Indigenous Research Methodologies Research Articles

Integration of Indigenous Research Methodologies, Traditional Ecological Knowledge and molecular scatology in an assessment of mesocarnivore presence, diet and habitat use on Yurok Ancestral Lands.

Partnerships between Tribes and researchers in wildlife monitoring and application of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) have taken a variety of forms, and some scholars have noted a need for culturally sensitive approaches. Guided by Indigenous Research Methodologies, this research is coupled with Yurok TEK, or hlkelonah 'ue-megetohl ('to take care of the earth'), enabling an applied, culturally sensitive approach in partnership with the Yurok Tribe. We present results from a molecular scatology study of wildlife within the ancestral territory of the Yurok Tribe. Scats were collected opportunistically on road transects. All samples (N = 132) were analysed via DNA barcoding and results matched to documented 'Oohl 'we-toh (Yurok language) names to determine the depositor species (N = 8). Though there were four focal mesocarnivore species in our study, only bobcat (Chmuuek; Lynx rufus) and gray fox (Wergers; Urocyon cinereoargenteus) were detected as depositor species. Post hoc analyses were conducted to explore distribution, habitat use and selection in a use-availability context, and food habits of these two species. We found almost complete separation of bobcat and gray fox use of transects, as well as indication of partitioning of vegetation cover types and food. We demonstrate an integrated framework of Western and Indigenous sciences that allows the Indigenous researcher to transcend structured academic disciplinary boundaries. Our approach can be modified for partnerships between Tribes, agencies, academics and students for wildlife monitoring in broader geographic regions in various research applications.

APRD: action partnership research design: reimagining the role of the user in library and information science research

PurposeResponding to the continuing separation of participants and researchers in LIS participatory research, a new methodology is proposed: action partnership research design (APRD). It is asserted that APRD can mitigate or remove the hierarchical structures often inherent in the research process, thus allowing for equal contribution from all.Design/methodology/approachBuilding on the bonded design (BD) methodology and informed by a scoping literature review conducted by the same authors, APRD is a human-centered research approach with the goal of empowering and valuing community partnerships. APRD originates from research investigating the use of participatory design methods to foster collaboration between two potentially disparate groups, firstly with adult researchers/designers and elementary school children, and secondly with university faculty and IT professionals.FindingsTo achieve this goal, in addition to BD techniques, APRD draws inspiration from elements of indigenous and decolonization research methodologies, particularly those with an emphasis on destabilizing power hierarchies and involving research participants as full partners.Originality/value APRD, which emerged from findings from previous participatory design studies, especially those of BD, is based on the premise of partnership, recognizing that each member of a design team, whether researcher or participant/user, has unique expertise to contribute. By considering participants/users as full research partners, APRD aims to flatten the hierarchies exhibited in some LIS participatory research methodologies, where participants are treated more like research subjects than partners.

Positionality, relationality, place, and land: Considerations for ethical research with communities

Attention to researcher positionality is an important component of qualitative research, particularly in research done with and for communities. However, discussions of researcher positionality are often limited in that they narrowly focus on positionality with respect to human research participants and whether the researcher is an insider or outsider. In this article, I build with the contributions of Indigenous scholarship to make a methodological argument for broadening our notions of positionality to consider relationality with respect to place and land. Relationality is a core tenet across many Indigenous epistemologies and research methodologies, and refers to the interconnected and mutually constitutive relationships between people and land. I argue that building and participating in relationships with land—as a core methodological consideration in qualitative research—can catalyze new possibilities for ethical research in which researchers are answerable to complex social and ecological relations in the places where they live and work.

Aa Norf’k Wieh: a pacific epistemology for reconceptualising heritage management in Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area, Norfolk Island

ABSTRACT Informed by critical heritage studies, Pacific theory-building scholarship and Indigenous research methodologies, this article introduces Aa Norf’k Wieh – a Pitcairn descendant epistemology for understanding the experience and management of living heritage in Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area (KAVHA), Norfolk Island. Central to Aa Norf’k Wieh is storytelling, reflecting the oral traditions of Pitkern-Norf’k. Aa Norf’k Wieh is captured in the article through the Indigenous research methodology of storywork, with personal family narratives revealing different ways of knowing, being, feeling, and doing heritage. Based on the storying of Aa Norf’k Wieh, the article proposes that, as a Pacific epistemic practice, Aa Norf’k Wieh has the potential to reconfigure how heritage value is understood by heritage managers, consultants, and scholars to produce more culturally just heritage management for KAVHA. The article posits that attention to this epistemology supports a shift from material- and values-based approaches to heritage management on Norfolk Island to a living heritage approach that centres Pitcairner descendants as the core community of KAVHA.

Lifelong Educational and Decolonization Programs for the Batwa Indigenous People of Southwestern Uganda

This article is based on a study conducted among the Batwa Indigenous people in southwestern Uganda between 2021 and 2022. The study aimed to explore culturally relevant lifelong education and decolonization programs for the Batwa people. Using indigenous research methodology, 60 participants comprising of elders, parents, children and teachers were recruited from the Batwa community for the study. We used Egalitarian liberalism and justice in education (ELJE) theory as analytical framework. Key findings demonstrate that participants were conscious of the challenges faced by their community and collectively brainstormed practical redress measures. These measures include but are not limited to setting up an entrepreneurship education program, vocational and skilling programs, and promotion of Rutwa language. Besides, some specific Batwa life skills identified by participants are briefly described as imperative for integration in the schooling system to achieve the decolonization mission

Aulukluki neqkat: Centering care of salmon and relational research in Indigenous fisheries in the Kuskokwim River, Alaska

This Indigenous-led project aims to better understand historical and contemporary ways in which Alaska Native Peoples steward salmon and the values connected to salmon stewardship. Indigenous Peoples have stewarded Alaska lands and waters for thousands of years yet have been largely excluded from western science and management systems. In this project we utilize a participatory approach that allows for the equitable valuing of ideas and knowledges to document the breadth and depth of Yup’ik and Athabascan knowledge and governance systems in southwestern Alaska. We reshape research methodologies by centering Indigenous frameworks and research methodologies including circle dialogues and multi-generational interviews led by Indigenous scholars and students in their home communities and regions. In this paper, we share the Yup’ik and Athabascan values, knowledge, management, and governance mechanisms that can improve the long-term sustainability and equity of Alaska salmon systems. This research elevates the voices of Alaska Native salmon stewards and experts from the Kuskokwim Bay and the Kuskokwim River. We elaborate on five key themes that emerged from this research including: traditional Indigenous ways of life, Indigenous stewardship, self-determination, food and livelihood sovereignty, and ecosystem changes, and identify a more equitable and sustainable path forward for salmon and people in Alaska.

Indigenous Relational Methodologies and Archives

Abstract: Drawing upon personal archive stories in Canada and England, this article adds to the growing body of Indigenous scholarship that considers the practices and experiences of archival research. Archive stories open reflection on practical and theoretical issues that arise around issues of access, privilege, ownership, framing, and mediation, particularly in settler archival spaces. Drawing upon the work of Deyohahá:ge: Indigenous Knowledge Centre and other IKCs, I consider the implications of Anishinaabeg ethics of relation and Haudenosaunee Two Row research methodology for approaches to archival research that attend to sets of relations within and beyond the archive. Settler archives are fraught sites of relation that can require careful negotiation, but Indigenous research methodologies can facilitate archival interpolation and, ultimately, open them up for Indigenous peoples to better access their knowledges and histories.

Addressing the need for Indigenous-specific PROMs and PREMS: A focus on methodology.

Differences in Indigenous worldviews, practices and values highlight the need for Indigenous-specific health quality indicators, such as patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and patient-reported experience measures (PREMs). The purpose of this paper is to present our methodology, as part of a larger study that sought to develop a framework for creating Indigenous-specific PROMs and PREMs. The research design was informed by Indigenous research methodology and a community-based participatory approach. It had three core components: (1) a literature exploration of existing Indigenous-specific PROMs and PREMs; (2) interviews with researchers with expertise in PROMs and PREMs developed for Indigenous populations and community leaders interested in using these Indigenous-informed evaluation tools; and (3) conversations with Indigenous community members about their experiences with health surveys. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim; transcripts were analyzed qualitatively using an inductive and deductive approach. Themes and sub-themes were identified to build a framework that honours Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing. Results were validated with select research participants and the Project Advisory Committee. Findings demonstrate how relationship building is the necessary starting point for engagement when developing survey instruments with Indigenous peoples. Engagement requires respectful collaboration through all stages of the project from determining what questions are asked to how the information will be collected, interpreted, and managed. A relational stance requires responsibility to Indigenous communities and peoples that goes beyond research carried out using a western scientific lens. It means ensuring that the project is beneficial to the community and framing questions based on Indigenous knowledge, worldviews, and community involvement. This study employed a collaborative, participatory qualitative approach to develop a framework for creating PROMs and PREMs with Indigenous peoples. The methods described offer concrete examples of strategies that can be employed to support relationship-building and collaboration when developing Indigenous-specific survey instruments.

Undertaking One Health Research with Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities: Implications of a One Health Pilot Study

Abstract This case study presents the research process and learnings from undertaking One Health research within Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community settings. One Health is relevant to Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities where people and animals (commonly dogs and cats) live closely together and face health risks due to barriers in accessing animal health care. One Health is an appropriate approach to understanding and addressing health disparities as it aligns with community and cultural contexts that recognise the relationships between the health of people, animals and the shared environment. However, with minimal evidence in this space, the contribution of One Health to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health is not well understood limiting the ability to implement One Health approaches and address the needs of communities, families, animals and the environment. This case study describes the research approach, methodology and implications from a pilot One Health study undertaken with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities that adopted Indigenous research methodologies within a One Health framework. Information © The Authors 2023

Yarning to reduce take own leave events in First Nations patients presenting to the Emergency Department‐presenting the qualitative themes and co‐design of the Deadly RED project

AbstractIssue AddressedThe Deadly RED redesign and implementation research aimed to improve take own leave (TOL) rates within a Queensland emergency department by providing a culturally competent care pathway.MethodologyA mixed methods pre/post evaluation of the feasibility, acceptability and usability of the Deadly RED pathway for First Nations patients presenting to ED was performed. This pathway combined early welcome and information sharing, introduction of screening and follow up for patients who TOL and enhanced access to alternative community healthcare. Yarning circles facilitated co‐design of research protocols and tools while a purposefully designed research Yarn enhanced understanding of the ‘story’ of the people. Qualitative analysis of Yarns allowed deductive themes to be extracted. A Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach and Indigenous research methodology involving First Nations people in design, knowledge sharing and joint ownership of results was used.ResultsCommon themes from the 85 yarns included the negative impact of long waiting times and positive impact from wholistic care. Unique themes identified included interpretation of waiting room placement and paracetamol prescription as a dismissal. Knowledge dissemination from yarning drove improvements in communications and processes to promote treatment completion resulting in elimination of these themes in post implementation yarns. Eighteen patients who had TOL were included in the post implementation yarns, however only eight of these believed that their treatment was incomplete.ConclusionThe use of yarning for consumer engagement has allowed deeper understanding of the reasons for TOL in First Nations emergency patients. The reciprocal knowledge sharing has guided targeted improvements in wholistic emergency care and communication resulting in First Nations patients feeling their care is complete even when the ‘number’ reports otherwise.So What?Indigenous Research methodology including yarning with First Nations patients suggests alternative engagement methods to guide enhanced quality of care monitoring for ED presentations.

Searching for Indigenous Health Information and Knowledges

What was the question?
 
 How can we work toward reconciliation by improving search methods for CADTH projects on Indigenous health topics?
 
 What did we do?
 
 We scanned the library and information science literature to find mention of searching for Indigenous topics.
 We examined a list of key journals to determine their inclusion in bibliographic databases.
 We analyzed a set of evidence reviews to assess their search methods.
 We expanded the library collection to include Indigenous research methodologies.
 
 What did we find?
 
 Standard biomedical sources for literature searching do not include the full spectrum of Indigenous health information and Indigenous Knowledges.
 Development of research and literature searching methodology for Indigenous health topics must ensure Indigenous Knowledges are respected and Indigenous communities are consulted.
 
 What does this mean?
 
 Current search methods may not adequately retrieve relevant sources of Indigenous health information.
 CADTH is taking steps to expand literature search methods to retrieve sources of Indigenous information.
 This work aligns with CADTH's commitment to reconciliation as outlined in our Strategic Plan and Statement of Reconciliation.
 Further engagement with Indigenous communities is needed to help ensure respect is maintained in CADTH's reconciliation work moving forward.

From a Native Worldview: The Concept of the Traditional in Contemporary Native American Art Practices

This article explores tradition and ceremony in contemporary Native American art. Indigenous scholars and artists use traditional knowledge to navigate contemporary contexts. Shared perspectives challenge binaries, problematic due to Indigenous peoples’ relationship to colonization. The study used Indigenous research incorporating critical theory (Grande, 2015), decolonizing and Indigenous Research Methodologies (Tuhiwai Smith, 2021), and Indigenous research rooted in relationality (Wilson, 2008). We examined traditional meanings for Native Americans in contemporary art through reflection and dialogue. Research components included a historical overview, an examination of literature, interviews, and oral histories. Transforming Our Practices: Indigenous Art, Pedagogies, and Philosophies (Ballengee Morris & Staikidis, 2017) was consulted, in which Indigenous artists described artmaking as regenerating collective memory. Suggestions were made to reconsider traditions in Native American art to promote new outcomes in visual arts research and pedagogy informed by Indigenous epistemologies.

Searching for Métis Research Methodologies

Métis research methodologies have not always been valued. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) outlined 94 Calls to Action to privilege Indigenous perspectives, and likely provided the impetus for a shift in which scholarship seeking to reclaim, define, explore, validate, and amplify Indigenous Research Methodologies (IRM) exists. Articulating Métis specific methodologies is congruent with the common research process of aligning all aspects of the research process. Because limited research with Métis women is documented, it is an area for contribution. This paper aims to explore documented Métis methodologies and contribute a Métis arts-based methodology for an upcoming doctoral research project. 

Indigenous Research: The Path towards Mapuchization

This article explores the process of decolonizing and indigenizing research from my perspective as a Mapuche woman. During this process, I examine how to approach and analyze colonial and patriarchal archives through an indigenous lens, leading me to consider a transformation of my work into an indigenous research endeavor. In this undertaking, I delve into the interplay of affective and political dimensions within indigenous research, recognizing them as catalysts for resistance and knowledge construction. I emphasize the significance of first-person research as a powerful means of empowering marginalized individuals and validating personal and collective experiences, countering Eurocentric epistemologies that perpetuate colonial and epistemic violence. Furthermore, I advocate for the recovery of marginalized knowledge and the integration of native epistemologies. As a third step in the process of decolonizing and indigenizing my research, I introduce the concept of ‘Mapuchization of research.’ This idea represents a process of reconnection with the ancestral knowledge of my people, where past and present come together. It intertwines several dimensions, including political, epistemological, and ontological, with the aim of contributing to indigenous research methodology, based on the knowledge found in Mapuche culture and history.

Treating Voices Carefully

The Listening Guide method of (or voice-centered relational approach to) data analysis was developed to center marginalized voices in research, and this article outlines its use within the context of a research project with queer Métis youth. I explore this method as part of a Métis research paradigm, and walk through the process of analysis using this method, including outlining and explaining the process of listening for the plot, for the I voice, and for contrapuntal voices. This article adds to the development of the Listening Guide as a method and as part of an Indigenous research methodology.

Towards an Indigenous literature re-view methodology: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boarding school literature

AbstractThis paper outlines the development of a new Indigenous research methodology: Indigenous Literature Re-view Methodology (ILRM). In the rejection of the idea that Western, dominant forms of research ‘about’ Indigenous peoples are most valid, ILRM was developed with aims to research in ways that give greater emphasis to Indigenous voices and knowledges, foregrounding Indigenous ways of being, doing and knowing. The advantages of ILRM include identifying themes as ‘relevant’ as opposed to ‘common’. This method is based on relatedness, which is framed by Aboriginal ontology, axiology and epistemology, or ways of being, ways of doing and ways of knowing. Describing and employing ILRM to re-view Indigenous Australian boarding school literature, it was found there is a modest but robust body of research that has emerged in the past 20 years. Sixty-six written sources (i.e. journal articles, reports, theses and books) which were published in 2000 onwards and focussed on a topic of contemporary Indigenous boarding schooling were analysed. Sources that included a chapter or section on boarding as part of a publication focussed on other topics were not included in this re-view. Seven major themes emerged, including home, student experience, transitions, access, staff, health and evaluation. This paper focusses on the development and use of ILRM as an Indigenous methodology for researchers in Indigenous fields of study.

Connecting in the Gulf: exploring digital inclusion for Indigenous families on Mornington Island

ABSTRACT Digital inclusion research explores the complex inequalities among different societal groups that affect people’s ability to fully participate in social, economic, and cultural life. Globally, digital inequalities exist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and this paper contributes to a growing body of literature focused on Indigenous digital inclusion in Australia. This paper outlines how a team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers developed an Indigenous research methodology to investigate the digital inclusion challenges, and opportunities, for Aboriginal families living in a remote community on Mornington Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria. This methodology applies principles of decolonisation, through Indigenous yarning and photography, to foreground the voices of Indigenous people in articulating barriers and solutions to low levels of digital inclusion in their community. The findings detail the everyday and novel ways Indigenous families use the internet and digital devices, and how these insights might inform Indigenous-focused policy, practices and programs.

Enriching research practices through knowledge about Indigenous research methodologies

Introduction
 Learning about Indigenous research paradigms and methodologies offers insights and reflexive opportunities for those who seek to improve their research practice.  This paper explores how research at the ‘interface’ can enrich scholarly inquiry across the academy. Whilst a single paper cannot do justice to the sophistication and nuance of Indigenous methodologies, as an authorship team of one Indigenous and two non-Indigenous academics, and through our established relationship and subsequent conversations, we present in this paper seven distilled methodological learnings that can enrich standard qualitative research practice. We predominantly explored the work of Indigenous scholars worldwide, and where relevant have drawn on non-Indigenous scholars where there may be ‘interface’ compatibilities. We also build off some of our previous work such as Andrews (2020a, 2020b), Andrews (2021) and Bolton and Andrews (2018).
 It is very important to clearly state that we are not suggesting readers, particularly non-Indigenous readers, use this paper as a template for Indigenous research, or as a guide for conducting research with Indigenous peoples and communities.  Rather, our intention is to share our personal learnings about Indigenous research with a view to bridging methodological understanding to achieve high quality qualitative research. Indigenous researchers have sought to navigate the interface between Indigenous and western research to generate new knowledge that reflects the interests, values and priorities of Indigenous peoples. The last twenty-five years has seen significant effort by Indigenous scholars across the globe to establish an Indigenous academic research agenda and pioneer change in research practices. The interface between Indigenous and western knowledge systems has much to offer research as a basis for the generation of new knowledge (Durie, 2004; Martin, 2008). It is at this interface, or intersection between two knowledges, that we make connections and offer our insights.
 This paper is divided into four sections: Beginning, Middle, Reflective End and New Beginnings, a framework drawn from our work. Within these four sections are seven key methodological reflections under the sub-headings: Understanding place in research, Positionality, Worldviews in research, Privileging knowledges, Relational accountability, Storytelling as methodology and Circular research processes, and at each sub-heading is our key learnings.   This is shown in Figure 1, noting the arrows grow in size as we approach ‘Beginning Again’ as a way of illustrating the enriching of knowledges and practices as the learning process loops iteratively.

Houston, we have a problem…or do we? The trajectory of astrobioethics and Indigenous thought

AbstractBackgroundAt the 2022 meeting of the American Society for Bioethics and Medical Humanities, a new affinity group was formed: astrobioethics. This is the branch of bioethics for space exploration, extraterrestrial environments and possible extraterrestrial organisms. Bioethics has traditionally operated from Western/Global North dominated thought structures and it is difficult to introduce alternative frameworks. However, astrobioethics is forming and is primed to include alternative frameworks, such as pre-Columbian Indigenous American philosophy/ethics and Global South frameworks and knowledge.MethodsThe methods utilized include Indigenous research methodologies and standpoint, an overview of Indigenous American philosophy/ethics, and reflection on how this may impact astrobioethical considerations of space exploration.Discussion and ConclusionsIndigenous philosophies and ethics consider space exploration and its associated risks and impacts on potential extraterrestrial lifeforms, systems and environments. The nuances of using terms like ‘colonization’ are considered and the paper concludes by considering how Méxica philosophical concepts and the four main Indigenous pragmatic dimensions can interact with established bioethical principles to guide future space exploration.

A Review of Kaandossiwin: How We Come to Know Indigenous Re-Search Methodologies (2nd ed.)

A Review of Absolon, K. E. (2022). Kaandossiwin: How we come to know Indigenous re-search methodologies (2nd ed.). Fernwood