Indigenous Views Research Articles

“A Failure. No One to Blame But Themselves”? The Media and the Abolition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission

ABSTRACT In 2004/5 the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was abolished after 15 years of operation. The longest running and most innovative representative body in the postwar era, its abolition has reverberated to this day. 1 1 ATSIC was one of several elected Indigenous representative bodies of the postwar period. However, it remains the most innovative because it was a statutory body that had both representative and administrative functions and a national commission with a network of regional councils. This model has not been replicated since. This article explores the role of the media in its abolition. It shows how the non-Indigenous media created an image of Indigenous dysfunction such that ATSIC’s abolition was understood as the only viable option. It did so by perpetuating untruths about Indigenous capacity for governance and leadership, suggesting that ATSIC’s alleged failure was self-inflicted. Such representation, including deeply offensive caricatures, worked to support government aims and amounted to institutional bullying. By situating this representation within the wider policy landscape, I show how the media not only created ideational frameworks necessary to project ATSIC as unfit but also helped to deflect attention from the government’s own non-accountability in this space. As a counterpoint to what became a dominant view about ATSIC, I recover the representation of its abolition in the Indigenous media, allowing Indigenous views to be heard for the first time. This case study is of critical importance in the context of today’s concern with both truth-telling and truth-denying.

Food sovereignty in Kalaallit Nunaat

Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland), a self-governing country within the Danish Realm with a majority Indigenous population, has one of the most far-reaching self-determination arrangements of all Indigenous peoples worldwide. A close look at the food system in Kalaallit Nunaat, however, reveals a situation in which Indigenous foods are marginalized and imported foods are promoted even when incompatible with the local context. Here, I ask why Danish foods are so prevalent in Kalaallit Nunaat and argue that an unacknowledged factor in dietary transitions, well-known to be the cause of major public health issues, is a biased view of foodways that favors imported foods and questions Indigenous foods. The conclusion is that there is a lack of Indigenous food sovereignty in Kalaallit Nunaat such that Indigenous views of food and health are not prioritized in the public food system. The significance of this conclusion is that without Indigenous food sovereignty, Indigenous health, wellbeing and thriving cannot be achieved.

Indigenous mentor’s understandings of being a mentor in higher education: insights from a Canadian university

ABSTRACT This article introduces the voices of Indigenous mentors, which have been overlooked in mentoring research. This study addressed how mentors understood their role in nurturing student competence, connection, and agency; key ingredients of self-determination. Indigenous mentors participated in conversational interviews, which were examined from traditional academic and pastoral perspectives and from the perspective of self-determination theory. Six themes emerged from the analysis: mentors as knowledge brokers; facilitators of belongingness; supportive and empowering, guides, self-managers and as enablers to help mentees become self-determined. Most of these themes align with previous literature on mentoring and add insight into a small but growing body of research findings on student mentors from Indigenous backgrounds. Notably, one of the themes, mentors as self-managers, has largely been neglected in research on mentoring involving students from Indigenous backgrounds. The implications for giving voice to Indigenous mentor views are discussed in the concluding section.

Canadian foreign policy analysis and Inuit within Canada

ABSTRACT This article examines transnational Indigenous cooperation among Permanent Participants in the Arctic Council using decolonialism and Indigenization in Canadian foreign policy analysis. The mainstream IR approaches primarily consider Indigenous NGOs as civil society groups united by common interests and cultures and as organizations that promote social change. This study argues that unlike other types of NGOs, Indigenous organizations have a complex social identity, which is influenced by settler-colonial heritage. Besides this, transnationalism promotes collective Indigenous agency. Like feminist IR, Indigenous IR scholarship challenges dominant worldviews and conceptualizations of Westphalian sovereignty, nation-state, and security. This study suggests comparing the state-centred IR concepts and Inuit within Canada’s understandings of the same terms. Although the Inuit within Canada perceive international relations distinctly, their conceptualizations of IR should be recognized by state structures. The article suggests that CFPA should incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing and promote transnational Indigenous IR studies to decolonize foreign policy and include Indigenous views in analysis.

Cultural dissonance: heritage protests and their implications for heritage-making in settler colonial cities

ABSTRACT Heritage-making’s intrinsic dissonance has been thoroughly established in the field of critical heritage studies, and yet it is a reality that continues to be obscured in heritage practice in settler colonial cities. Authorised heritage discourse continues to project existing state-led systems of heritage-making as a self-evident ‘public good’ for current and future generations. In settler colonial cities, this increasingly includes attempts to incorporate Indigenous views and values into its framing. However, existing statutory processes that uphold normative approaches prove resilient to change. Continued prioritisation of tangible artefact amid private property rights impairs the heritage field’s ability to acknowledge alternative possibilities and to genuinely engage in decolonising transformation. This paper examines three cases where heritage dissonance has erupted into protest and protection action outside of the authorised heritage discourse: the Old Swan Brewery in Perth, Western Australia; Ihumātao in Auckland, New Zealand; and the West Berkeley Shellmound in Berkeley, California. It analyses the contestation of values that led to protest action, what ‘authorised’ attempts were made to heritagise each case and to what result. In so doing, the paper demonstrates how existing processes of statutory heritage-making continue to be inadequate for Indigenous and emerging heritage aspirations.

Nature Prescriptions and Indigenous Peoples: A Qualitative Inquiry in the Northwest Territories, Canada.

Nature prescription programs have become more common within healthcare settings. Despite the health benefits of being in nature, nature prescriptions within the context of Indigenous Peoples have received little attention. We therefore sought to answer the following question: What are circumpolar-based physicians' and Indigenous Elders' views on nature prescribing in the Northwest Territories, Canada? We carried out thirteen semi-structured interviews with physicians between May 2022 and March 2023, and one sharing circle with Indigenous Elders in February 2023. Separate reflexive thematic analysis was carried out to generate key themes through inductive coding of the data. The main themes identified from the physician interviews included the importance of cultural context; barriers with nature prescriptions in the region; and the potential for nature prescriptions in the North. Reflections shared by the Elders included the need for things to be done in the right way; the sentiment that the Land is not just an experience but a way of life; and the importance of traditional food as a connection with Nature. With expanding nature prescription programs, key considerations are needed when serving Indigenous communities. Further investigation is warranted to ensure that nature prescriptions are appropriate within a given context, are inclusive of supporting Land-based approaches to health and wellbeing, and are considered within the context of Indigenous self-determination.

Te Ruru

Indigenous cultures have long-held perspectives that emphasise the interdependence of all living things as holistic systems. Our worldview is thus shaped by deeply embedded relationality, which is in constant response to our interconnected experiences and knowledges. Systems thinking is a way of looking at the world that recognises the interconnectedness of both natural and human-made systems. The systems change approach, which takes into account the interconnected nature of the world's economic, social, and ecological systems, finds common ground with an inclusive, connected Indigenous holistic world view. This article explores the congruence and compatibility between systems change thinking and Indigenous frameworks, emphasizing their common ground. The article introduces an example from Aotearoa New Zealand, which has integrated the tenets of systems change methodology within tribally based principles and aspirations to create ‘Te Ruru”. Te Ruru, an Indigenous framework of systems change, has been designed by a tribally owned Māori (Indigenous peoples of New Zealand) health research centre to investigate the overarching system(s) that perpetuate inequity of Māori health outcomes. Te Ruru is depicted in three parts: the first part, or micro lens; the second part, the macro lens; and part three, the meso lens. The first part of the framework prioritizes Indigenous identities and values. In part two, Te Ruru's beak, eyes, and wings symbolize the translation of research findings, strategic oversight, and the ability to navigate systems change. The third part of the framework illustrates the goal of new mātauranga and the need to address internal barriers and traumas, emphasizing the necessity for healing and restoration to sustain long-term systems change. A case study of how Te Ruru has been used in conjunction with a research methodology (TUI) is also included. Te Ruru has been purposefully adapted from a specific tribe’s knowledge and iterated to represent not just the visible system(s) that Māori communities occupy, but also the ‘unseen’ within Indigenous and colonial histories. Using systems change from an intentional Indigenous paradigm is thereby an act of decolonisation— a direct act against the systems currently blocking Indigenous flourishing. Te Ruru's transformational power lies in its ability to bring to the surface the seen and unseen, and thereby support Māori to take the helm to lead systemic change via the Indigenous translation of inclusive health research.

Hauteas and spirituality among indigenous Timorese: A photovoice study

The Hauteas is a branched wooden structure considered sacred by indigenous Timorese. This qualitative study aimed to discover how indigenous Timorese people perceive hauteas and spirituality. Its purpose is to preserve cultural beliefs and to gain a better understanding of indigenous views of spirituality. The study used a slightly modified photovoice method to capture the experience and knowledge of participants. Ten participants are involved, including cultural elders, village leaders, and young people. The results of a thematic analysis show that hauteas is regarded as a cultural symbol with transcendental, environmental, and social functions. These functions and their implications for indigenous Timorese are discussed further in this article.

An Indigenous view of social justice leadership in the Malaysian education system

Social justice leadership is a method of building greater inclusivity in a variety of fields, education being prominent among them. This article considers how social justice leadership can improve educational opportunities for Orang Asli (the original people; the Indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia). It explores the concepts of social justice and social justice leadership, arguing that they are useful, but in focusing on the relationship between the individual and the collective, they do not always fully appreciate the epistemological bases of the concepts, thus missing their true import for Orang Asli people. Practical examples of how Orang Asli people suffer in educational settings are given, the emphasis being on underachievement and bullying. Finally, the strands are tied together with a discussion of how social justice leadership can be of benefit, the onus being on how social justice leaders need to be cognisant of Orang Asli culture and forms of knowledge before serious progress can be made.

Water is more than a resource: Indigenous Peoples and the right to water

Dominant narratives and policy processes addressing water insecurity, such as the Water Action Decade 2018–2028, usually neglect the power asymmetries underlying that insecurity. In this paper, we argue that the water problems we face are not merely about water supply or access, but also about the values we hold about water, and we turn to what we can learn from Indigenous Peoples' perspectives on water. We present how the dominant perspective of water as a commodity sits at the root of the water problems that we face. By contrast, Indigenous Peoples perspectives view water not as a resource to be commodified, but a good to be respected which demands responsibility from us. We explain how water values and the Indigenous communities that protect them are inextricably connected to land sovereignty, and thus how Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge carry solutions to the current global water crisis. However, we also note how the views of Indigenous Peoples and marginalised communities are often ignored, including through physical and technical exclusion, using the United Nations Water Action Decade as a case study. We conclude by arguing that collective initiatives to address the water crisis require significant amendments based on a redistribution of power to ensure that the voices and values of Indigenous Peoples are heard to achieve transformative change.

Narratives of Indigenous Resistance in North-Western Siberia in the 1930s

The paper discusses official and Indigenous views of the Khanty and Forest Nenets uprising against the Soviets, known as the Kazym War (1931–1934). The rebellion is well documented in archival sources and covered by scholarly research, popular essays, and novels. Almost a century after the uprising, Indigenous narratives about the uprising are still circulating in local communities. Specifically, this paper addresses selected episodes of the Kazym War reflected both in official and Indigenous narratives. I focus on the analysis of diverse modes of narrating hybrid knowledge produced in a contact zone, and the mythic imagination of shamans shaping narratives about the uprising. Here, I argue that perceptions of Indigenous history sometimes adopt and reproduce the dominant discourse about the uprising, but link to the official story predominantly by rejecting it and establishing autonomous discussions. Keywords: Khanty, Forest Nenets, Indigenous, uprising, narratives, shaman

The Effectiveness of Indigenous Knowledge-Based Lifestyle Interventions in Preventing Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Indigenous Children in Canada: A Systematic Review.

Indigenous children in Canada have high rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Culturally appropriate interventions, guided by an Indigenous knowledge-based view of health, are crucial to target these conditions. The objective of this systematic review was to assess the impact of indigenous Knowledge-based lifestyle interventions on the prevention of obesity and T2DM in Indigenous children in Canada. Database searches were conducted from inception until February 22, 2022. The main outcomes were changes in Body Mass Index (BMI) z-score and the development of T2DM. The other outcomes included adiposity, metabolic, and lifestyle determinants of health. The GRADE approach was used to assess confidence in the evidence. Four non-randomized controlled trials (non-RCTs) and six uncontrolled studies were identified. Peer-led interventions led to a reduction in BMI z-score and waist circumference. GRADE assessment revealed very low quality of evidence due to a lack of randomization and small sample sizes. There were no diabetes-specific reported programs. Limited evidence from non-randomized studies suggest that peer-led indigenous Knowledge-based lifestyle interventions improve BMI z-score and central adiposity. There is a need for community-owned and adequately powered randomized studies for interventions that aim to treat and prevent obesity and T2DM in Indigenous children in Canada. PROSPERO CRD42017072781.

Weaponizing settler slogans to mandate colonial school policy in the Americas: Transformation through Indigenous futurity

The topic of this academic review is settler slogans that mandate colonial school policy in North America. Also discussed is Indigenous futurity as a strategy for transforming education and countering the educational harm that comes from weaponized language. Beginning in 1887, the US federal government authorized colonial schooling, using the dangerous educational cliché “Kill the Indian in him, and save the man.” The purpose of this article was to illuminate this weaponizing rhetoric in education, which served as a guiding principle for imposing Indigenous assimilation that manifested as federal policy in the Americas. Research questions were, How did the kill-and-save slogan shape US and Canadian education and policy? How can the concept of Indigenous futurity improve Indigenous education? Colonial settler efforts to control tribal nations with weaponizing rhetoric leveled at education policy, public perception,and compulsory boarding/residential schools are exposed. Peer-reviewed studies were read, with analysis of 51 sources, many authored by Indigenous academics. Resultant cultural genocide, systemic discrimination, and educational disparity are described. Indigenous resistance to settler ideologies, policies, and settlements, as well as assertions of tribal rights, freedom, and sovereignty, reflect patterns in the material analyzed. Modern-day empowerment of society’s most vulnerable ethnic group requires a deep rethinking of schooling processes. Debunking settler futurity, the lesser-known Indigenous view of futurity looks to sustaining Indigenous communities and calls on society for amends.

“I’m Sorry, but That’s Bribery”: A Decolonial Perspective From Which to Study Moral Economies in the ‘Chinese Pacific’

“I’m sorry, but that’s bribery,” said reporter Tom Steinfort to Vanuatu Minister of Foreign Affairs Ralph John Regenvanu regarding the supposed support of the island state to China in United Nations resolutions, hypothetically framed as reciprocation for an unprecedented influx of foreign capital. This conceptualization of bribery rests upon recent value negotiations concerning the moral economy of corruption within the context of the ‘China threat’ debate in Oceania. A decolonial methodology is necessary to prevent this superimposition of colonial interests upon indigenous views in journalistic reports, social media outlets, and academic publications. It is, therefore, necessary to interrogate the position from which reporters, journalists, and scholars speak or write about corruption in diplomatic relations in an increasingly Sinicized Pacific. This approach appreciates localized forms of theorizing indigenous ideas about appropriate economic behaviors in the context of new geopolitical relations. In the absence of a decolonial methodology, such ideas might become invisible, along with the intrinsic features of new Sino-Pacific relations.

Broken Circle: Exploring Indigenous Perspectives of Academic Integrity

Across the land now known as Canada, a growing body of research confirms the importance of academic integrity in higher education. Indigenous voices, though, are largely subsumed within the morass of dominant student and faculty perspectives or segregated alongside international student perspectives. Using the imagery of the Medicine Wheel as a framework, this session explores the views of Indigenous faculty, staff, administrators, and graduates affiliated with a mid-sized post-secondary institution in British Columbia. Findings from a small-scale research study reveal a holistic vision of academic integrity that emphasizes relationships with people and knowledge. As Wilson (2008) explains, “relationships do not merely shape reality, they are reality” (p.7). In this relational paradigm, academic integrity is inseparably grounded in the broader principles of integrity, and relies on reciprocal truth-telling to maintain the wholeness of the circle (Lindstrom, 2022). In this session, participants will gain insights into the ways dominant approaches to academic integrity can break the circle of integrity. The session will review similarities and differences between the experiences of Indigenous and non-Indigenous learners, and will consider how Indigenous views of relationality may foster a culture where stewardship of knowledge strengthens the bonds of integrity for all.

Does food biodiversity protect against malnutrition and favour the resilience to climate change-related events in Amazon Indigenous communities? A protocol for a mixed methods study

Background: Undernutrition is projected to be a major consequence of climate change. Biodiversity could enhance climate change resilience by improving nutritional outcomes and providing healthy food resources during and/or after climate-related events. For Indigenous populations who currently base their diet on local biodiversity, rapid climate changes may affect their ability to produce, access or gather food and consequently impact their nutritional status. There is a knowledge gap regarding whether nutritional status among Indigenous populations is better among those who consume a diet with greater biodiversity than those who have a diet with low biodiversity. Objective: This study aims to investigate the role of food biodiversity (FBD) in nutritional resilience to extreme flooding events of Shawi Amazon Indigenous adults living in Peruvian communities that have experienced extreme floods in the past five years. Methods: This study will use a mixed-method sequential explanatory design. The quantitative component includes a cross-sectional survey to assess the association between food biodiversity (FBD) and the prevalence of anaemia in adults aged 15 to 60 years old (n=365). Anaemia will be evaluated using blood hemoglobin and serum ferritin. FBD will be measured with a food frequency questionnaire and a 24-hour dietary recall. Soil-transmitted helminth infections, malaria, and inflammatory biomarkers will also be evaluated. Qualitative component will include a community-based participatory approach to investigate the role of FBD in the responses to extreme floods. Male (n=14) and female (n=14) participants, previously identified in the quantitative phase with high and low levels of FBD, will be invited to participate in a Photovoice activity and semi-structured interviews. A analytical framework for climate change resilience will be used to integrate the data. Discussion: Findings will be integrated to identify features of diet quality to suggest nutritional interventions that are resilient to changing climatic conditions in the Amazon and respect Indigenous views.

Me Tomorrow: Indigenous Views on the Future ed. by Drew H. Taylor (review)

Me Tomorrow: Indigenous Views on the Future ed. by Drew H. Taylor (review)

Supporting First Nations Family Caregivers and Providers: Family Caregivers', Health and Community Providers', and Leaders' Recommendations.

Family caregivers and care providers are increasingly becoming more distressed and reaching a breaking point within current systems of care. First Nations family caregivers and the health and community providers employed in First Nations communities have to cope with colonial, discriminatory practices that have caused intergenerational trauma and a myriad of siloed, disconnected, and difficult-to-navigate federal-, provincial/territorial-, and community-level policies and programs. Indigenous participants in Alberta's Health Advisory Councils described Indigenous family caregivers as having more difficulty accessing support than other Alberta caregivers. In this article, we report on family caregivers', providers', and leaders' recommendations to support First Nations family caregivers and the health and community providers employed in First Nations. We used participatory action research methods in which we drew on Etuaptmumk (the understanding that being in the world is the gift of multiple perspectives) and that Indigenous and non-Indigenous views are complementary. Participants were from two First Nation communities in Alberta and included family caregivers (n = 6), health and community providers (n = 14), and healthcare and community leaders (n = 6). Participants advised that family caregivers needed four types of support: (1) recognize the family caregivers' role and work; (2) enhance navigation and timely access to services, (3) improve home care support and respite, and (4) provide culturally safe care. Participants had four recommendations to support providers: (1) support community providers' health and wellbeing; (2) recruit and retain health and community providers; (3) improve orientation for new providers; and (4) offer providers a comprehensive grounding in cultural awareness. While creating a program or department for family caregivers may be tempting to address caregivers' immediate needs, improving the health of First Nations family caregivers requires a population-based public health approach that focuses on meaningful holistic system change to support family caregivers.

Many Bodies, One Heart

Many Bodies, One Heart

Use of a Two-Eyed Seeing Approach to Increase Client Satisfaction with Psychiatric Services Among an Indigenous Population

IntroductionPsychiatry has historically had difficult relationships with Indigenous people, tending to dismiss their views on mental health and illness as superstitious or primitive. Indigenous people have responded by refusing to come for services, missing appointments, and dismissing treatment offered. Canadian Mi’qmak elder Albert Marshall introduced the term, etuaptmumk, to highlight the idea that Indigenous Knowledge and Practice has equal value to contemporary psychiatry. While translated as two-eyed seeing, the term refers to explanatory pluralism and invites a respectful dialogue among cultures as equals.ObjectivesWe implemented a two-eyed seeing research in Indigenous communities to explore the differences of some Indigenous North American cultures in their view of mind and mental health from conventional Euro-American psychiatry and how their cultural practitioners negotiated those differences. We wondered how perception of services would change if mental health practitioners were aware and were more respectful of those differences.MethodsWe engaged in a series of discussions with traditional knowledge keepers about their views on mind and mental health. We used constructivist grounded theory methods to identify what was common among these views. We developed a training program to engage mental health clinicians in understanding and responding to these differences. We engaged community members receiving services in a discussion about their perception in the change in the quality of the services. We summarized their responses.ResultsDifferences between Indigenous views and those of conventional psychiatry included (1) greater emphasis on the role of community and socio-environmental influences on mental health, (2) inclusion of spirituality and spiritual beings in their expectation for cause of problems and treatment, (3) greater emphasis on inter-generational trauma and historical trauma in addressing mental health. After inclusion of practitioners in the mental health services who had been oriented to these differences and integration of ceremony into the mental health services, ninety-four percent of respondents asked if the service had improved responded in the positive. Attendance at scheduled appointments increased from 56% to 81%. Adherence to recommendations increased from 27% to 67%, which were significant.ConclusionsAwareness of cultural differences in beliefs about causes of mental illness and acceptable types of treatment increased client satisfaction with services offered, improved attendance rates, and improved adherence rates to treatments offered among Indigenous people. These results could generalize to other populations who hold different views than those of conventional psychiatry. The concept of two-eyed seeing, or explanatory pluralism, holds heuristic value for psychiatry by allowing multiple points of view to be true at the same time.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared