Indigenous Research Methods

Abstract

AbstractHótȟaŋiŋpimeans “rising voices” in Lakota, the language spoken by many from the Lakota Sioux Tribe, located in what is now South Dakota. In this entry, the voices of Indigenous peoples are centered and amplified, so that as readers/listeners, we can begin to understand how we might take our place in the stories of knowledge co‐creation with Indigenous peoples. Health communication researchers and practitioners are always seeking to better connect with audiences and communities in order to find ways that communication can enhance health. This entry offers a glimpse into the power of storytelling as a framework for methodology as well as a way of co‐constructing meaning from lived experiences. Indigenous research methods do not follow the linear, prescriptive pattern of westernized knowledge creation; rather, they emerge from relationships where Indigenous ways of knowing are adopted. Whether you are new to Indigenous research methods, or are already engaged with them, this entry also challenges us to further interrogate the individual and systemic ways that our research, and the larger scholarly community, undermine, erase, or ignore Indigenous ways of knowing and being. As Stó:lō scholar Q'um Q'um Xiiem puts it, “My dear ones, our work is about to begin.”