Indigenous Based Research in Academia

Relationality is the key element in Indigenous research and it’s something I’ve become more interested in exploring through my academic career. Relationality is the interconnectedness of all beings including the environment. As a femme Michif Otipemisiwak (woman of the Metis Nation), it’s important to me to incorporate this idea of relationality into my research and studies as I’m not only representing myself but all my relations who came before. Indigenous relationality challenges Western methodologies in that it prioritizes the relationship, the reciprocity within the community and accountability. Western research is focused primarily on individualistic gain and recognition. This approach redefines the relationship between the subject(s) and the researcher. Incorporating Indigenous relational frameworks advocates for a culturally respectful approach, brings in relational responsibility person to person and makes the research a collective benefit. Western researchers tend to overlook the importance of relationship and Indigenous communities will not work with researchers unless there is a connection made and respect earned.

In my experience when Indigenous knowledge is compared to Western knowledge there seems to be this underlying assumption that Indigenous knowledge is inferior. This causes barriers in Western academia where Indigenous knowledge and Indigenous research practices get turned away because they are seen as invalid or unscientific. Where there is no relationship there is no understanding, therefore in order to understand and effectively use Indigenous relationality in research, researchers must be willing to connect, to listen and to take accountability.