Indigenous Ways Research Articles

Centering First Voice in Indigenous Ways of Knowing in a Foundational Indigenous Health Course.

In Fall 2024, the University of Calgary Faculty of Nursing launched its inaugural Indigenous health course within the new Bachelor of Science in Nursing curriculum. Rather than simply providing a stand-alone course, this first-year course provides the foundation for ongoing learning and transformation needed to prepare nursing students to provide culturally safe care to Indigenous peoples. In this article, we will share the curriculum design process and implementation of the first iterations of the course. We will highlight the long-standing relationships and trust built over years that made it possible for a group of women (a Mi'kmaw/Irish/English settler scholar, a Scottish/German settler nurse scholar, and a Lakota/Dakota Elder, and scholar) to work together from course design to implementation and validation. Through the embodied practice of "first voice" as eloquently articulated in the epilogue by Graveline, we are leading change through stories of lived experiences that enable us to forefront Indigenous ways of knowing, being, doing, and connecting from our unique locations.

Asserting Indigenous Academic Sovereignty Through Assemblage, Indigenization, and Cultural Safety.

Colonial academic institutions systematically marginalize Indigenous scholars and devalue Indigenous knowledge systems by privileging methodologies, epistemologies, and structures rooted in White-dominant cultural norms. This exclusion is a structural feature of what this paper terms colonial academia. These systems persist in nursing education and research due to tenure and promotion criteria, Institutional Review Board protocols, publishing standards, and the underrepresentation of Indigenous faculty. These mechanisms function to suppress relational, land-based, and community-driven approaches fundamental to Indigenous ways of knowing. Focusing on nursing academia, we explore how Indigenous scholars can resist these systemic barriers through three interconnected strategies: assemblage, Indigenization, and cultural safety. We share how these strategies are applied across nursing education, research, and policy, enabling scholars to assert knowledge sovereignty while navigating institutional constraints. Assemblage allows for the selective incorporation of colonial tools into Indigenous frameworks. Indigenization aims to restructure institutions through Indigenous governance, ethics, and pedagogy. Cultural safety ensures these transformations are accountable to Indigenous communities. Together, these strategies challenge epistemic injustice and offer a model for transforming colonial institutions from within. By illustrating how Indigenous scholars lead these efforts, this paper contributes to global conversations on decolonization in health sciences and higher education.

From routes to roots: a critique of Africanfuturism in Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti trilogy

ABSTRACT This paper seeks to investigate Nnedi Okorafor’s Binti trilogy as a subgenre of Speculative Fiction against the backdrop of Africanfuturism, distinguished from Afrofuturism, by focusing on the extraordinary choice of an ordinary Himba girl going out to an intergalactic university. Binti’s attaining exteriority and communing with the ‘Other’ species equip her with a vision to critique and reassess the centrality of human species in general and her tribe in particular. Her homecoming and mingling with the Zinariya tribe of desert may be seen as the way down into her ancestral roots which is full of epiphanies. Binti’s life in transition while charting new routes to space showcases that the futuristic development of Africa cannot be imagined without the wisdom rooted in the indigenous way of life, often disparaged as primitive and native. Binti’s status of becoming a hybrid creature such as Haraway’s Cyborg, nomadic wanderings from one place to the other and apparent deterritorialization help her subvert the monolithic structures of family, community, patriarchy, or any other regulatory authority. The two journeys, up in space and down to the desert, charge her with a revolutionary zeal which leads her to a transhuman future beyond the limitations of life and death.

Including Indigenous knowledge in biomedical research: a co-autoethnography.

Including Indigenous knowledge in biomedical research: a co-autoethnography.

Indigenization of Curriculum in Vinzons District and Its Effects to the Learning Engagement of Dumagat Learners

The indigenous education system has been facing global challenges and systemic inequities against the IP learners across the globe. The global educational challenges in IP education commonly encompass limited educational access, linguistic barriers and limited curriculum provisions and integration for indigenous knowledge systems and culturally-responsive instruction for IP learners. Global organizations like UNESCO and UNICEF have continue to figure out how colonial evolution and prevalence continue to put indigenous languages and cultures in marginalized status. This marginalization commonly leads to serious educational adversities such as high drop-out rate and increasing illiteracy rate and decline in learning achievements of ethnic group learners. In response to the above cited challenges, global studies also stress the value culturally-relevant and community-based educational programs and services for IP learners. Functional and sustainable education models globally highlight the importance of incorporating indigenous knowledge system, culture and ways of life in the education curriculum towards fostering improvement in the educational outcomes of the IP learners. In fact, there are bilingual systems and intercultural educational programs in countries like New Zealand, Canada and Bolivia have demonstrated the positive implications of the active engagement of IP communities in defining and enriching the educational landscape and systems. Global bodies of research have been continuously highlighting the fact that recognizing the rights of IP learners in education is not only a matter of equality and social justice, but also as integral practices towards cultural enrichment and sustainable growth of communities.

Where Are We? Finding a Canadian Curriculum

This issue defines a Canadian curriculum amid political pressures and colonial legacies, emphasizing ongoing relational and experiential processes that foreground equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization. Rather than treating curriculum as static content, contributors emphasize curriculum-as-encounter—approaching curriculum in ways that value ethical relationships, sustained engagement with colonial histories and the integration of Indigenous ways of knowing. Authors in this issue advocate for the unsettling of normalized settler colonial structures, and they invite new ways of living together in Canada. By upholding ethical responsibility, place and people, this issue advances a complex vision for Canadian curriculum rooted in reconciliation and authentic engagement.

Bone health perspectives among Indigenous people: a qualitative study.

To explore perspectives and beliefs on bone health among Indigenous adults in Victoria. Qualitative focus groups with semi-structured questions. Focus group discussions were analysed for themes and subthemes using an Indigenous research framework based on three concepts: Ways of Knowing, Ways of Being and Ways of Doing. Focus groups were conducted at Aboriginal Community-controlled organisations and Community centres. Men and women aged ≥35 years who identified as Indigenous and were able to give informed consent were invited to participate. Eighty-two Indigenous people participated in twelve focus groups across ten sites in Victoria. Most participants (64) were women, and the majority lived in metropolitan centres, regional centres and large rural towns (Modified Monash categories 1-3). Five themes were developed around the Indigenous framework proposed by Karen Martin-Booran Mirraboopa - Ways of Knowing, Ways of Doing and Ways of Being - which guided participants in identifying knowledge of exercise for bone and muscle health; connection to Country; importance of regular preventive health activities; food and nutrients as good medicine for bone health; and healthy futures for Community through education. An overarching theme of holistic health, including the aspect of spirituality and related lifestyle factors pertaining to musculoskeletal health, was highlighted. Increasing bone health awareness by a co-created Community education program was valued as it would be beneficial for Indigenous people across the life course. To be effective, incorporating traditional Indigenous ways and knowledge along with present-day health evidence is required.

Joy Amid Ruin

In this paper, I reflect on the past decade as an educator and graduate student to highlight the joy that accompanied my shifting understanding of literacy. I conducted an autobiographical narrative inquiry and used selections from blog entries and graduate coursework in order to reflect on my “moments of turning”. I begin with a logocentric understanding of literacy as a white settler in two Indigenous communities, but over time embrace a multimodal, embodied, emergent, place-based, and more-than-human conception of literacies within a context of the climate and nature emergency. This conception learns from and with Indigenous ways of knowing rooted in ecology, relationships, and the land. I argue that this understanding of literacies brings joy and opens possibilities in a precarious world.

Braiding Indigenous knowledge systems and Western science through co-creation and co-teaching

Co-production of Indigenous Knowledge Systems with Western science is increasingly recognised as an important component of education and research. When done correctly, it draws on the strengths of the respective knowledge systems, ensures Indigenous data sovereignty, empowers communities, supports reconciliation, and fosters mutual respect. However, despite these clear benefits and alignment with the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, few examples, guidance, or frameworks exist, especially in the context of science education. Here, we illustrate how co-designing and co-teaching courses can effectively enhance knowledge systems. We show that students value the weaving of Indigenous Knowledge with science, both within (Westernised) academic settings and during place-based experiential learning. It can deepen connections to Indigenous ways of knowing and provides a source of healing as co-production studies are re-connections to Indigenous history and identity. We conclude by addressing some of the challenges faced and provide some actionable solutions for the global effort needed to decolonise and Indigenise both research and education.

In Their Words

Yukon University and the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation (VGFN) explored emerging issues during the COVID-19 pandemic within the community of Old Crow. This community-based participatory research project took place in Old Crow, Yukon and sought to hear the perspectives of citizens of the community during the pandemic. Using a strengths-based approach grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and doing, participants described the impacts of COVID-19 in the northern Village of Old Crow on intergenerational trauma, mental wellness, social divisions created by vaccine uptake, and social isolation in an already isolated community. We also sought to learn how the health and wellness of the Vuntut Gwitchin citizens was impacted, including but not limited to, gender, the effects of COVID-19, vaccine confidence, social divisions generated through personal vaccine decisions, mental health and substance use, and the impact of long COVID. We heard how the community mobilized and reacted to the pandemic through policies and decisions, as well as programs and support offered to citizens. This project identified the lessons learned in the response to COVID-19 that could guide the response to subsequent pandemics or health emergencies that are culturally safe and strengthen the capacity of the community, as well as the health and wellness of the citizens. The participants’ perspectives reflected their resiliency, self-determination, strong sense of community, and traditional ways of knowing and being. The uniqueness of their experiences may provide insights that can support other communities that are Indigenous, rural and remote in dealing with future pandemics.

Demanding Epistemic Justice

This commentary begins with the author's background, which leads into explaining Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Knowledges, and Sciences. It examines the significance of Indigenous kinship perspectives offering a sustainable way to live, inherent in many Indigenous cultures. It then explores colonial epistemicide, evolving knowledge pluralism, and how to co-produce knowledge needed for evidence-based decision-making. It concludes with a discussion of the transformative role of Indigenous youth in demanding epistemic justice by serving as Indigenous Science Diplomats, promoting knowledge pluralism in evidence-based policy. These young leaders bridge ways of knowing and span power structures and cultural, epistemological, and disciplinary divides, fostering a more inclusive sustainability in the face of climate change. The commentary underscores the importance of empowering Indigenous youth as key actors in creating a sustainable future and advocates for greater recognition and integration of Indigenous Knowledges and Sciences in policy and practice, promoting a path toward epistemic justice and a sustainable planet.

The Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic: relational caretaking the community, the land, and culture

This article explores how the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation integrated Indigenous ways of knowing and doing into community and public health responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. We held six sharing circles and 20 individual interviews with community members and public health responders. Key findings reveal that caretaking involved three major themes: collective responsibility; harmony with culture and tradition; and culture as healing. Data confirm that caretaking the community could not be separated from the land, nature, culture, and Indigenous ways of knowing and doing. Indigenous knowledges and values must be incorporated into health policies and practices for more equitable care in pandemics.

Bridging Indigenous Ways of Knowing with Western Science Pedagogy in STEM Education

Bridging Indigenous Ways of Knowing with Western Science Pedagogy in STEM Education

Challenges of Social and Economic Transformation in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness

Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness is a serious critique of colonialism. The novel shows its impacts, both economic and social, concerning the colonizers as well as the colonized people. This has been set against the backdrop of Congo to pinpoint the imposition of capitalist systems upon traditional African societies driven by brutal enforcement. Such contrasts between the insatiable greedy European economic interest and indigenous ways of life eventually translate into the local economy, social setup, and cultural identity. In its symbolic use, Conrad criticizes the exploitation of the natural resources of Africa, a metaphor for the suffering and degradation of the indigenous populations, through ivory. Indeed, their search for gains due to natural resources comes at the expense of humanity for the Africans, the enforced labor being central in such exploitation under inhuman conditions. The characters used, Kurtz and Marlow, reveal some sort of psychic influence that may emanate as an aftermath of imperialism. While Kurtz's descent into madness epitomizes the moral corruption and psychic disintegration that arise out of an unrestrained pursuit of economic profit, Marlow's journey depicts internal conflict and disillusion on the part of those who bear witness to the horrors of colonialism. Powerful though the critique of imperialism may be, in this novel there have been critical remarks regarding its Eurocentric position and its representation of African people as passive individuals with no agency. The absence of the narration of African voices undermines the multicategory of social and economic transformation that took place in the Congo and omits possibilities of resistance from those colonized. In any case, Conrad has relevant insight into the ethical dimension of colonialism through the forces of self-destruction driven by economic greed and the mission to civilize.

First Nations, Métis, Inuit Youth Mental Health and Indigenous (FNMI) Ways of Knowing: A Theoretical Interpretation and Application

Due to the colonial genocides that have happened (and continue to happen) in Aotearoa, Australia, Turtle Island and beyond, and Indigenous rights movements that have generated iconic, historical shifts in research praxes to improve the health of Indigenous Peoples, globally. Mental health services for Indigenous youth require an approach and design grounded in Indigenous Ways of Knowing. Through this theoretical paradigm shift, researchers in public health are starting to understand that cultural safety is critical in the delivery of FNMI (Indigenous) health services that actually provide healing and do not further harm people (deliberately or not). Still in progress, public health researchers and youth mental health service providers continue to (allegedly unknowingly) uphold the colonial legacies, highlighting an urgent need for Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Doing. As we discuss Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Doing, the reader will find descriptions of the main theoretical tenets with examples of their application. Strengths and challenges will serve as the throughline for the discussion. The paper concludes with the extension of these tenets and their potential application for mental health services for Indigenous youth.

A Systematic Mapping Literature Review on Two-Eyed Seeing in P-20 Education

Two-Eyed Seeing (TES) is a pedagogical approach with the potential to interweave Indigenous ways of knowing and Western sciences into P-20 education to increase Indigenous students’ engagement with the content. Presented here is a systematic mapping literature review on the TES pedagogical approach in P-20 educational settings to examine the trends in peer-reviewed literature on the subject. Specifically, the systematic mapping literature review sought to: 1) better characterize the peer-review literature in terms of publication outlets, geographic locations, content, and educational contexts; 2) determine what peer-reviewed literature reveals about the effectiveness of using a TES approach in a P-20 educational setting; and 3) determine what peer-reviewed literature suggests as guidelines and challenges for P-20 educators to using a TES approach. The completed search revealed 13 articles, and those articles were analyzed via content analysis and analyzed for patterns. The result is a detailed listing of guidelines to aid educators in incorporating TES into the P-20 classroom.

Lions and Tigers and Bears—Wait, Why?

Modern zoos and aquaria are sites of education, recreation, research, and conservation; they are also the result of thousands of years of human-animal interaction, colonial expansion, and imperial violence. Beginning with the similar but not identical menagerie, this paper historically situates customs and ideologies to demonstrate how the zoo genre has changed over time. A brief review of academic, grey, professional, and community literature explores critical perspectives on contemporary animal display practices. Though North American zoos have come a long way from the concrete pits and metal bars of the 19th and 20th centuries—and it is important to recognize that the people working in zoos and aquaria do critically important work—I argue that contemporary zoo exhibitions still act as a manifestation of these legacies when they remove tangible reminders of human contact and interference with animals and other non-human beings. Through an analysis of exhibit design at a zoo and an aquarium in Canada, this paper explores how animal exhibits at zoos and aquaria may maintain a colonial gaze in their dominant positioning of human visitors. Elder Albert Marshall’s “Two-Eyed Seeing” framework shows us how we might reimagine these practices with both Indigenous and mainstream Western ways of knowing.

Identifying Indigenous strengths for health and wellbeing: Targeting the legacy of colonial masculinities in Peru.

Identifying Indigenous strengths for health and wellbeing: Targeting the legacy of colonial masculinities in Peru.

"And they are still the guardians of these sacred waters …": Land as a process of reconciliation.

Given that Indigenous Peoples in Canada continue to face health disparities as a result of ongoing colonial attempts at genocide, reconciliation requires using a decolonized health framework that identifies oppression and marginalization while seeking to improve Indigenous Peoples' health and facilitates a shared understanding of well-being. Community and land-based interventions hold promise in providing insight into how the reconciliatory process can occur and have been shown to successfully address the health disparities experienced by Indigenous Peoples by connecting participants to their kin, culture, and identity. However, the impact of these interventions on facilitators, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, is lesser known. This qualitative study explores the reconciliatory effects of a decolonized framework on 10 Indigenous and ally community-engaged facilitators during a land-based healing lodge using semistructured pre- and postinterviews. Findings indicate that engaging with the land as an equitable research partner while being reflective allows facilitators to develop a decolonized relationship with the place an intervention is being held, themselves, and effectively engage with the partner community. Furthermore, by implementing a decolonized approach to culturally centered interventions, several facilitators' perspectives of healing transitioned from understanding healing as an outcome to a holistic process that engages place and the broader ecology. These findings signal a need for those working toward reconciliation (e.g., researchers, evaluators, health and health-allied professionals) to consider the influence of Indigenous ways of knowing and being on both Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals involved in the healing process. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Planetary health and Indigenous sovereignty: exploring the theory of change of the Healthy Environments and Lives (HEAL) network in Western Australia.

This paper outlines the theory of change which underpins the Western Australian (WA) hub of the Healthy Environments and Lives (HEAL) network. HEAL is an Australian national research initiative that aims to address the health impacts of climate and environmental change. The WA hub's theory of change is focused on improving the health and well-being of the planet and people, including children, through centring Indigenous sovereignty, voices and ways of knowing and being in research, policy development and service provision. The WA hub also recognises it is essential for place-based, community-led solutions, which strengthens responses to climate and environmental change, grounding mitigation and adaptation efforts in local priorities, knowledges and relationships. To action its theory of change, the HEAL WA hub has embraced Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR), which positions Aboriginal elders, people with diverse lived experiences, young people, community organisations and policy makers as co-researchers. This weaving together of different ways of knowing, grounded in holistic, relational and multigenerational worldviews, enables community members to lead change and hold decision-making power at all stages of research. Through CBPAR, researchers, community members and organisations, policy-makers and service providers build and foster meaningful relationships and collaborate to co-design, implement and translate research. Young people and children are a vital part of the work, and their voices and priorities are integrated in all phases of the work to ensure intergenerational justice and vision also guides practice. This ensures HEAL WA can affect targeted, research-driven and equitable community-led change both now and for generations to come.