Indigenous research across continents : a comparison of ethically and culturally sound approaches to research in Australia and Sweden

• In the context of opposition to, or absence of, ethical engagement in Indigenous research, researchers aremorally obligated to make a stand that ensures their engagement strategy and implementation plan uses an approach based on positionality, participation, mutual respect, and partnership. Whilst this may involve new challenges for the researcher, such an initiative maximises the likelihood of an empowering and culturally safe process for vulnerable participants, including inexperienced researchers. As two early career researchers, we reflect on our experiences amidst some of the challenges within Indigenous research. These challenges include ethical, methodological and structural issues. The main aims of this chapter are to advocate for practical and philosophical reform of Indigenous research ethics particularly in the context of decolonisation; ultimately to maximise the benefits of research primarily for community research participants, service providers, and policy makers as opposed to primarily for the academy. The authors' experiential and theoretical knowledge enables a critical understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of a decolonising research approach and how this guides the development of an appropriate ethics protocol. We acknowledge that research impacts on Indigenous peoples' lives, often in a negative or unintended manner, and its governance varies dramatically according to individual as well as institutional values that are steeped in Western thought including colonialism. This paper draws on scholarly theoretical knowledge of cultural protocols and the governance of ethical processes from international and local sources, as well as our own experiences in cross-cultural communication to articulate what we call a Decolonising Standpoint. We regard this as a necessary addition to the implementation of an Indigenous Standpoint in the context of research, which has provided a highly credible philosophy and practice for Indigenous researchers. We aim to create an additional and quite distinct position that non-Indigenous researchers can add to their repertoire of skills and knowledge in the context of Indigenous research.

Subject headings

HUMANIORA  -- Annan humaniora -- Kulturstudier (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Other Humanities -- Cultural Studies (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Annan humaniora -- Etnologi (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Other Humanities -- Ethnology (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

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