INDG U1 definitions

• Method


  The specific techniques or procedures used to conduct research
• Method


  • Provides the tools (Ceremony, protocol, and sharing circle)
  • Indigenous research methods that use surveys, archives, focus groups, and interviews, are distinct, not because of their method, but because of the theories that guide them
• Methodology


  The overall approach or strategy guiding the use of the methods
• Methodology


  • Frames questions, shapes, analyses, and determines instruments
  • Indigenous Methodologies uses alternative ways of thinking about research which gives Indigenous Studies a dynamic and fluid approach
• Methodologies showcasing the difference between Western and Indigenous outlooks

  • Quantitative Research: Privileges Indigenous voices and resists the Western value system by taking a strength-based approach to statistical data
  • Qualitative Research: Privileges Indigenous voices, resistance, and political integrity
  • Insurgent Research Methodology: Grounded in Indigenous worldviews, action-oriented, and provides the community with final authority
• Research using Indigenous methodologies relies on Western research traditions, but it combines those traditions with Indigenous epistemology, axiology, and ontology to pursue knowledge in Indigenous Studies
• Tribal Epistemology


  The study of Knowledge
• Epistemology


  The use of investigation to differentiate opinion from justified belief
• Indigenous knowledges are developed within the cultural and social frameworks and is a creation meant to be shared with the community
• Knowledge is not something to be owned or discovered. Instead, knowledge is a set of relationships that can be given a visible form
• The full adoption of Indigenous Epistemology is cautioned against because of their inability to capture pre-contact Indigenous Epistemology. Despite these fragmentations, Indigenous people determine, control, and develop epistemological trajectories
• Epistemology underpins Indigenous Methodology, creating a pattern (of Epistemology and Indigenous Methodology) from research
• Indigenous Studies should prioritize Indigenous epistemologies (ways of knowing and understanding the world) instead of relying completely on Western epistemologies (ways of thinking)
• Indigenous Studies should prioritize protecting Indigenous languages and social systems through Indigenous epistemologies
• Ontology


  The fundamental beliefs about our existence and reality
• Ontology should be understood by considering the community's connections to the cosmos (universe), environment, and language
• Ontology follows the logic of cultural beings and includes 'who we are and whom we claim to be, who claims us and how we are connected to the land'
• The ontological framework can be seen in various Indigenous Studies practices, such as celebrating ways of being in the Anishinaabeg tradition
• Rationality is foundational within Ontology
• There may be multiple realities within Indigenous research ontology
• Language reflects the fundamental beliefs and understanding of reality held by Indigenous peoples
• Understanding the language can provide insight into Indigenous ways of knowing and understanding the world (Indigenous Epistemologies)
• Axiology


  A set of ethics and morals that guides the process of research while encompassing relational accountability in Indigenous Studies methodologies
• The researcher takes accountability for the people involved in the research and ensures that the research respects their values and perspectives
• The ethical research upholds the community's standards by relying on community involvement from development to final validity
• This approach allows mutual understanding and collaboration between researchers from diverse backgrounds, leading to more inclusive and nuanced research outcomes in Indigenous Studies
• The 5 R's of Indigenous Studies Research

  • Relationship
  • Respect
  • Relevance
  • Reciprocity
  • Responsibility
• There is also the addition of the concept of Refusal
• The three Indigenous groups in Canada recognized by law (Constitution Act, 1982)


  • First Nations
  • Inuit
  • Métis
• First Nations


  Indigenous people distinct from Métis or Inuit, legally considered "Indians" in the Constitution Act 1982, s.35
• Inuit


  Indigenous people whose roots stem from Inuit Nunangat, the place where Inuit live, in the northern regions of Canada
• Métis


  Indigenous people who self-identify as Métis, are of the historic Métis Nation Ancestry, and are distinct from other Aboriginal Peoples
• Indigenous


  The umbrella term used in Canada to refer to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals
• Native American


  The term refers to an Indigenous person whose roots stem from the United States of America and cannot be used to refer to Indigenous Peoples in what is now known as Canada
• Aboriginal


  The Canadian Constitution Act of 1982 uses the term to describe the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit, whose rights are recognized and affirmed within the document
• What is Qualitative Research?


  Privileges Indigenous voices, resistance, and political integrity.