Chikashshaat Asilhlhat Holissochi (Chickasaws Are Asking and Writing): Enacting Indigenous Protocols in Academic Research and Writing

Abstract

As Chikashsha (Chickasaw) scholars and Chikashshanompa' shaali' (Chickasaw language learners/carriers), we utilize a dialogic and autoethnographic approach to explore the continuance between ancestral and community protocols for research. An account of the Chickasaw Nation's language revitalization efforts is followed by a discussion of how Indigenous scholars engage in the writing of Indigenous research, with an emphasis on writing about language and culture revitalization. Focusing on our experiences writing our master's theses and doctoral dissertations, we discuss how we enacted Chikashsha asilhlha (asking in a Chickasaw way) and Chikashsha holissochi (writing in a Chikashsha way). Arguing that Indigenous research methodologies should account for all stages of the research process, including writing for dissemination, we contribute to a growing body of scholarship that centers Indigenous protocols for sharing knowledge and has important implications for researchers who work at the nexus of academic institutions and communities.