Harry Fonseca. Coyote Leaves the Res, acrylic on carboard - 21 1/4"x 13 1/4" - 1976
This section provides some guidance on how to respectfully and thoroughly search through databases or catalogs for topics related to Indigenous people, communities, and issues (with an emphasis on art and architecture). The suggested search terms and general advice are partially based on the article "Researching Native Americans: Reflections on Vocabulary, Search Strategies, and Technology." When researching or writing on topics relating to Indigenous people, it is important to refer to specific nations, tribes, communities, or people when possible and applicable. Below is an example that includes both the more commonly used name and the name of the group in their native language in order to widen the scope of resources being searched.
When it is not possible to search for specific communities, or when researching Indigenous topics more generally, it is important to know that there are a variety of terms that can be used and each one has a different connotation or history attached to it. According to "Researching Native Americans: Reflections on Vocabulary, Search Strategies, and Technology," the term Indigenous is a broad term that has become the preferred pan-Indigenous term in the last few decades. However, American Indian was the most popular term used starting in the 1800's, and Native American became more widely used in the 1980's/1990's. Additionally, in Canada the term First Nations is commonly used and in Australia and New Zealand Aboriginal is commonly used. The term you use can affect the sort of material that a search brings up; the time period or physical setting of the article or book can change based on the search term. For a more inclusive search, you can do a search like the one below that utilizes most or all of the terms introduced:
For further research, here are some resources on Indigenous research practices, epistemologies, and examples written by Indigenous scholars. This is not a comprehensive list but rather a starting point for compassionate and informed research on topics related to Indigenous people and histories.
Decolonizing Methodologies by
'A landmark in the process of decolonizing imperial Western knowledge.' Walter Mignolo, Duke University To the colonized, the term 'research' is conflated with European colonialism; the ways in which academic research has been implicated in the throes of imperialism remains a painful memory. This essential volume explores intersections of imperialism and research - specifically, the ways in which imperialism is embedded in disciplines of knowledge and tradition as 'regimes of truth.' Concepts such as 'discovery' and 'claiming' are discussed and an argument presented that the decolonization of research methods will help to reclaim control over indigenous ways of knowing and being. Now in its eagerly awaited second edition, this bestselling book has been substantially revised, with new case-studies and examples and important additions on new indigenous literature, the role of research in indigenous struggles for social justice, which brings this essential volume urgently up-to-date.
Decolonizing Native Histories : Collaboration, Knowledge, and Language in the Americas by
Decolonizing Native Histories is an interdisciplinary collection that grapples with the racial and ethnic politics of knowledge production and indigenous activism in the Americas. It analyzes the relationship of language to power and empowerment, and advocates for collaborations between community members, scholars, and activists that prioritize the rights of Native peoples to decide how their knowledge is used. The contributors-academics and activists, indigenous and nonindigenous, from disciplines including history, anthropology, linguistics, and political science-explore the challenges of decolonization. These wide-ranging case studies consider how language, the law, and the archive have historically served as instruments of colonialism and how they can be creatively transformed in constructing autonomy. The collection highlights points of commonality and solidarity across geographical, cultural, and linguistic boundaries and also reflects deep distinctions between North and South. Decolonizing Native Histories looks at Native histories and narratives in an internationally comparative context, with the hope that international collaboration and understanding of local histories will foster new possibilities for indigenous mobilization and an increasingly decolonized future.
Ch. 4: Tribal Critical Race Theory in Zuni Pueblo: Information Access in a Cautious Community by
In "Knowledge justice : disrupting library and information studies through critical race theory"
The Past Before Us by
From the Foreword-- "Crucially, past, present, and future are tightly woven in 'Ōiwi (Native Hawaiian) theory and practice. We adapt to whatever historical challenges we face so that we can continue to survive and thrive. As we look to the past for knowledge and inspiration on how to face the future, we are aware that we are tomorrow's ancestors and that future generations will look to us for guidance." --Marie Alohalani Brown, author of Facing the Spears of Change: The Life and Legacy of John Papa 'Ī'ī The title of the book, The Past before Us, refers to the importance of ka wā mamua or "the time in front" in Hawaiian thinking. In this collection of essays, eleven Kanaka 'Ōiwi (Native Hawaiian) scholars honor their mo'okū'auhau (geneaological lineage) by using genealogical knowledge drawn from the past to shape their research methodologies. These contributors, Kānaka writing from Hawai'i as well as from the diaspora throughout the Pacific and North America, come from a wide range of backgrounds including activism, grassroots movements, and place-based cultural practice, in addition to academia. Their work offers broadly applicable yet deeply personal perspectives on complex Hawaiian issues and demonstrates that enduring ancestral ties and relationships to the past are not only relevant, but integral, to contemporary Indigenous scholarship. Chapters on language, literature, cosmology, spirituality, diaspora, identity, relationships, activism, colonialism, and cultural practices unite around methodologies based on mo'okū'auhau. This cultural concept acknowledges the times, people, places, and events that came before; it is a fundamental worldview that guides our understanding of the present and our navigation into the future. This book is a welcome addition to the growing fields of Indigenous, Pacific Islands, and Hawaiian studies. Contributors: Hōkūlani K. Aikau Marie Alohalani Brown David A. Chang Lisa Kahaleole Hall ku'ualoha ho'omanawanui Kū Kahakalau Manulani Aluli Meyer Kalei Nu'uhiwa 'Umi Perkins Mehana Blaich Vaughan Nālani Wilson-Hokowhitu
Research Is Ceremony by
Indigenous researchers are knowledge seekers who work to progress Indigenous ways of being, knowing and doing in a modern and constantly evolving context. This book describes a research paradigm shared by Indigenous scholars in Canada and Australia, and demonstrates how this paradigm can be put into practice. Relationships don't just shape Indigenous reality, they are our reality. Indigenous researchers develop relationships with ideas in order to achieve enlightenment in the ceremony that is Indigenous research. Indigenous research is the ceremony of maintaining accountability to these relationships. For researchers to be accountable to all our relations, we must make careful choices in our selection of topics, methods of data collection, forms of analysis and finally in the way we present information. I'm an Opaskwayak Cree from northern Manitoba currently living in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales, Australia. I'm also a father of three boys, a researcher, son, uncle, teacher, world traveller, knowledge keeper and knowledge seeker. As an educated Indian, I've spent much of my life straddling the Indigenous and academic worlds. Most of my time these days is spent teaching other Indigenous knowledge seekers (and my kids) how to accomplish this balancing act while still keeping both feet on the ground.
Sovereignty Matters by
Sovereignty Matters investigates the multiple perspectives that exist within indigenous communities regarding the significance of sovereignty as a category of intellectual, political, and cultural work. Much scholarship to date has treated sovereignty in geographical and political matters solely in terms of relationships between indigenous groups and their colonial states or with a bias toward American contexts. This groundbreaking anthology of essays by indigenous peoples from the Americas and the Pacific offers multiple perspectives on the significance of sovereignty. nbsp; The noted Mohawk scholar Taiaiake Alfred provides a landmark essay on the philosophical foundations of sovereignty and the need for the decolonization of indigenous thinking about governance. Other essays explore the role of sovereignty in fueling cultural memory, theories of history and change, spiritual connections to the land, language revitalization, and repatriation efforts. These topics are examined in varied yet related contexts of indigenous struggles for self-determination, including those of the Chamorro of Guam, the Taíno of Puerto Rico, the Quechua of the Andes, the Mäori of New Zealand (Aotearoa), the Samoan Islanders, and the Kanaka Maoli and the Makah of the United States. Several essays also consider the politics of identity and identification. nbsp; Sovereignty Matters emphasizes the relatedness of indigenous peoples' experiences of genocide, dispossession, and assimilation as well as the multiplicity of indigenous political and cultural agendas and perspectives regarding sovereignty.
