Centering Relationality: A Conceptual Model to Advance Indigenous Knowledge Organization Practices

Abstract

Scholars and practitioners have exposed the limitations of traditional Euro-American approaches to knowledge organization (KO) when it comes to Indigenous topics. To develop more effective KO practices, there is a need for KO practitioners to understand Indigenous perspectives at an epistemological level. A theoretically-informed model of Indigenous systems of knowledge serves as a pedagogical tool to support the labor of boundary-spanning and code-switching between Euro-American KO practices and Indigenous KO practices.

Shortcomings of Bibliographic Description in Service of Indigenous Peoples in Canada

“…Indigenous worldviews generally center on relationality (Duarte & Belarde-Lewis, 2015;Farnel et al, 2017;Littletree et al, 2020;Littletree & Mettoyer, 2015;Lougheed et al, 2015). Relationality is a way of being, of moving through the world in kinship with others and the natural environment: indeed, "it is the product of the direct experience of nature and its relationship with the social world" (Dei, 2000, as cited in Littletree et al, 2020, p. 414).…”

“…Relationality is also about accountability. Indigenous scholars such as Littletree et al (2020) work "with relational accountability in mind, knowing that [they] are responsible to [their] respective Indigenous communities and the field of Indigenous librarianship" (p. 423). Relationality grounds the work of Indigenous scholars.…”

“…And yet they must be brought together to provide Indigenous nations with access to the knowledge and artifacts that belong to them. In the words of Littletree et al (2020), "preserving and providing access to Indigenous ways of knowing for the benefit of Indigenous peoples through colonial institutions was never the intended goal" (p. 423). However, it must be done to support access to collections and Indigenous Knowledge sharing.…”

“…Many Indigenous scholars justly identify that cataloguing and classification as it stands cannot be adapted to serve Indigenous users. Work in this domain, in the words of Littletree et al (2020): "is far less about attempting to reform or revise existing tools and methods, and far more about finding ways to discern and advance Indigenous systems of knowledge" (p. 413). Indigenous users should expect cognitively just metadata that accurately represents their worldviews, and at present they are unlikely to find it in the library catalogue.…”

“…As mentioned earlier, a fundamental difference between many Indigenous worldviews and a Western worldview is the role of relationality (Duarte & Belarde-Lewis, 2015;Farnel et al, 2017;Littletree et al, 2020;Littletree & Mettoyer, 2015;Lougheed et al, 2015). Indigenous peoples take responsibility for their relationships to each other and to the land.…”