Hello Readers,
I just returned from Ottawa where I co-presented a workshop on centering Indigenous workers in reconcilation efforts. I haven't been to Ottawa for awhile. One of my biggest priorities while I was there was to get poutine, and on the last day I did get to go get poutine in an underground pub with my BC colleagues and a new colleague/friend from Ontario. Reasons why Ontario poutine is better than BC poutine:
- crispier fries
- saltier gravy
- meltier cheese
It's probably a good thing that BC poutine is sub-par, because if it weren't, I would probably eat it more often, and goodness knows it's not exactly health food.
Anyhow, I am just popping by here to share the best article that I read while working on my dissertation. This may or may not be a "best of" series. I'm wishy-washy about a series because now that I have a defense date, I am supposed to be spending my energy right now preparing for my defense. Maybe blogging will help me prepare. If I find it helpful, I will keep going. But if not, then I will just once again pause blogging for awhile.
Anyhow, the article is called "Deciphering the 'Indigenous' in Indigenous Methodologies" by Lana Ray. Ray explains that when she first encountered the phrase "Indigenous methodologies" she thought it simply meant "how Indigenous people approach research" however, as she studied, she learned that actually it is "a mix of approaches and theories that were grounded in or congruent with pan-Indigenous principles and/or experiences such as colonialism." (p.87).
According to Ray, strategic Indigenous methodologies "work largely within critical theory, are motivated by anti-colonial and anti-oppressive agendas, and work toward establishing an equitable relationship with the state." (p.86). Strategic Indigenous methodologies "Strategic Indigenous methodologies work predominately but not exclusively within emancipatory (for example, critical and participatory action research) and deconstructive (for example, poststructural and postmodern) approaches which fall under the umbrella of post-positivism" (p.90). She emphasizes the importance of retaining the parameters of this definition, because if the phrase is used beyond the scope of it's intended parameters, then it will lose its meaning (p.91). She also flags a risk, which is that these methodologies may lead one to a place where "Indigenous peoples can only view themselves through the lenses of oppression and resistance" (p.91).
Ray also introduces a concept that it not within strategic Indigenous methodologies, and that is convergence Indigenous methodologies. She says that convergence methodologies "employ broad understandings present within Traditional knowledge systems, are motivated by decolonization and revitalization efforts, and work toward the inclusion of Traditional knowledges." (p.86). She has a cool graph, where one line is traditional knowledge system/traditional methodology and the other line is western knowledge system positivism/western methodology. The two lines have arrows, and they are perpindicular to each other. But they intersect. I like this diagram because it doesn't force Indigenous knowledge systems into alignment with western knowledge systems. And the goal of Indigneous knowledge systems is not to expand the parameters of western knowledge systems. Even though they are going in different directions, they both exist, and the moment which they touch each other is generative. She also has another similar graph but in place of positivist is post-positivist. The angle is slightly different. She makes the claim that post-positivism is "less abrupt" but there is still not perfect alignment between traditonal knowledge/methodology and post-positivism.
Both include elements of both traditional and western knowledge. She says that "they both work for Indigenous peoples, whether by forwarding anti-colonial and anti-oppressive agendas or incorporating Traditional knowledge systems within research methodologies." (p.97).
The article was written in 2012, but I think it remains relevant today. I'm not sure that since 2012, there has been any emergence of a methodology that eludes any contact with western methodology. I think that strategic Indigenous methodologies have firmly entrenched themselves within the Canadian landscape, and when I look at SSHRC's merit criteria for scholarships and fellowships awarded for Indigenous research, it aligns with some of the key elements of strategic Indigneous research https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/merit_review-evaluation_du_merite/guidelines_research-lignes_directrices_recherche-eng.aspx I note for example, the requirement that "Community involvement and the co-creation of knowledge, as appropriate, are considered essential, especially in data interpretation. In this context, the co-creation of knowledge could include interpretative approaches that are jointly developed, reviewed and confirmed by and with community members or their community-delegated organization." This definitely reflects the participatory element of strategic Indigenous methodologies.
I think that Ray's distinction between the two is useful, and I really appreciate the way that she has done a geneology. I also think that the fact that she flagged that there is a risk that if one uses only strategic Indigenous methodologies, there is a risk of one's perception of self being overtaken by the identity of oppression. Sometimes I have tried to initiate projects which begin with a strengths based approach grounded in a specific Indigenous concept, and then had requests to instead begin the work with a foundation which centers the experience of colonization, and it changes the work. Instead of an Indigenous concept standing on its own, it becomes subsumed within a larger story of colonialism. Instead of leading with Indigenous knowledge, it shifts the work to lead with a specific scholarly paradigm. At an intuitive level, I've felt the shift but been unable to articulate what shifted, and actually I've abandoned projects because that shift caused me to feel uninspired by my own work. Ray's article helped me see how that shift happens (from initial conception of a project to modifying a project to fit within strategic Indigenous methodologies) and I feel hopeful that with Ray's insights in mind, in the future I can navigate through that challenge and back towards a generative position. I've also found that it is difficult to simply assert Indigenous knowledge and proceed as an Indigenous person within the academy, as when one is inside of the academy, one always has to explain how any type of knowing links up with western knowledge. It's difficult to simply exist Indigenously inside of the academy, as one always has to explain their relationality to western knowledge inside of the academy. Ray's article affirms the that this is a difficult way to proceed within the academy, and I found it to be generally encouraging because it validates rather than glossing over that difficulty.
Ray's article didn't specifically talk about the importance of sustaining communities of knowledge outside of academy, nonetheless it affirmed for me the idea that communities of knowledge outside of the academy are critical for sustaining Indigenous knowledges, as they are sites where Indigenous knowledge can just exist. I enjoy being in such spaces where Indigenous knowledge exists without having to justify itself in relation to non-Indigenous paradigms. Ray's article also affirmed for me the importance of strategic Indigenous methodologies within institutions, and strengthened my commitment to upholding the integrity of clear parameters for Indigenous methodologies.
I located this article after Adam Murry referred to it in a lecture at SFU.
Readers please note - I am typing directly into the blogger website, and it doesn't have spellcheck. Typing directly into the blogger website is part of my creative process. Sometimes I start things in word and forget about them. If I type directly into the website, I just keep the tab open and it helps me manage my attention. I might come back some day, copy and paste this into word to catch typos, and then re-post. For now, though, I'm just going to post in spite of the fact that there may be typos.
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