Volume 16 Winter 2004 Issue No. 2

Resource Guide: Utilizing Research Methods that Respect and Empower Indigenous Knowledge

by Dr. Susan C. Faircloth (Coharie) and Dr. John W. Tippeconnic, III (Comanche)

In reviewing the literature on conducting American Indian and Alaskan Native education research, several themes emerged, including access, methodology, and use. Although this is not a comprehensive guide, it is hoped that the references cited below will help both Native and non-Native researchers develop and conduct research that utilizes and respects indigenous knowledge in these communities.

Such research will help to ensure the future success of Indian education by empowering Native communities and researchers to explore, acknowledge, and implement educational practices that are culturally and linguistically appropriate and relevant to their students.

Agbo, S. A. (2001). Enhancing success in American Indian students: Participatory research at Akwesasne as part of the development of a culturally relevant curriculum. Journal of American Indian Education, 40(1), 31-56. Education Full Text, July 19, 2004.

Agbo describes the use of participatory research, one of many emerging research methodologies that involve individuals/communities of interest in the research process. This article focuses upon Akwesasne, a school system serving students of the Mohawk Nation. According to Hall (1981 as cited in Agbo, 2001), participatory research is ".a social action process that meshes the activities of research, education, and action" (n.p.). The most unique aspect of this particular methodology is the connection between research and action.

Brayboy, B. M., & Deyhle, D. (2000, Summer). Insider-outsider: Researchers in American Indian communities. Theory into Practice, 39(3), 164-69.

Brayboy and Deyhle discuss both the challenges and rewards of conducting research as an outsider as opposed to an insider. They argue that objectivity becomes increasingly difficult when the researcher is an insider or member of the group to be studied. However, this does not prevent the researcher(s) from conducting "good, rigorous research" (n.p.). This is echoed by Swisher (1986, as cited in Brayboy and Deyhle, 2000) who writes, ". being an insider in American Indian communities enhances the validity of the research process, data collection, and analysis" (n.p.).

Brayboy and Deyhle (2000) also argue that traditional methods of conducting research in Native communities must be reconsidered, that researchers must consider the "political nature" of conducting research with these populations, and that researchers must act in a culturally-sensitive manner and must protect the individuals with whom they work.

Cleary, L. M., & Peacock, T. D. (1997, Fall). Disseminating American Indian educational research through stories: A case against academic discourse. Journal of American Indian Education, 37(1), 7-15.

The authors detail the rationale for the methodology they used to report research findings in their book, Collected Wisdom: American Indian Education. In this book, the authors opted to use storytelling as opposed to more structured and scientifically-based methods of reporting data characteristic of many Western methodologies. The use of methodologies such as storytelling can help to facilitate the transfer of research findings to practitioners and others outside of the academy in a timelier and, some might argue, more accessible manner.

Crazy Bull, C. (1997, Summer). Advice for the non-Native researcher. Tribal College Journal, 9(1), 24.

Although Crazy Bull's article was originally directed at non-Native researchers conducting research with Native communities, her recommendations are applicable to both non-Native and Native researchers. Recommendations include:

• promotion of community input/participation in research,
• consideration of the benefits/contributions of the research,
• becoming knowledgeable of the community of interest,
• developing a rapport with the community of interest,
• avoiding exploitation of participants,
• encouraging use of participatory research, and
• being both cognizant and respectful of local control of research.

Deyhle, D., & Swisher, K. (1997). Research in American Indian and Alaskan Native education: From assimilation to self-determination. In M.W. Apple (Ed.), Review of Research in Education (pp. 113-194). Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.

Deyhle and Swisher's review of literature covers the period between the 1960s and 1990s and is purposely limited in scope to studies of ".Indian students, their families, their communities, and the influence of both culture and power relations" (p. 117). The authors challenge the assimilationist-deficit model of education that has often been used to characterize Indian education. They call for increased Indian involvement in the conduct of research.

The authors cite work on learning styles and the role of language and culture as examples of research that can make a difference in the education of American Indian and Alaskan Native students, particularly in the areas of retention and academic achievement.

Hermes, M. (1997, Fall). Going back and forth: Reflections on research methods at a tribal school. Tribal College Journal, 9(2), 23-25.

The concept of reciprocity is defined by Hermes as ".going back and forth between the problem, the practice, and the community ." (p. 23). Although reciprocity is sometimes lacking in traditional Western research methodologies, Hermes suggests that there is a growing trend in Native research to engage in work that provides direct benefits to the community of interest.

The growing demand for reciprocity as opposed to exploitation is critical when conducting research with American Indian populations. Hermes recommends a model termed "situated response," which is unique to the specific context.

Lomawaima, K. T. (2000, Spring). Tribal sovereigns: Reframing research in American Indian education. Harvard Educational Review, 70(1), 1-21.

Lomawaima discusses the impact of increased tribal review and approval of research. Three guiding questions frame this discussion: "How has the balance of power in Indian Country shifted in the last four decades? How have tribes acted on their concerns about intellectual property and cultural patrimony, and what sort of research review guidelines have been implemented? [and] What does the new balance of power mean for the future of educational research within Native American communities and schools?" (p. 2)

Lomawaima, K. T., & McCarty, T. L. (2002, December). Reliability, validity, and authenticity in American Indian and Alaska Native research. ERIC Digest -RC-02-4. ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural and Small Schools. Available from the Appalachia Educational Laboratory (800) 624-9120 or website www.ael.org

Lomawaima and McCarty pose critical questions regarding the conduct of research with American Indian communities. Questions include: "Why do the research? What factors motivate the researcher? Who will set the research goals? Who has the 'disciplinary authority' to do the research? Who will be involved in conducting the research? Whom does the research serve? [and] How will it benefit the local community?"

The authors also raise issues of sovereignty and self-determination and cite the importance of an emerging line of research utilizing "funds of knowledge" or local knowledge bases that have traditionally not been utilized in Western research methodologies.

Mihesuah, D. A. (Ed.). (1998). Natives and academics: Researching and writing about American Indians. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.

Mihesuah challenges traditional Western approaches and calls for increased involvement of Native researchers and writers. Contributing authors include: Paula Gunn Allen, Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, Duane Champagne, Susan Miller, Theodore Jojola, and Karen Gayton Swisher. For a more extensive review of this book, see www.nebraskapress.unl.edu

Mortensen, M., Nelson, C. E., & Strauss, J. (2001, Winter). Refereed research: Survey of tribal colleges reveals research's benefits, obstacles. Tribal College Journal, 13(2), 28-32.

Data were obtained from 25 tribal colleges utilizing Internet searches and interviews with faculty members during 1999 and 2000. Results indicated that much of the research at tribal colleges and universities is focused on culture, environment, education, and social issues. Eleven of the colleges surveyed included reference to research in their mission statements.

Obstacles to research included time constraints, which limit the amount of time available to faculty and staff to conduct research; inadequate infrastructure including lack of space, equipment, and availability of literature to support research; difficulties with partnerships; funding constraints; politics; geographic isolation; and mistrust.

Benefits of research included, but were not limited to: the establishment of partnerships with other land grant institutions, which helped facilitate the transition of tribal college students to other four-year institutions; participation in conferences, collaborative efforts, and presentations; alleviation of faculty burnout by providing faculty with alternatives to their often heavy teaching assignments; enhancement of courses; and increased opportunities for external funding.

Smith, L. T. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and Indigenous peoples. London: Zed Books, Ltd.

Linda Tuhiwai Smith is an associate professor of education and director of the Institutional Research Institute for Maori and Indigenous Education at the University of Auckland. In this book, she challenges Western notions of research, arguing instead for the development, use, and acknowledgement of research methodologies that, in her words, are more ".respectful, ethical, sympathetic and useful" (p. 9) to Indigenous peoples around the world. (See separate article about this book by Cheryl Crazy Bull elsewhere in this issue.)

Swisher, K. G. (1996, Winter). Why Indian people should be the ones to write about Indian education. American Indian Quarterly, 20(1), 83-89.

In this essay, Swisher calls for a shift from an outsider to an insider's perspective in research. Such a shift would require increased American Indian participation in and control of research and publication of research findings involving American Indians.

Additional References

Christensen, R. A., & Peacock, T. D. (1997, Summer). A guide to literature on reforming American Indian research. Tribal College Journal, 9(1), 25-27.

Crazy Bull, C. (1997, Summer). A Native conversation about research and scholarship. Tribal College Journal, 9(1), 17-23.

Day, P. A., Blue, E. T., & Raymond, M. P. (1998, Winter). Conducting research with an urban American Indian community: A collaborative approach. Journal of American Indian Education, 21-33.

Nason, J. D. (1996, Fall). Tribal models for controlling research. Tribal College Journal, 8(2), 17-20.

Noley, G. (1993, Winter). Finding new answers to old questions: By working together, universities and tribal colleges can meet the research needs of American Indian communities. Tribal College Journal, 4(3), 24-27.

Page, R. N. (2000). The turn inward in qualitative research. Harvard Educational Review, 70(1), 23-38.

Swisher, K. G., & Tippeconnic, J. W., III (Eds.). (1999). Next steps: Research and practice to advance Indian education. Charleston, WV: Appalachia Educational Laboratory.

Wax, M. L. (1991). The ethics of research in American Indian communities. American Indian Quarterly, 15(4), 431-56.

Other Resources

American Indian Law Center, Inc., (1999, September).
Website: www.ihs.gov/MedicalPrograms/Research/pdf_files/mdl-code.pdf

This website provides access to a model tribal research code developed by the American Indian Law Center, which may be photocopied and/or reproduced, Model tribal research code with materials for tribal regulation for research and checklist for Indian health boards (3rd ed.). Although this code was originally developed to guide health-related research among American Indian communities, it is a useful resource for tribes and tribal colleges who are developing and implementing such policies for all areas of research, including Indian education. For additional information contact:

American Indian Law Center, Inc.
P.O. Box 4456 - Station A
Albuquerque, NM 87196
(505) 277-5462 - voice
(505) 277-1035 - fax

Center for American Indian Education, Arizona State University
Website: http://coe.asu.edu/cie/index.html

Established in 1959, the Center for Indian Education is housed in the College of Education at Arizona State University and is currently led by Dr. David Beaulieu. The center's website provides an array of resources including a comprehensive listing of dissertations completed between 1987 and 1997 which have focused on American Indian/Alaskan Native issues. It also has a link to the Journal of American Indian Education, which includes abstracts of articles published in the journal between 1961 and 2004, as well as full-text access to articles published between 1961-62 and 1997-98. For additional information contact:

Center for Indian Education
College of Education
Arizona State University
Box 871311
Tempe, AZ 85287-1311
(480) 965-6292 - voice
(480) 965-8115 - fax

Hopi Cultural Preservation Office (HCPO)
Website: www.nau.edu/~hcpo-p/hcpo/index.html

For a sample tribal research code, see the Hopi Protocol for Research, Publications and Recordings: Motion, visual, sound, multimedia and other mechanical devices. This website includes a link to the procedures manual for conducting and disseminating research findings involving the Hopi Tribe.

Summary

As this guide suggests, research is most effective when it is conducted collaboratively with the individuals or communities of interest involved in each step of the research process, including decisions regarding access, methodology, and use of research findings. Regardless of the methodologies used, the researcher's foremost concern should be designing and conducting research that is both respectful of and beneficial to the participants/subjects.

Susan C. Faircloth (Coharie), Ph.D., is an assistant professor of education at the Pennsylvania State University. She holds a joint appointment in Educational Leadership and Special Education. She may be reached via e-mail at scf2@psu.edu. John W. Tippeconnic, III (Comanche), Ph.D., is a professor of education and director of the American Indian Leadership Program at Penn State. He may be reached via e-mail at jwt7@psu.edu.