Indigenous Resurgence: student visions for a better research model

Until 1984, under the Indian Act, any member of a First Nation who received a university degree was “emancipated”: losing their Indian status and becoming a Canadian in the eyes of the federal government. This article of law did not prevent Indigenous learners from obtaining university degrees, nor did it prevent Indigenous activism in universities. In the 1970s, First Nations “anchored the campus in critical social and civil rights discourse, making early Concordia a site of activism, decolonial thought, and pedagogical experimentation (...)”

However, Indigenous presence in post-secondary institutions remains marginal and it was only following the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007) and the Truth Reconciliation Commission (2015) that universities made public commitments to decolonize research. At Concordia University, many years of demands and Indigenous presence finally led to the creation of a first action plan for Indigenous Directions in 2019.

Academic research concerning Indigenous Peoples is still largely carried out by non-Indigenous researchers. This imbalance of power and access to resources brings few advantages - and can be damaging - to communities being researched. It also allows for the exploitation of Indigenous knowledge and resources (minerals, forest, cultural resources). Faced with this reality, Indigenous experts carve out a place for themselves in academic circles to redefine the way research is conceived and carried out. 

Indigenous resurgence

Kanienʼkehá꞉ka scholar and activist Taiaiake Alfred proposes the term “Indigenous resurgence” to invite his peers to force a paradigm shift from reconciliation to decolonization. He proposes through this term  that a regeneration of cultural, spiritual and political practices will make it possible to confront the colonialism of the state and institutions. Indigenous scholars like Linda Tuhiwai Smith and Eve Tuck also published foundational texts that call for the decolonization of research. These pieces place the epistemological traditions of Indigenous People at the heart of research principles, rather than an abstract concept to be studied. 

Our knowledge systems have a lot of the answers that we are searching for

- Iako'tsi:rareh Amanda Lickers

Indigenous Traditional Knowledge does not belong to anyone; the only responsibility of the individual is to protect and transmit that knowledge for the benefit of their community. It is therefore not appropriate to use it for personal and professional gain, to make profit, and even less to patent an innovation - including innovation in research and academia. 

Indigenous-led Research

In line with these responsibilities, a new generation of Indigenous researchers refuses to do individual research, favoring the multiplicity of points of view and the imperative need to share knowledge between generations.

Indigenous researchers put at the heart of their approach  their desire for their research to have a positive impact on the community, decentralizing the process. In contrast, Western research and certain disciplines like classical anthropology allow individuals to build careers and international recognition by studying the world's Indigenous Peoples (think of Franz Boas, who was fascinated by the Inuit of Baffin Island). This taking of space by non-Indigenous researchers is a continuation of  the devaluation and muzzling of Indigenous speech, and from strategies of oppression that threaten our languages, as did residential schools.  

Stories and storytelling therefore take an important place in the process of decolonization of research. Speaking out reclaims power, while still authentically contributing to scientific literature. Thus, Indigenous research contributes to the reawakening of stolen knowledge and stories, and it contributes to healing of communities.

Inuit artists and Elders help us decide which oral histories are appropriate to use within this research. We are working with archives (collected by non-Inuit researchers) and these archives cannot give us consent to be used, so we need to validate with our Elders who know about these stories

- Christine Qillasiq Lussier

Fine Arts student Juliet Mackie explains: “Anger was a source of motivation to do research differently. There are so many stereotypical representations of Indigenous women in art, film and media that I want to counterbalance that with a fair and positive portrayal.”

Colonization undermined Indigenous intellectual development through cultural assimilation and the violent separation of Indigenous Peoples from their primary source of knowledge: the Land. It is therefore not surprising to see the central place that Indigenous researchers give to the territory, as it contains knowledge that has been undervalued and erased by colonization’s project to create an impression of terra nullius.  

Research on the territory (land-based pedagogy) allows the researcher to make sense of knowledge and to establish connections and relationships.

In short, Indigenous-led research revolves around central principles of deep listening, ongoing consent, responsibility and reciprocity, and is anchored in Indigenous worldviews that go back thousands of years.

So, what's next?

To protect themselves from harmful research, communities adopt strategies such as the “First Nations Principles of Ownership, Control, Access and Possession (OCAP)” and they develop ethical protocols or training to equip non-Indigenous researchers. However, the educational burden remains largely borne by Indigenous People. 

In their action plans, universities promulgate ideals of respect for local protocols, better compensation, collaborative and community research, reciprocity and long-term partnerships. However, structural obstacles remain, and monitoring mechanisms to ensure compliance with these new research standards are almost non-existent.

My research process is influenced by working in community. I want my academic work and journey to reflect my personal experiences and the richness I see in community.

- Véronique Picard

In the meantime, Indigenous researchers, in collaboration with communities, are innovating ways to determine their research priorities or circumvent the rules to access research funds that are reserved for diploma holders. The fact remains that Indigenous community knowledge and those who possess it are not recognized as equals in the academic world. The current system makes it difficult for an Elder who does not have a university degree to be recognized and paid as a co-researcher or to be cited as the author of a scientific article. In this way, as institutions encourage collaboration with communities, they still do not correct the inequities that contribute to the exploitation of Indigenous expertise.

The challenge is also to regulate individual practices that are extractive and harmful. The lack of knowledge, and sometimes racism, of non-Indigenous researchers limits their ability to act as allies. The Dewemaagannag My Relations guide invites non-Indigenous people to self-reflect and use their privileges to benefit Indigenous self-determination and research transformation. It suggests good practices that can be implemented in our relationships, such as redefining the notion of consent, addressing power relations in research, or even rethinking compensation based on the invisible and emotional work that Indigenous People do. These actions are necessary until we eliminate the obstacles that prevent a real decolonization of university research.

I came to academia later in life, and it’s been interesting to reflect on the ethics of how we work with each other and extractive processes that I have been a part of and that I don’t want to replicate. I’m constantly taking one step forward and two steps back.

- Victoria May

Watch the full panel from the IFRC Annual Symposium 2025, featuring CELFIS awarded students.