Indigenous Resources

Indigenous Knowledges are Traditional Knowledges or knowledge that comes from a community. Indigenous methodologies are increasingly being used in research. 

Indigenous Knowledges:

• Are transmitted from generation to generation
• Emerge from complete knowledge systems
• Are expressed in many formats. eg. oral, ceremony, artistic creations, artifacts, etc
• Are not all in the past; there is continued growth, innovation and change in practices
• Include history, law, spirituality, agriculture, environment, science, medicine, animal  behaviour and migration patterns, art, music, dance, craft, construction, and more

Indigenous research methods:

• Challenge the notion of neutrality of the researcher
• Aim to animate postcolonial institutions with Indigeneity
• Challenge the assumptions of domination, patriarchy, racism
• Are increasingly accepted in academic institutions

Issues in using Indigenous Knowledges resources include:

• Assessing the quality of the information without peer review
• Ethics requirements for obtaining information directly from people

Primary Sources

Many assignments require the use of primary sources, and Indigenous Knowledges resources can often be used. These might be:

• Community-produced materials and information
• Images of traditional clothing, regalia, activities
• Recordings / digital versions of traditional practices (Ceremonies are not usually photographed or recorded and if they are, it may not be appropriate to use them.)
• Oral pieces

Suggested Sources:

Research with Indigenous peoples in Canada has a complicated and problematic history. For information about doing research in partnership with Indigenous peoples and communities, see Red Deer Polytechnic Research Common's Research with Indigenous Peoples.