Review of Indigenous Research and Methodologies

APPLYING INDIGENOUS RESEARCH METHODS. Edited by Sweeney Windchief and Timothy San Pedro. London: Routledge, 2019 . Pp. 166. $54.95. INDIGENOUS METHODOLOGIES: CHARACTERISTICS, CONVERSATIONS, AND CONTEXTSBy Margaret Kovach. 2nd ed. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2021 . Pp. 313. $32.95. Windchief and San Pedro's edited volume focuses on how methods are applied in research, with a sharply critical stance toward how research to date has been conducted in Western contexts, which have habitually universalized rather than drawn on specific stories, with limited focus on the importance of relationships. The titles of the three parts of this book provide a good indication of the direction of flow, so the first is on those who have shared their knowledge in the past—embodied by the notion of palm upward; the second making use of and living out that knowledge along with the challenges and opportunities in doing so- embodied by the notion of palm downward; and the third looking toward the future and the responsibilities to pass that knowledge onto others, represented by palms joined. Yarning, or a weaving together, threads through these essays in a way that creates a different way of thinking compared with traditional Western scientific stress on objectivity and standing aside in an analytical or detached way. Relationships covered are at the broadest possible level, so while starting with the human-embedded languages and associated ontologies, the editors situate that within the environmental, cosmological setting that is holistic—stressing synergy through interrelatedness in a way that resists colonial ways of thinking. The method of story work presupposes respect, reverence, responsibility, and reciprocity. As the editors point out in the opening remarks, “the application of indigenous methods are dynamic, contemporary, diverse and essentially are centred within indigenous value systems often learnt through relationship” (xviii). Research that does not benefit the communities involved is rejected as a first filter. A reader trained in Western modes of science and education will find that the stress on telling the story of the struggles of the researcher to conduct the work very different from the habitual hiddenness of such difficulties in Western modes of writing. The focus on community is always grounded, embedded, and localized in relation to the researcher, who is not afraid to share their personal experiences in order to generate a wisdom that has social validity and is a basis for common action rather than being universalized. The purpose of the stress on relationships and cultural sovereignty in research methods is to move away from the universalized colonial ways of thinking that, according to the authors represented in this collection, have dominated research to date. Once the section moves to palm downward, the critique of Western colonial approaches becomes even sharper. Western methodologies positively suppressed epistemologies from Diné cultures (57), so they need to be unlearned before starting again. The harsh realities of colonialism amount to a historical trauma in the experience of those under its dominance. Instead, the concept of hóshó puts emphasis on working toward a good state that is peaceful and harmonious. For the editors, sacred knowledge is given the respect owed to it by not being shared in public documents. In planning for research, the researcher prioritizes reciprocity and giving back to communities, drawing on the wisdom of experience, such as that of a grandmother over a hundred years old (72). Many indigenous communities live at the edge of what is possible to sustain in situations where both their land and water sources are threatened. Who is quoted in such research has political valence. The third section is mostly conversational pieces about educational methods aiming to show up their poverty in relation to the inclusion of indigenous knowledge. Generating a sense of respect for plants, animals, ancestors, and relationships through open-ended storytelling and listening with the whole body brings a different kind of self-awareness and pattern of learning. That embodiment is also expressed in, for example, how native Hawaiians offer a chant to creation through bodily movement, creating a sacred flow of understanding and insight. Ancestral memory also reawakens a visceral form of knowledge that emphasizes the ability to listen through verbal and nonverbal cues, which Western cultures have sometimes called “tacit knowledge” (148). Overall, this collection serves to educate those who have been trained in the West so that there is greater awareness and sensitivity toward those living in indigenous cultures. In many respects, I found this book illuminating and helpful. I fully endorse the idea that where research is conducted with such communities, a sensitive, participatory, relational, and inclusive approach needs to be taken. In an ideal world, such researchers will come from those communities so that there is a full understanding and appreciation of particular sensitivities in that tradition that need to be acknowledged, listened to, and respected. However, the impression I was left with was that this book took such a negative stance toward Western knowledge and epistemology that it would be hard to find ways in which both kinds of knowledge might cooperate together for the benefit of that community. Not all science and technology, when approached from full awareness of cultural differences, is necessarily damaging to specific cultures. If, by definition, all Western research is rejected in such an absolute fashion, some of the benefits of technologies developed in a Western context will also be treated in a similar fashion and lead to further breakdown and suspicion. For example, when I worked on a secondment with the nongovernment organization CAFOD in 2009–10, we visited a Maasai women's community in Tanzania. Simple distillation technology was installed with the full collaboration of that local community to provide clean water for a region in severe drought where both indigenous people and animals were deprived and whose lives and livelihoods were seriously at risk. The approach was as cooperative and inclusive as feasible, involving those living in this community, who also openly shared their stories with us when we visited. While I can understand why there is a tendency to speak of “a captured mind” that is trapped in a “colonial mindset,” too much negativity instilled in educational programs will not necessarily lead to the peaceful and harmonious outcome intended by the authors, in so far as relationships need to be built with those in other cultures and traditions. In addition, not all Western minds are as embedded in the kind of caricature that the authors presuppose. Just as a universalist Western mindset is rejected, so I would reject a blanket approach to all Western scientific approaches or situations; there needs to be a greater and more granular approach to particular histories and stories, even if the majority of those have been experienced in a negative way, it is the exceptions which are also worth considering and through those examples work toward better alternatives. Margaret Kovach's book on Indigenous Methodologies, written as a single monograph but with copious references to and citation of other authors, bears some resemblance with the edited collection discussed above but has its own distinctive approach and orientation. In general, the approach she uses is not quite as hostile toward Western insights compared with Windchief and San Pedro's volume as long as indigenous approaches, concepts, and traditions take priority. Her prologue is characterized by a very personal biographical account—a story—of what she can remember about particular events which have brought her to write this volume. Again, all this information would be completely buried in Western writing, particularly in an academic context. In my experience, lecturers who add such personal stories immediately engage their audience, though some of the details here sounded longwinded to me, trained as I have been, from an early age, in concise Western scientific ways of thinking. But it was important, as this roundabout way of telling the story invited a different kind of mindset when approaching the book. It could be said, therefore, to be a basic lesson in unlearning so that a different kind of learning is possible. Kovach knows some of her readers will be, like me, trained in a Western setting. Interspersed in this narrative are nuggets of important information, such as “go to the centre of yourself to find your own belonging” (3). While this might be true in spiritual practice, it would rarely be admitted to in developing scientific research methods from a Western perspective. Similarly, the open acknowledgment of a spiritual dimension in work that is not necessarily explicitly about religion is telling, so “Indigenous methodologies are steeped in body, story, place, land, community, and spirit” (5). One argument that stands out as significant is the acknowledgment of the importance of biography, again, sometimes admitted to in theological work but rarely, if ever, in framing methodologies in the human or natural sciences. So, “Our life story shapes our research interpretations” (9). Kovach accepts that academia is beginning to become open to learning from indigenous knowledge but asks what such “welcoming” might mean and if there is a cost to the indigenous peoples from whom that knowledge is drawn (11). Kovach, further, while acknowledging the history of racism and colonialism, insists that “we cannot, will not, disengage” (11). Importantly, she identifies the significance of probing how research questions are asked, to whom, what is found out, and whether that knowledge will be shared with the communities involved. Methods impact research outcomes; these in turn, create policy, and policy creates programs that guide practice. The particular practice Kovach is most interested in is that related to education. When a common language was imposed, this did not improve cultural understanding. Like the volume analyzed above, Kovach stresses relationality, story, theory, and action; but she also emphasizes dialog, healing, and unity and turning away from divisiveness toward respectful, equitable, and responsible relationships. She also distinguishes between qualitative research that is still done from a Western context with the relationality emergent from indigenous methodologies, since though there are areas of overlap, qualitative research within social science frameworks is still interpreted “through a Western gaze or construct” (26), even if they are not as damaging as the universalist agenda in forms of scientific positivism. She also cautions against adding an indigenous “look” to an otherwise Western approach as it is at serious risk of tokenism. Instead, the distinctive methodology within an indigenous approach needs to be recognized on its own terms. Importantly, there is no universalizable approach because of the diversity across indigenous cultures, so the methodological approach needs to be contextualized to that community. Consequently, within the umbrella of indigenous methodologies, there are diverse approaches (42). Although Kovach does resist universalizing indigenous research methods, she is prepared to recognize common conceptual foundations, including specific epistemology, ethics, community in context of land and place, and the experiencing self in relationship (47). The flavor of indigenous approaches is distinct, so “Within indigenous societies, metaphors and symbolism are common communication techniques” (47). Adding “sharing circles, community based partners … or autoethnographic study alongside a statement on ethical guidelines involving research with Indigenous people and/or communities” are, in her view, still problematic for Kovach as they presuppose a normative Western tradition as the interpretative framework (49). She acknowledges that even claiming to identify a “conceptual framework” could still risk chipping away at an indigenous philosophy. I think in spite of these limitations, she is right to make such an attempt as a way of trying to “bridge the divide” (49). She is also drawn to the idea of “abductive reasoning” (also proposed by C.S. Peirce), which is the insight that emerges through understanding (34) and which she finds in Nêhiyaw teachings (51). She includes extended conversations with other researchers in order to fill out her ideas. Overall, her approach throughout the book is certainly, not only strongly decolonizing, but also able to hold out an olive branch toward those working within Western traditions. It seems to me that such a critical but at least partly conciliatory stance is the most productive way forward in approaching the challenging task of making indigenous voices audible both within and beyond their cultural settings.

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