Question

How can non aboriginal people assist to make spaces for indegenous persepectives in for instance research as suggested by Kovach

Article From: Applying a decolonizing lens within indigenous research framworks, By margaret Kovach (1000 words)

Answer 1

Answer.

Margaret Kovach’s paper highlights the need for social science research to respond to indigenous cultures and issues of the aboriginal population within the Australian continent using an innovative and evolved methodology which is informed by indigenous knowledge. Such Indigenous methodologies flow from tribal knowledge, and while they are allied with several western qualitative approaches, they remain distinct and focused on the nuances of the local aboriginal reality.

According to her, research about the aboriginal issues and lives does not mean that the primary researcher has to belong to the indigenous society as well. Instead, she argues that non aboriginal researchers can sensitively approach the study of indigenous communities by adopting more culturally open, critical and analytically informed perspectives which would enable them to accurately pick on the nuances of aboriginal lives and struggles and contribute to knowledge construction through a ground-up approach.

According to her, aboriginal research would need a focus on Indigenous epistemologies, decolonizing theory, story as method, reflexivity about the researcher’s self and culture, Indigenous methods, following social protocol, mutual meaning-making process in the analysis phase, and a greater sensitivity to ethical issues in reporting sensitive information about human rights issues, disappearances, prejudice and genocide. Community based researches that seek to promote indigenous languages, inclusions within school, artistic and oral traditions through youth mobilisation can approach their participants better irrespective of the differences in their own and the indigenous cultures. It is vital to include Indigenous perspectives within school practices in order to develop a greater understanding of the histories, cultures, values, beliefs, languages, lifestyles and roles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. A better understanding of, and respect for, Indigenous cultures develops an enriched appreciation of the larger Australian nation’s cultural heritage.

As Kovach points out in her paper, Non aboriginal researchers can particularly benefit from developing an in-depth introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their culture and to building respectful relationships. Researchers who use diverse array of research materials as secondary sources including Indigenous films, books, local movements, etc. in addition to mainstream theoretical literature are more likely to produce more inclusive and holistic studies of the communities and better account for Indigenous successes and struggles in all walks of life. The profiles of individuals and teams provide information and inspiration for all Australians that go beyond stereotypes.

Any knowledge system on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities needs to be based on evidence of what works, supported by strong research into how it works and why. To this end, the research methodology of collaborative field work helps to ensure that non aboriginal researchers are informed by the emir perspective of the aboriginal community and it reduces the risk of imposing mainstream hegemonic constructions onto the community. Involving the informants or primary research participants from the aboriginal community itself would help to initiate a Grass-roots, bottom-up approaches that knit together local knowledge within a national framework.
Moreover, when researchers carry out a Local and region specific study, they become more inclined towards tailoring their research question according to the needs of particular communities and influence the research community to lessen a heavy and dogmatic dependence on following traditional approaches to research question which is too far removed from the ground reality to the point of losing out on the aboriginal experiences.