Indigenous Geographies

Abstract

In this chapter we explore decolonizing methodologies through an examination of research approaches to Indigenous environmental geographies. Such approaches disrupt, resist, and challenge Western research hegemony. We note increasing numbers of opportunities for Indigenous research, including within ‘mainstream’ (and well-funded) research programs, and outline specific research techniques, particularly qualitative techniques, currently being employed by Indigenous researchers and research partners. Potential challenges and issues are considered, especially in regard to processes and efforts to co-design and co-produce research projects and outcomes. We first examine how Indigenous worldviews, values, and beliefs underpin Indigenous research ethics and methodologies. Second, we summarize the development of Indigenous research paradigms and frameworks, and the interface between Indigenous and non-Indigenous research frameworks. Next, we explore how Indigenous scholars (and their partners) around the globe are adjusting old and creating new research methods to fit their different socio-cultural contexts. Lastly, we examine how Indigenous modes of interviewing advance Indigenous peoples’ knowledge, values, connectivity, and ways of relating to different places and phenomena in ways that seek to decolonize environmental narratives.