How should the non-Indigenous speak? A discussion of decolonizing academia, positioning, and freedom of speech

Abstract

How can we engage in Indigenous research that allows multiple perspectives and knowledge production that is open to epistemic diversity? Answering calls for decolonization of the academy and the need for researchers to do their homework, I use my position as an ‘inbetweener’ in a Sámi, Indigenous context, experiences with peer reviewers as gatekeepers, and theoretical and methodological discussions about Indigenous research, to reflect upon this question. The review processes are seldomly discussed, although reviewers have the power to decide whether research gets published or not. Questions remain on how research should be carried out and who can speak, especially in a Sámi-Norwegian context where Indigenous identity and being Sámi or not by no means are easy questions, due to colonialism and Norwegianization processes. There is confusion regarding how to do research, and what positioning means. I argue that Indigenous methodology raises a dilemma because it one the one hand offers criticism of previous western, ‘dirty’ research, urging non-Indigenous researchers to involve and ‘do their homework’, while simultaneously emphasizing that research should be done by and for Indigenous peoples, with their worldviews as a starting point. Discussions on positionality show that the outsider/insider dichotomy is problematic and that for some scholars, being Indigenous is a precondition for doing valid and important research. Non-Indigenous researchers may be associated with a colonial sin, or shame. Being morally inferior, I argue, makes it difficult for the researcher both to involve, and to have critical approaches. Doing homework should involve being able, and allowed, to engage with Indigenous peoples and societies and go beyond the colonial gaze coloured by the us/them, and victim/sinner dichotomies. Secondly, I also call upon universities, that are now institutionalizing Indigenous perspectives, to take responsibility and offer support to the individual researchers in their struggle to ‘do things right’.