This course introduces students to fundamental issues for conducting research with indigenous communities. This course will engage in topics that deal with ideological, political, ethical, and practical issues that influence the formulation and applicability of indigenous-centered research within various social, political, and tribal contexts. The context for this course is guided by a critical awareness that indigenous communities’ research should be carried out utilizing indigenous perspectives and sensibilities. Dr. Ishii’s research methodology will be employed for this course.

Required text:

• Smith, Linda Tuwihai. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. New York: Zed Books, 2002.
• Wilson, Angela Wiziyatawin and Michael Yellow Bird, eds. For Indigenous Eyes Only: A Decolonization Workbook. Santa Fe: School of American Research Press, 2006.
• LaDuke, Winona. Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming. Cambridge: South End Press, 2005.
• The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. The State of Native Nations. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.

Supplemental reading:


Course developed by: Dr. Lomayumtewa C. Ishii