Accountability, Relationality and Indigenous Epistemology: Advancing an Indigenous Perspective on Academic Integrity

Abstract

Although the notion of academic integrity is advanced as a Western construct, Indigenous ways of conceptualising and mobilizing this construct represent a vast, diverse and enduring knowledge system that encompasses not only how sources of knowledge are attributed, but also serves as one of the ontological pillars that upholds honesty and truth-telling within a relationally oriented epistemology. Written from an Indigenous perspective, this chapter invites readers to critically reflect on the ways that academic integrity, as an ethical pillar of the Western academy, relies on institutionalized protocols that privilege a specific methodology of citation and referencing that elevates the written word whilst excluding Indigenous methodologies that are embedded within an ethic of truth-telling and relational accountability. Grounded in the scholarship that surrounds Indigenous knowledge as a participatory way of knowing and utilizing a values-based analysis, I highlight the conceptual parallels between Western understandings of academic integrity and an Indigenous relational epistemology that is rooted in accountability. In today’s social climate of reconciliation, academic institutions across Canada are seeking avenues to decolonize their pedagogies and practices. One such avenue is in the area of academic integrity which is underlain with distinct and established ways of transmitting knowledge that have all too often left Indigenous knowledge systems to exist as alternative, or less rigorous, approaches to knowledge production. Movement towards a more equitable, critical and comprehensive understanding of how we, as scholars, are being accountable to those voices that inform and shape our own requires the consideration of a trans-systemic approach.

Conclusions and Future Directions for Academic Integrity in Canada

“…This book builds on previous scholarship in the field, but also brings new insights on topics that have previously received limited or no treatment in the literature. For example, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first time Indigenous voices have been included in scholarly discourse on academic integrity (Lindstrom, 2022;Poitras Pratt & Gladue, 2022). Similarly, although restorative practices have been discussed as one approach to addressing breaches of integrity, Sopcak and Hood's (2022) chapter brings new depth to the discussion.…”

“…Contributors from across the country have shared new perspectives on enduring problems, but do so in a way that has been uniquely and exclusively Canadian. Contributors also bring new insights on important and essential topics, such as Indigenous perspectives on academic integrity (see Lindstrom, 2022;Poitras Pratt & Gladue, 2022) that until now, have not been part of the broader discourse.…”

Academic Integrity in Canada: Historical Perspectives and Current Trends

“…The impact of Indian Residential Schools was devastating and traumatic for Indigenous peoples (Union of Ontario Indians, 2013). The last residential school only closed in 1996 (Union of Ontario Indians, 2013) (Lindstrom, 2022;Poitras Pratt & Gladue, 2022). Today, the federal government continues to fund the education of primary and secondary education of "registered Indians living on reserves and the Inuit" (CMEC, 2001, p. 6), as well as Canadian Armed Forces members and incarcerated inmates.…”

“…In addition, since about 2020 Indigenous scholars have been contributing more to the knowledge base of academic integrity, showing how Indigenous ways of being, knowing, learning, and teaching are fundamentally ethical, and exist in parallel to western interpretations of values associated with academic integrity (e.g., Maracle, 2020;Gladue, 2021a, b;Lindstrom, 2022;Poitras Pratt & Gladue, 2022).…”

Helping Students Resolve the Ambiguous Expectations of Academic Integrity

“…Being explicit about how these relate is important, otherwise students may not see the connection. In Alex's Indigenous Studies course, this could be a lesson on how notions of academic integrity in higher education require decolonizing (Lindstrom, 2022) and that referencing conventions are only beginning to provide guidelines on teachings of Elders, community-based and sacred knowledge. This would be followed by instruction on "the interconnected principles of relationality, reciprocity and respect" (Poitras Pratt & Gladue, 2022) for academic integrity and under what conditions an Elder's teachings can be cited and the appropriate method to do so.…”