Contemporary Indigenous Research within Sámi and Global Indigenous Studies Contexts (original) (raw)
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Alternative an International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 2013
This article explores Sami cultural and literary research in a pan-Sami perspective, contextualizing it in relation to the emergence of similar research among other Indigenous peoples in the world, termed Indigenous methodology. The article summarizes the development within the fi eld so far, arguing for stronger Sami participation in the international discourse on the role of Indigenous peoples within academia. Indigenous methodology is inspired by the development within postcolonial and decolonizing studies and places Indigenous peoples at the centre, while simultaneously seeking to Indigenize academia. The approach questions which values ought to guide research, and to what degree Indigenous peoples should expect research to have a transformative effect on society. What is the role and place of Indigenous peoples' own values and worldviews in scholarship in general? The article underscores the importance of having developed Sami as an academic language, a great achievement in a world where more and more Indigenous languages are becoming extinct.
Engaging indigenous knowledge (s) in research and practice
Gema Online Journal of Language Studies, 2012
Researching education for students of Indigenous Studies means addressing the philosophical, theoretical and practical questions that arise when a researcher from one culture begins research with people from another language and culture. Specifically, Indigenous peoples across the world contest research that frames them within a deficit discourse, as well as research that is done 'on them' rather than 'with them'. Indigenous people have advocated for their ontologies and epistemologies to be recognised within the academy, alongside the Western Canon of knowledge and research processes. In this context, this paper will address three issues of importance for non-Indigenous researchers working with Indigenous peoples. Firstly, preparing yourself to do Indigenous research by being a top quality researcher yourself and, when invited, to learn from Indigenous peoples about their knowledges. This is, of course, regulated by factors such as gender, age, expertise and relationships with Indigenous peoples. Secondly, preparing Indigenous students to become top quality researchers themselves, seeking opportunities to create new knowledge in that culturally diverse space. This includes challenging the boundaries of the academy to include Indigenous knowledges and practices in thesis production . Thirdly, preparing non-Indigenous students to do quality Indigenous research which includes knowing your limitations, having a commitment to building Indigenous research capacity and operating in an environment of deep respect for those you are working with. Examples from research projects and student theses will illustrate these issues.
Celebrating and sustaining Indigenous knowledges through research
2012
This paper reports on the growth of research within the World Indigenous Nations Higher Education Consortium (WINHEC). The focus is the research and later, research and journal working group. The intent is to discuss the publication of the WINHEC Journal, discussion papers and other activities such as the development of the Research Standards while analysing the underpinning imperatives to such work. The paper will also examine the complexity of progressing research, founded in local knowledge, aligned internationally to broader conceptions of Indigenous knowledge. The suggestion underlying this paper is that if research is undertaken from a position of Indigenous knowledge and epistemology, it will celebrate and sustain Indigenous people.
This chapter argues that research, as any other academic endeavour, is a highly charged and contested space. It posits that research as it currently stands, is a dictated process that is given direction and life through acceptance and acknowledgement by western scholarship that has bothered not just the indigenous and formerly colonized, but has also dictated what research is and how it is supposed to be carried out. The chapter points out that research is not new to indigenous communities as they have through observations and experiments, carried out research prior to the onslaught of colonialism and its research approaches. It posits that research that is devoid of putting place as part of the research methods risks coming up with inadequate data. It further observes that while there are similarities that may exist between indigenous and western research methods, especially when looked at from a qualitative paradigm, there are also substantial differences. The chapter notes that the starting point of any indigenous research methods is the place of the self, the researcher in the whole research matrix because indigenous inquiry is relational. It argues that relationship is important especially with the person telling the research story or providing the data. This, the chapter argues, does not exclude others who may be listening in to the discussion. The chapter, informed by the author's experiences in the field, additionally advances the idea that the researcher who is supposed to be indigenous is part of the story and his/her being part of the story contributes to how data are interpreted, which is quite contrary to the western research system where the researcher is an outsider who does not belong to the group.
Towards an" indigenous paradigm" from a Sami perspective
Canadian Journal of Native Studies, 2000
The author discusses the need, significance and objectives of an "Indigenous paradigm" which is a way of both decolonizing Indigenous minds by "re-centring" Indigenous values and cultural practices and placing Indigenous peoples and their issues into dominant, mainstream discourses which until now have relegated Indigenous peoples to marginal positions. The author argues that the main objectives of such a paradigm include the criticism of Westem dualistic metaphysics and Eurocentrism as well as the return to the Indigenous peoples' holistic philosophies in research.
Can the Sámi speak Now? Deconstructive Research Ethos and the Debate on Who is a Sámi in Finland
Cultural Studies
Deconstructive research ethos and the debate on who is a Sámi in Finland This article analyses the on-going debate concerning Sámi definition in Finland, in order to examine some of the challenges that indigenous and minority voices are facing within the increasingly 'postcolonial' and 'postmodern' academia. Since the late 1960s, universities and institutions of higher education have been nodal points in a broad range of social and political struggles that have sought to decolonize and democratize science and knowledge. These struggles have challenged previous claims to truth and objectivity and paved way for the rise of a deconstructive research ethos, whose central objective is to bring voice to silenced, marginalized and subaltern subject positions. Although the academia might therefore appear today increasingly sensitive also for indigenous voices and research agendas, this article argues that the opposite might be the case: A research ethos, which explicitly aims to strengthen and empower the margin, can just as well work to silence indigenous voices, and end up supporting the agendas of the dominant society. In conclusion, I draw attention to four interlinked domainscontext, truth, justice and politicsthat need to be rethought, in order to reinstate the political and ethical vigour of critical research practices at large.
It matters who you are: Indigenous knowledge research and researchers
Education as Change, 2016
It is common for researchers in Indigenous Knowledge (IK) in science education research to draw on aspects of the scientific paradigm from their science training. The consequent research seeks to be objective. This paradigm is not necessarily appropriate for IK research. While there have been calls for IK-aligned methodologies (Chilisa 2012; Keane 2008; Smith 1999) there are few examples of how this may be approached in Southern Africa. Drawing on the centrality of story and relationship in IK, we illustrate how the researcher's life experience shapes the research purpose, design and credibility. In refocusing research into IK, the relationship between research and the researcher needs greater acknowledgement. We present here story examples from three IK-science education studies. university of south africa Published by the University of Johannesburg and Unisa Press. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Education as Change