Research with Indigenous Communities

In this lecture, hosted by the Academy for Teachers, Dr. Max Liboiron critiques western science through a lens of colonialism. They examine the ways that colonialism appears in science— through water cycles, sample gathering, data entry, and more. Dr. Liboiron proposes new practices that foreground land relations, humility, and gratitude. While Dr. Liboiron's research focuses on plastics pollution and discard studies, they are a methodologist, and their work focuses on how to make science more just and ethical.

From the CLEAR Lab and Dr. Max Liboiron, this webpage outlines the process for implementing community peer-review in research designs. Similar to participatory action research methods, this model involves local communities in decision-making and research design at every stage of the research process. This practical guide outlines the recommended steps for community peer-review and will serve as a helpful resource for researchers exploring Indigenous methodologies and alternative peer-review practices.

"This article discusses why both research and researcher increasingly require decolonization so that research can create a positive impact on the participants’ community, and conduct research ethically."

In this article, the authors "draw on theories of decolonization and exemplars from the literature to propose four practices that can be used by qualitative researchers: (1) exercising critical reflexivity, (2) reciprocity and respect for self-determination, (3) embracing “Other(ed)” ways of knowing, and (4) embodying a transformative praxis."

This webinar was hosted by the Interdisciplinary Global Development Centre (IGDC). Dr. Linda Tuhiwai Smith is a professor of Indigenous education in New Zealand, and she wrote a well-known and foundational text on Indigenous methods and methodologies ("Decolonizing methodologies: research and indigenous peoples"). This recorded lecture is a primer of her critiques of dominant research practices and her perspectives on decolonial methods for researchers. Dr. Smith's lecture occurs during the first 30 minutes, while the remaining time is reserved for audience questions.

This paper makes an argument "for systematic change in how research-related activities are conducted in the Arctic. Bringing together multiple knowledge systems, specifically Indigenous Peoples' knowledge systems and science, can lead to more equitable, inclusive, and useful outcomes. The co-production of knowledge framework that we forward is designed to assist researchers, decision makers, and communities in moving toward those goals."

This podcast episode from the Canadian Mountain Network includes discussion with researchers from three Indigenous-led conservation research projects. The episode covers issues related to research ethics and movements in support of co-led research paradigms. Twenty-eight minutes in length, the episode will serve as a good introduction to how scientific research designs can be co-designed and collaboratively led with Indigenous Peoples. The projects detailed by the episode's guest may serve as helpful examples for other researchers working to adopt best practices for research that involves and impacts Indigenous Peoples.

This short video is hosted by the National Centre for Research Methods at the University of Southampton. The speaker is Canadian Iroquois researcher, Ian Calliou, and his seminar is titled "Getting lost and finding your way home: Locating practice in an Indigenous research paradigm." He emphasizes the importance of recognizing Indigenous agency in the research paradigm verses the colonial practice of speaking for individuals or communities.

The speaker in this video is Dr. Shawn Wilson, who is a member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation and the Director of Research at Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples. He is the author of a well-known text on Indigenous research called "Research is Ceremony." In this talk hosted by Centre for Teaching and Educational Technologies at Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia, he prompts viewers to question their own epistemological foundations for their research questions and explore assumptions.

This site is a bibliography of action-based research methods compiled for an Activist Research Methods class at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Though broader than Indigenous research methods, researchers who are working to develop a more inclusive and community-focused research practice will find the action-based methods described on the site informative. The bibliography includes sub-sections on participatory citizen science and decolonizing methods, as well as focus areas related to environmental health, natural sciences research, and power relations.

This site provides a collection of open-access articles and books, websites, and YouTube videos on Indigenous and anti-colonial research methodologies.

"This review attempts to catalogue the wide array of Indigenous research methods in the peer-reviewed literature and describe commonalities among methods in order to guide researchers and communities in future method development."

This news article from the American Geophysical Union details the ways that colonialism impacts research practices, such as through knowledge extraction. The article recommends a model for aligning Indigenous cultural values with scientific standards.