Indigenous Research Methodologies

The Ānako Indigenous Research Institute is dedicated to facilitating dialogue and respect between researchers and Indigenous communities. This resource page embodies that commitment, serving as a guide to enhance and inform Indigenous-centred research projects at Carleton while directing and connecting students to available resources.

Carleton University and the Ānako Indigenous Research Institute adhere to the First Nations Principles of OCAP (ownership, control, access, and possession) and actively integrate the principles of First Nations governance systems into their research protocols and ethics. Ethical research practices involving Indigenous participants prioritize placing the community’s knowledge, values, and voice at the forefront of the research process. This approach ensures that the community of interest is central to and informs the project. Researchers are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the principles thoroughly before involving themselves in Indigenous-based research.

Participatory Methods 

Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) engages communities throughout the entirety of the research process. This approach includes Participatory Action Research (PAR), participatory evaluation, and collaborative inquiry which are all methods that emphasize the relational aspect of Indigenous Research Methods. Although distinctions exist between each of these frameworks, these terms have been used interchangeably as the underlying goal of collaboration, research equality, and community autonomy. Participatory methods embody, enact and

  • Recognize community as a unity of identity,
  • Build on strengths and resources of the community,
  • Facilitate collaborative partnerships in all phases of the research,
  • Integrate knowledge and action for the mutual benefit of all partners,
  • Promote a co-learning and empowering process that attends to all social inequalities,
  • Involve a cyclical and iterative process,
  • Addresses health from both positive and ecological perspectives,
  • Disseminate findings and knowledge gained to all partners.

 Cultural-Connectivity and Guidance from Elders

The conversational method in Indigenous research differs from its use in Western research in several ways: a connection to Indigenous knowledge, a location within an Indigenous paradigm, a relational nature, a purpose (which is often decolonizing), following a specific protocol that reflects the Indigenous knowledge, a flexible nature, collaboration, and reflexivity (Kovach, 2010).

Engaging participants in five of the critical Indigenous research activities proposed by Smith (1999):

  • Indigenizing
  • Connecting
  • Writing
  • Representing
  • Discovering

Contextual Reflection within Indigenous Research

Imagine for a second a cultural artifact that holds great significance to a people’s history or ancestral lineage, or a teaching or story so deeply embedded in a culture that it forms the bedrock of a whole community, or consider a ceremony intended to provide healing, sharing, or cultural continuity for its participants. One can see that each is deeply dependent on the context in which they are found. As Researchers, we should practice and conduct contextual reflection as we begin to consider participating and collaborating with Indigenous communities, ensuring that we understand and respect the variety of Indigenous perspectives and ways of knowing. Telling a story out of its context or without the proper permission could be viewed as disrespectful, appropriative, and a violation of cultural protocols, potentially causing harm and perpetuating colonial practices.

Research Rooted in Cultural Practices

   Depending on the community you are collaborating with, the guiding principles for research will vary. It is essential to understand the values and ethical orientation that govern the community to ensure that the research process respects and aligns with their specific values and practices. According to Judy Atkinson (2001), effective Indigenous research should adhere to the following principles:

  • Aboriginal (Indigenous) people[s] themselves approve the research and the research methods.
  • There must be a knowledge and consideration of community, recognizing the diversity and unique nature of each individual within the community.
  • Ways of relating and acting within the community should be grounded in the principles of reciprocity and responsibility.
  • Research participants must feel safe and be safe, including respect for issues of confidentiality.
  • A non-intrusive observation, or quietly aware watching, is essential.
  • Deep listening and hearing with more than the ears is required.
  • Reflective non-judgmental consideration of what is being seen and heard.
  • A purposeful plan to act with actions informed by learning, wisdom, and acquired knowledge, after listening.
  • Acting with fidelity in relationship to what has been heard, observed, and learned.
  • Maintaining an awareness and connection between the logic of the mind and the feelings of the heart.
  • Observing and listening to the self as well as in relation to others.
  • Acknowledging that the researcher brings their subjective self to the research.

 –  Atkinson, J. (2002). Trauma Trails, Recreating Song Lines: The Transgenerational Effects of Trauma in Indigenous Australia. Spinifex Press.

Key Resources for Indigenous Research Methods and Practices

Ānako encourages researchers who are interested in conducting Indigenous-based research to consider the resources and ethical practices presented below. Although the list of resources is not exhaustive, it nonetheless considers a broad range of perspectives from various communities and research conducted by several distinct individuals. Whether you are new to Indigenous-based research practices or have some familiarity and are looking to expand your knowledge base, the resources and guides listed below offer some foundational ideas for Indigenous-centred research.

Below are key resources for Indigenous Research Methodologies. For additional materials, students are encouraged to visit the MacOdrum Library. Each listed resource is linked directly to its entry in the library’s catalogue where available.

Offices and Working Groups at Carleton

Selected Indigenous Research Methodologies

      • Chilisa, B. (2020). Indigenous Research Methodologies (2nd ed.). SAGE. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • Leal Filho, W., Mbah, M. F., & Ajaps, S. (Eds.). (2022). Indigenous Methodologies, Research, and Practices for Sustainable Development. Springer. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • Lambert, L. A. (2014). Research for Indigenous Survival: Indigenous Research Methodologies in the Behavioral Sciences. Salish Kootenai College Press. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • Smith, L. T. (2021). Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples (3rd ed.). Zed Books. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • Sumida Huaman, E., & Martin, N. D. (Eds.). (2020). Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Research Methodologies: Local Solutions and Global Opportunities. Canadian Scholars. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • Windchief, S., & San Pedro, T. (Eds.). (2019). Applying Indigenous Research Methods: Storying with Peoples and Communities. Routledge. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • Walter, M. (2016). Indigenous Statistics: A Quantitative Research Methodology. Routledge. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • Indigenous Research Methodologies in Sámi and Global Contexts (Vol. 11). (2021). Brill. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • Esgin, T., Hersh, D., Rowley, K., Gilroy, J., & Newton, R. U. (2019). Indigenous Research Methodologies: Decolonizing the Australian Sports Sciences. Health Promotion International, 34(6), 1231–1240. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • Kovach, M., & Kovach, M. (2021). Indigenous Methodologies: Characteristics, Conversations, and Contexts (2nd ed.). University of Toronto Press. Find it at MacOdrum Library*
      • Absolon, K. E. (2022). Kaandossiwin: How We Come to Know: Indigenous Re-search Methodologies (2nd ed.). Fernwood Publishing. Find it at MacOdrum Library.*
      • Evans, J., & Lee, E. (Eds.). (2021). Indigenous Women’s Voices: 20 Years On from Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s Decolonizing Methodologies (1st ed.). Zed Books. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • George, L., Tauri, J., & MacDonald, T. A. o T. L. (Eds.). (2020). Indigenous Research Ethics: Claiming Research Sovereignty Beyond Deficit and the Colonial Legacy. Emerald Publishing. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • Andersen, C., & O’Brien, J. M. (2017). Sources and Methods in Indigenous Studies (1st ed.). Routledge. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • Minthorn, R. S., & Shotton, H. J. (Eds.). (2018). Reclaiming Indigenous Research in Higher Education. Rutgers University Press. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • McGregor, D., Restoule, J.-P., & Johnston, R. (Eds.). (2018). Indigenous Research: Theories, Practices, and Relationships. Canadian Scholars. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • Aikau, H. K., Brown, M. A., Chang, D. A., Hall, L. K., Kahakalau, K., Meyer, M. A., Nu’uhiwa, K., Perkins, ’Umi, Vaughan, M. B., & ho’omanawanui, ku’ualoha. (2019). The Past Before Us: Moʻokūʻauhau as Methodology (N. Wilson-Hokowhitu, Ed.). University of Hawaii Press. Find it at MacOdrum Library.*
      • Archibald, J.-A., Lee-Morgan, J., & De Santolo, J. (Eds.). (2019). Decolonizing Research: Indigenous Storywork as Methodology. ZED Books Ltd. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • Colliver, Y., & Lee-Hammond, L. (2017). Indigenous Methodologies in Education Research: Case Study of Children’s Play in Solomon Islands. In The SAGE Handbook of Outdoor Play and Learning (pp. 495–510). Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • Braun, K. L., Browne, C. V., Ka’opua, L. S., Kim, B. J., & Mokuau, N. (2014). Research on Indigenous Elders: From Positivistic to Decolonizing Methodologies. The Gerontologist, 54(1), 117–126. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • Ocampo, D. (2023). Where We Belong: Chemehuevi and Caxcan Preservation of Sacred Mountains. The University of Arizona Press. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • McClean, M., & Waters, M. (2020). Indigenous Epistemology: Descent into the Womb of Decolonized Research Methodologies. Peter Lang. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • Sumida Huaman, E., & Martin, N. D. (Eds.). (2023). Indigenous Research Design: Transnational Perspectives in Practice. Canadian Scholars. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • Garcia, J., Tenakhongva, S., & Honyouti, B. (2019). Indigenous Teachers: At the Cross-Roads of Applying Indigenous Research Methodologies. In Applying Indigenous Research Methods (1st ed., pp. 103–121). Routledge. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • Wilson, S., Breen, A. V., & DuPré, L. (Eds.). (2019). Research and Reconciliation: Unsettling Ways of Knowing Through Indigenous Relationships. Canadian Scholars. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • Groh, A. (2018). Research Methods in Indigenous Contexts. Springer. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • Hess, J. B. (Ed.). (2021). Digital Mapping and Indigenous America. Routledge. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
      • McGregor, D., Restoule, J.-P., & Johnston, R. (Eds.). (2018). Indigenous Research: Theories, Practices, and Relationships. Canadian Scholars. Find it at MacOdrum Library.
    •  The USAI Research Framework, established by the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC), is a community-driven model that emphasizes ethical and culturally respectful research practices. The acronym USAI stands for Utility, Self-voicing, Access, and Inter-relationality. The four guiding principles are designed to foster research that is practical and meaningful (Utility), empowers Indigenous communities by placing their perspectives at the forefront (Self-voicing), ensures equitable sharing of information and results (Access), and promotes respectful and mutually beneficial relationships (Inter-relationality).

Elders and Community Members Selected Readings

Peer Reviewed/ Scholarly Works

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