Decolonizing Our Own Stories

Abstract

During the 2013 American Indigenous Research Association (AIRA) conference, it was noted that graduate students using Indigenous research methodologies make unique contributions to academia and have unique needs. In response, Student Storytellers Indigenizing the Academy (SSITA) was formed, a worldwide support network of graduate students using an online forum. A SSITA working group launched a project with two goals: to gather SSITA members’ stories about decolonizing research and to reflect on how decolonizing research may impact their sense of place in the Western academy. This project was also an opportunity for students to develop a method for conducting collaborative research across space, time, and cultures and share that knowledge with the broader scholarly community. Several themes emerged: our varied, sometimes disorienting, educational experiences; our difficulty in locating and accessing mentors and resources; and our resilience in developing and sharing our solutions to decolonizing our research.

Magnifying and healing colonial trauma in higher education: Persistent settler colonial dynamics at the Indigenizing university.

“…Indigenizing universities in particular may create such contexts of uncertainty and demand ongoing and wary attention that, in turn, undermine Indigenous individuals’ sense of control, connection, and meaning. As Venable et al (2016) found in their study of graduate students pursuing decolonizing and Indigenous research methodologies, “being decolonized in awareness in an overpoweringly colonized world can be very uncomfortable” (Venable et al, 2016, p. 351). Similar to the critical awareness shared by those Indigenous-oriented graduate students, institutional pronouncements of Indigenizing goals and commitments may help heighten awareness of the gap between the promise of such pronouncements and the degree to which settler forms, function, and power continue to dominate western universities.…”

“…Separately, comparisons to the experiences of other marginalized and under-represented groups could seek to identify similarities and differences between such groups and Indigenous people within higher education. More intervention-minded studies could follow Venable et al (2016) and build or support existing structures and methods of healing for Indigenous constituencies on campus. Finally, studies could follow up on the status and outcomes of the healing practices identified in Pete (2015).…”

“…This complexity is highlighted in a study conducted by Venable et al (2016) that examined the implementation of an online forum designed to support master’s and doctoral degree students exploring or using Indigenous research methods. While students felt empowered to reclaim Indigenous epistemologies, they also felt overwhelmed by the dominant educational system that restricted their pursuit of decolonizing research.…”

“…Given the impact of historical trauma on Indigenous educational experiences, it is important to consider how this trauma can be revisited or experienced in new ways within higher education. Venable et al (2016) online support group forum begins to shed light on the ways Indigenous students revisit trauma in higher education. Similar to Ahmed (2012) analogy of diversity work being equivalent to “banging your head against a brick wall,” the students’ efforts to reclaim Indigenous epistemologies revealed the colonial structure and unyielding nature of their education system.…”

“…Taking these Native student and faculty experiences into consideration, Indigenization efforts in higher education have sought to recenter Indigenous ontologies, methodologies, and ways of knowing (Battiste, 2005;Battiste et al, 2002;Brayboy et al, 2012Brayboy et al, , 2015Gross, 2005;Pete, 2015;Phillips et al, 2005;Venable et al, 2016). Several scholars point to how Indigenization efforts serve as sites for recovery and restoration (Fiddler, 2015;McAlpin, 2008), healing among Native students and faculty (Fiddler, 2015;Gross, 2005;Iseke, 2013;Lawson-Te Aho, 2014;Linares, 2016;Sato, 2014;Scully, 2012;White Shield, 2009), and the restoration of systemic and societal inequalities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in higher education (Pidgeon, 2016).…”