Stories of Diverse Identity Locations in Indigenous Research

Indigenous scholars have articulated that Indigenous research methodologies require Indigenous paradigms. Through a circle process at the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry in 2012, our team members facilitated a talking circle on the importance and implications of self-location in research projects that are either fully incorporating Indigenous research methodologies or in alignment with principles of Indigenous knowledge systems. We asked: “Given the intersection between the practice of Indigenous paradigms and identity, how do individuals with diverse identities and partial understandings take up Indigenous methodological approaches?” Through locating ourselves personally in the context of a nationally funded research project entitled “Removing the Invisibility Cloak,” we seek to explore the tensions and complexities of engaging Indigenous methodologies informed by our various social positions. We conclude that Indigenous approaches to research for many may not simply be about research—they are more holistic, experiential, and spiritual than that. They are something more. That “something more” is found in our stories.