A Great Big Adventure Unfolding: Indigenous Storytelling as Research

• In Event: Roundtable Session 31
  In Roundtable Session: Indigenous Research and Praxis in Diverse Democracies

Abstract

Indigenous researchers have long been engaged in conversations about what constitutes indigenous research and who gets to conduct it. Royal (1999) likens Māori (indigenous) research to an adventure; “there is a great big Māori adventure unfolding: it is being played out in the institutions of the iwi and in the hearts and minds of individual Māori” (p. 78). In short, indigenous research methodology is created by indigenous peoples, from indigenous worldviews, to explain indigenous experiences. At the center of indigenous research lies genealogy as a research methodology. According to Royal, genealogy is an analytical tool employed by indigenous peoples to understand the origin and nature of phenomena. Central to this methodology is storytelling.
Storytelling and oral histories are integral parts of indigenous research. Smith (1999, p. 144) explains: “Each individual story is powerful. But the point about the stories is not that they simply tell a story, or tell a story simply. These new stories contribute to a collective story in which every indigenous person has a place.” Rintoul (as cited in Smith, 1999, p. 144) calls oral histories “stories handed down in the homes of Black Australians, told to new generations, taught in explanation of racism and mistreatment, recited with rage and dignity and sorrow.” For many indigenous researchers, stories are the vehicle by which knowledge—accounts of love, death, sadness, revenge, family, childhood, work, laughter, oppression, and the like—is passed from one generation to another.
This paper presents the experiences of four indigenous scholars. Through their stories they connect themselves to the past, the present, and the future; and in doing so, become the conduits for the transfer of knowledge from one generation to another. Their stories cry out to all indigenous peoples, not so much in that they detail the sufferings of peoples dispossessed, but because they talk of hope for the future and the journey that this will involve. As they contemplate their journeys, these four story-tellers seek guidance from their ancestors for ways to keep their people warm and strong, to help them to overcome their fears, and to help them make good choices for their future.

Authors

• Cheryl E. Stephens, Te Horomai Consultancy

• Margaret J. Maaka, University of Hawaii - Manoa

• Kekailoa Perry, University of Hawaii - Manoa

• Te Raukura Roa, University of Hawaii

• Hine Jane Waitere, Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi