the Tree of Life as a Research Methodology

Abstract

This paper is grounded on the premise that research, as a colonising practice, needs constant reconceptualisation and rethinking. I propose a methodology based on some of the values, visions and stories from my own Maya Indigenous culture and knowledge in addition to other Indigenous cultures across the world. I argue that researchers need to constantly acknowledge and change the negative impacts of ignoring multiple ways of knowing by engaging in respectful methods of knowledge collection and production. This paper contributes to the work Indigenous scholars have done in the area of research methodologies and knowledge production. First, a general overview of the values and concepts embedded in the Ceiba or the "Tree of Life" is presented; then, a discussion of what respectful research practices entail follows; fi nally, it concludes with a refl ection on how the Ceiba is a small example of how researchers can adapt their research methodology to the local context. (2004), where this work has pertinence because it proposes a research method based on our knowledges. It also expands the work of Indigenous scholars around the world.I am aware that reclaiming oral traditions and Maya cultural practices requires that research is culturallysituated. In this sense, it is both a political and spiritual act, since researching, documenting and disseminating Indigenous knowledges have historically been, on the one hand, a part of what Linda Smith (1999) calls a "colonial project". She claims that more often than not, research has been complicit in a series of actions that undermine, misinterpret and misconstrue Indigenous knowledges in an effort to further advance acts of colonialism and oppression. On the other hand, Indigenous peoples have "always been researchers" (Ermine, 1995) and continue in this role. It is in the spirit of continuing our role as researchers with an awareness of that colonial legacy that I follow the steps of Indigenous scholars who are increasingly creating and participating in research processes. Such processes follow an "ethic" that shifts from "research for research's sake (knowledge in the abstract) to research that serves a specifi c purpose or need of the community within which it is situated" (Hermes, 1998, p. 158). In this paper, I reference specifi c and contextually relevant Indigenous knowledges to honour multiple ways of knowing. Although Indigenous peoples are diverse, we do share respect and honouring as important values. Engaging in respectful practices to gather, interpret, share and contextualise these knowledges is part of situating research methods (Hermes, 1998) in a particular culture to challenge how research is implicated in the production of Western knowledge, in the nature of academic work, in the production of theories which have dehumanized Maori [Indigenous] practices that continue to privilege Western ways of knowing while denying the validity for Maori of Maori knowledge, language and culture (Smith in Menzies, 2001, p. 19).I begin the paper with an overview ...

Culture writes the script: On the centrality of context in indigenous evaluation

“…Epistemologies that define the knowledge creation and axiology or values for use of knowledge are mediated by culture. Increasingly, indigenous scholars are giving voice to indigenous epistemology and defining its role in shaping their research (Estrada, 2005;Wilson, 2008;Kovach, 2010;Weber-Pillwax, 1999). Cree scholar Margaret Kovach (2010) argues that indigenous methods do not come from Western philosophy but rather flow from tribal epistemologies.…”

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“…Since the 1990s, Indigenous scholarship about the various dimensions and colonising history of social and scientific research has emerged within Australia and abroad. This body of work has been led primarily by Indigenous scholars in the field of education (Tuhiwai-Smith 1999a;Martin 2008;Rigney 1997a;Steihnauer 2002;Kahakalau 2004;Battiste 1998;Weber-Pillwax 2001, Porsanger 2004Tuhiwia-Smith 1999b;Graham 2005;Estrada 2005;Wilson 2005;Martin 2008;Nakata 2007;Wilson 2008;Tipa et al 2009). Maori scholar Linda Tuhiwai- Smith's (1999b) groundbreaking book entitled Decolonising Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples -now in its second edition -is considered as the benchmark text within the field.…”