific indigenous methods emerge from language, culture, and worldview. This chapter describes two such indigenous research approaches drawn from the work of two indigenous scholars with their communities in Australia and Canada. Although creative and new, these approaches draw deeply from their communities and thus express and enact traditional knowledge systems in contemporary terms. This approach may result in more pertinent research, better take-up and dissemination of research results, and a general improvement in the situations of indigenous communities and peoples.


2005 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 86-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Graham

AbstractThis paper explores the notion of whakapapa as providing a legitimate research framework for engaging in research with Māori communities. By exploring the tradition and meaning of whakapapa, the paper will legitimate how whakapapa and an understanding of whakapapa can be used by Māori researchers working among Māori communities. Therefore, emphasis is placed on a research methodology framed by whakapapa that not only authenticates Māori epistemology in comparison with Western traditions, but that also supports the notion of a whakapapa research methodology being transplanted across the Indigenous world; Indigenous peoples researching among their Indigenous communities. Consequently, Indigenous identity is strengthened as is the contribution of the concept of whakapapa to Indigenous research paradigms worldwide.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
T’łat’łaḵuł Patricia Rosborough ◽  
čuucqa Layla Rorick

The authors’ respective experiences as Indigenous people, scholars, language activists, and Kwak’wala (Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw/Kwakiutl language) and ḥiḥiškʷiiʔatḥa (Hesquiaht dialect of the Nuu-chah-nulth/Nootka language) adult language learners and teachers are discussed in relation to the literature on spirituality and the supernatural. Using dialogic and autoethnographical voices, the authors highlight the long-term effects of metaphysical interaction on learning, as well as acknowledging its role in Indigenous research as a foundational and continuous part of Indigenous search for knowledge. Indigenous cultural principles and the narrative research practice of Indigenous scholars guide the authors in drawing on the traditions of teaching through story, centering relationships, and practicing reciprocity in the context of where Indigenous researchers stand in continual relationship to their Indigenous communities.


First Monday ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Reijerkerk

At the center of the evolving debates of open access and intellectual property in memory institutions is a long history of excluding Indigenous Peoples from conversations concerning the access and use rights to their belongings. In recent decades many memory institutions challenged prevalent historical and current classifications of Indigenous Peoples in online catalog records. Most recently the Library of Congress (LC) adopted a new cataloging practice called Traditional Knowledge (TK) labeling as a way to return control over access and use of Indigenous materials to their rightful Indigenous owners. The advent of this emergent digital rights tool disrupts previously held assumptions about the purpose of rights statements in catalog records as well as challenges the existing balance between the rights of Indigenous communities and the interests of public access. The adoption of TK Labels in the LC’s “Ancestral Voices” digital collection brings serious practical implementation issues to light that deserve further consideration before memory institutions invest in this new digital access rights metadata standard. Although TK Labels are a technological opportunity that provide more space for community-based relationships within memory institutions, this paper suggests that the practical implementation of TK Labels in Ancestral Voices falls short of its promise to return authority to the Passamaquoddy people. Rather, TK Labels raise more logistical and technical questions about the effectiveness of the TK labeling framework and purpose of re-cataloging records describing Indigenous materials.


2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Kamau Maina

AbstractAn ongoing debate on the protection of traditional knowledge was prompted by the United Nations General Assembly declaration of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples in 1995 and the declaration of the Second International Decade in 2004. These two declarations challenged governments and the international community to address, nationally and internationally, issues that affect indigenous communities. One such issue is the protection of traditional knowledge. The three key international multilateral forums that are debating traditional knowledge issues are the World Intellectual Property Organization, the World Trade Organization, and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Using a political economy framework, this study analyzes the policymaking processes and mandates of the three multilateral forums in order to highlight stakeholders' levels of involvement in these processes. The study found that the multilateral forums' power structures, mandates, and decision-making processes disadvantage indigenous peoples and hinder their full participation in the forums' processes. The study recommends establishing a forum that would take into account indigenous peoples' worldviews; otherwise policy outcomes from these discussions will probably disadvantage indigenous peoples.


Author(s):  
Deborah McGregor

In Canada, the water crisis increasingly felt around the world is being experienced primarily in small, usually Indigenous, communities. At the heart of this issue lies an ongoing struggle to have Indigenous voices heard in the decision-making processes that affect their lives, lands, and waters. As part of ancient systems of Traditional Knowledge (TK), Indigenous people bear the knowledge and the responsibility to care for the waters upon which they depend for survival. A series of internationally developed documents has supported Indigenous peoples’ calls for increased recognition of the importance of TK in resolving environmental crises, including those involving water. Ontario provincial and Canadian federal governments have been developing legislative and regulatory documents to help fend off further water-related catastrophes within their jurisdictions. Despite such efforts, a number of barriers to the successful and appropriate involvement of TK in water management remain. Based on years of community-based and policy-related research with First Nations people involved in water-related undertakings, this article highlights progress made to date, and provides Indigenous viewpoints on what further steps need to be taken. Key among these steps are the need to restore and maintain Indigenous access to traditional territories and ways of life, and the requirement for mutually respectful collaboration between TK and Western science.


Author(s):  
Julie Maldonado ◽  
T. M. Bull Bennett ◽  
Karletta Chief ◽  
Patricia Cochran ◽  
Karen Cozzetto ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Julian A Robbins ◽  
Jonathan Dewar

Traditional Indigenous Approaches to Healing and the modern welfare of Traditional Knowledge, Spirituality and Lands: A critical reflection on practices and policies taken from the Canadian Indigenous Example In order for traditional knowledge to be maintained and to develop, it has to be practiced. Traditional healing provides a vehicle for this to occur. In Canada, the spiritual revitalization of Indigenous communities and individuals often involves the use numerous components of traditional healing. These elements are reflected most clearly at the grassroots level, however, current Indigenous programs delivered by Indigenous and governmental agencies have made some accommodating efforts as well. Perhaps most importantly, traditional knowledge and Indigenous spirituality hinges on the maintenance and renewal of relationships to the land. Indigenous land bases and the environment as a whole remain vitally important to the practice of traditional healing. A focus on Indigenous healing, when discussing Indigenous knowledge systems and spirituality, is paramount today due to the large scale suppression of Indigenous cultural expressions during the process of colonization. With respect to policy, there appears to be a historical progression of perception or attitude towards Indigenous traditional healing in Canada from one of disfavour to one favour. There are nevertheless continuing challenges for traditional healing. Mainstream perceptions and subsequent policy implementations sometimes still reflect attitudes that were formulated during the decline of traditional healing practice during colonization processes. As a consequence the ability for particular communities to maintain and use their specific understandings of Indigenous knowledge continues encounter obstacles. Indigenous Knowledge systems are living entities and not relics of the past. Today, these knowledge systems are still greatly being applied to help Indigenous communities and Indigenous people recover from intergenerational pain and suffering endured during the colonization process. Future policy development and implementation should aim to support Indigenous peoples and communities when they decide to learn about, maintain and build upon the knowledge amassed by their ancestors.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 256-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Wilson

Essential to Indigenous research students’ development is their preparation to undertake Indigenous research with an appropriate Indigenous approach. Preparing Indigenous students to conduct research with Indigenous communities requires their adequate and proper preparation, although this does not always happen. Getting the research story right is key to better understanding the persistent, complex and multidimensional inequities in the access, use and quality of health services Indigenous peoples face. Successful preparation of Indigenous students is contingent on quality student–supervisor relationships. The literature indicates that Indigenous student supervision undertaken by non-Indigenous supervisors can be hindered. Two vignettes demonstrate problems with cross-cultural supervision of Indigenous research students’ experiences. An examination of cross-cultural supervision practices highlights the need to prepare Indigenous students in Indigenous research methodologies to optimise outcomes to reflect Indigenous peoples’ realities. Following an overview of approaches to undertake research with Indigenous people, strategies to support cross-cultural supervision are suggested.


Author(s):  
Michelle Pidgeon ◽  
Tasha Riley

Indigenous research methodologies articulate how researchers and Aboriginal communities engage in research together. These methodologies are informed by Indigenous cultural and ethical frameworks specific to the Nations with whom the research is being conducted. This study explores how such research relationships were articulated in the dissemination phase of research. We carried out an Indigenous qualitative content analysis of 79 peer-reviewed articles published January 1996 to June 2018, predominantly in the fields of social sciences. Our findings show that most articles were written by Indigenous researchers or a research team composed of Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers. Such collaborations articulated the principles of Indigenous methodology (IM) much clearer than those authored by non-Indigenous scholars or when partnerships with Indigenous communities were less evident with respect to the principles guiding the research process. The principles of IM that were manifest in these research partnerships were relevance, respect for Indigenous knowledges, responsible relationships, wholism, and Indigenous ethics. The findings of this study will help to guide future researchers who work with Indigenous peoples, especially with respect to the need for a deeper understanding of how such research relationships are sustained over time to bring about  meaningful change for Indigenous peoples and their communities.


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