How does one decolonize and reclaim the meanings of research and researcher, particularly in the context of Western research? Indigenous communities have long experienced oppression by Western researchers. Is it possible to build a collaborative research knowledge that is culturally appropriate, respectful, honoring, and careful of the Indigenous community? What are the challenges in Western research, researchers, and Western university methodology research training? How have 'studies'-critical anti-racist theory and practice, cross-cultural research methodology, critical perspectives on environmental justice, and land-based education-been incorporated into the university to disallow dissent? What can be done against this disallowance? According to Eve Tuck and K Wayne Yang's (2012) suggestion, this article did not use the concept of decolonization as a substitute for 'human rights' or 'social justice', but as a demand of an Indigenous framework and a centering of Indigenous land, Indigenous sovereignty and Indigenous ways of thinking. This article discusses why both research and researcher increasingly require decolonization so that research can create a positive impact on the participants' community, and conduct research ethically. This article is my personal decolonization and reclaiming story from 15 years of teaching, research and service activities with various Indigenous communities in various parts of the world. It presents a number of case studies of an intervention research project to exemplify the challenges in Western research training, and how decolonizing research training attempts to not only reclaim participants' rights in the research but also to empower the researcher. I conclude by arguing that decolonizing research training

Using traditional Western research methods to explore Indigenous perspectives has often been felt by the Indigenous people themselves to be inappropriate and ineffective in gathering information and promoting discussion. On the contrary, using traditional storytelling as a research method links Indigenous worldviews, shaping the approach of the research; the theoretical and conceptual frameworks; and the epistemology, methodology, and ethics. The aims of this article are to (a) explore the essential elements and the value of traditional storytelling for culturally appropriate Indigenous research; (b) develop a model of a collaborative community and university research alliance, looking at how to address community concerns and gather data that will inform decision-making and help the community prepare for the future; (c) build up and strengthen research capacity among Indigenous communities in collaboration with Indigenous Elders and Knowledge-holders; and (d) discuss how to more fully engage Indigenous people in the research process. In two case studies with Indigenous and immigrant communities in Canada and Bangladesh that are grounded in the relational ways of participatory action research, the author found that traditional storytelling as a research method could lead to culturally appropriate research, build trust between participants and researcher, build a bridge between Western and Indigenous research, and deconstruct meanings of research. The article ends with a discussion of the implications of using traditional storytelling in empowering both research participants and researcher.

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What may be achieved through taking up the complex exploration of nature, land, and sustainability is a growing field of inquiry in both science and social science, particularly for those who are interested in the local environment. Meanings of nature, land, and sustainability have been either misunderstood or misrepresented within disciplinary boundaries in many Indigenous communities. To explore the meanings of things such as nature, land, and sustainability in Indigenous communities, we as researchers had better first acknowledge the spirituality and local experiences that connect one actor with other actors. A relational ontology is the conceptual framework within which I suggest meanings of traditional land, nature, and sustainability such as traditional experiences, culture, and customs, are important issues for Indigenous lives and environment. This framework may potentially guide the researcher through the critical concerns of identifying the problems of existing land, nature, and sustainability management in relation to the everyday land-based practices and traditional experiences in Indigenous regions.To explore the meanings of things 1 such as nature, land, and sustainability in Indigenous 2 communities, we as researchers had better first acknowledge the spirituality and experiences that connect an actor with other actors. For this reason, I suggest a relational ontology as a conceptual theoretical framework for working with Indigenous communities in relation to issues of nature, land, and sustainability. This framework suggests that things are materially and spiritually connected through interactions with each other. Such a relational ontology not only challenges Western 3 fixed meanings of actors, but also makes actors responsible for their actions (Wilson 2008). I suggest that a relational ontology can be understood as a "third space". In other words, a relational ontology can be seen as a process of deconstruction and reconstruction (Kapoor 2008, p. 8). Things are actors in such a relational ontology; their interactions are varied, changeable, movable, and co-evolving. Latour, therefore, suggests that both science and social science studies 4 need to reconfigure meanings of "things" and understandings of active actors in concepts of land, nature, and sustainability (Latour 2000).To explain a relational ontology as my theoretical framework, in the first part of the paper, I will develop the framework with regard to various concepts such as relationality, hybridity, otherness, and scientific knowledge. In the second part, I will critically examine the concept of nature, land, and sustainability through my relational ontology.

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