Ancestral Knowledge Systems: A Heritage-Based Approach to Decolonizing Research Methods

• In Event: 14.043 - Roundtable Session 1
  In Roundtable Session: 14.043-18 - Indigenous Epistemologies in the Academy: Methodological Insights for Shifting Paradigms in Research Methods and Institutional Policies

Abstract

Ancestral Knowledge Systems (AKS) as a conceptual framework for inquiry builds on the seminal contributions of Indigenous scholars in research methods. The framework promotes a multiplicity of knowledge systems by naming epistemicide as a deeply-rooted problem and moving towards a research process of unraveling internalized colonization of all peoples while keeping systems of power accountable. The scholarly significance of AKS: 1) demonstrates critical reflexivity centered in an analysis of historical systems of power, 2) illuminates the damaging effects of epistemicide in a racially structured society, 3) models a system where a multiplicity of knowledges can be equally valued, and 4) honors AKS as a dignifying process that serves and relies on the integral participation of all peoples.

Authors

• Cueponcaxochitl Dianna Moreno Sandoval, Arizona State University

• Rosalva Mojica Lagunas, Arizona State University - Tempe

• Lydia T. Montelongo, Arizona State University

• Marisol Juarez Diaz, Arizona State University - Tempe