Abstract
There is growing recognition in criminology and social work of the importance of Indigenous knowledges and methodologies. Yet to date, there have been limited attempts (particularly in criminology and criminal justice social work) to consider the theoretical and practice implications of Indigenous understandings and approaches to these disciplines. Both disciplines have also been slow to recognise the importance of understanding the way in which colonial effects are perpetuated through knowledge control, particularly in the operation of criminal justice systems.Our paper thus begins by examining the historical and institutional factors that have contributed to the continuing subjugation of Indigenous knowledges and methodologies. A discussion of the connections between the hegemony of Western science, the construction of race, and the colonial project follows. While herein Western and Indigenous approaches are conceptualised broadly, the dangers of over-simplifying these categories is also acknowledged. The paper proceeds by examining the distinctive character of each approach through a consideration of their ontological, epistemological, axiological, and methodological differences. Whilst acknowledging the considerable challenges which arise in any attempt to combine these differing world views, a pathway forward for understanding both theoretically and methodologically the relationship between Western and Indigenous approaches is proposed.
Highlights
For the past three decades the quest to better understand and respond to the extreme overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system has occupied criminologists and criminal justice social workers3 alike
We argue that understanding and responding to the extreme overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system demands a deeper appreciation and integration of Indigenous knowledges and methodologies, both in theory and in practice
Fundamental to the decolonisation of the criminal justice system is cognisance of the ways in which dominant epistemologies of Western knowledge production have perpetuated a belief in the superiority of Western knowledge systems, a process which has constructed the racialised inferiority of Indigenous peoples and their knowledge
Summary
For the past three decades the quest to better understand and respond to the extreme overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system has occupied criminologists and criminal justice social workers alike. A reflexive and engaged integration of postcolonial theory in both criminology and social work remains in its infancy Alongside these developments, the rapidly evolving field of Indigenous knowledges and methodologies has revealed the transformative and decolonising potential of Indigenous standpoints and perspectives. Fundamental to the decolonisation of the criminal justice system is cognisance of the ways in which dominant epistemologies of Western knowledge production have perpetuated a belief in the superiority of Western knowledge systems, a process which has constructed the racialised inferiority of Indigenous peoples and their knowledge. This is the focus of section two. The preceding points culminate in our concluding argument for a paradigmatic shift in criminal justice theory and practice with Indigenous peoples that makes central Indigenous standpoints, knowledges and methodologies that draws upon critical theoretical insights, and is rooted in a decolonised vision of justice
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