Indigenous Standpoint Theory and Indigenous Research

This book is useful for learning about the ‘Cultural Interface’ and Indigenous Standpoint Theory. Professor Martin Nakata is a Torres Strait Islander academic and leading thinker in Indigenous education and research. In this book, he contrasts his way of knowing his homeland and its peoples with and the way his homeland and its peoples were presented to the world through scientific study. This gives rise to the idea of a ‘cultural interface’, in which First Nations people learn about themselves through the constructions of outsiders. This in turn informs Indigenous Standpoint Theory, in which it becomes important to acknowledge the cultural interface and how it shapes knowledge assumptions and creation.

This book is useful for learning about ways of doing research that are aligned with indigenous ways of doing knowledge work. It has case studies and examples from around the world, and is written by Professor Bagele Chilisa, a Bantu woman in Botswana.

This book is useful for learning about how research has marginalised indigenous ways of knowing, and how indigenous ways of knowing can be used to construct research practices. Written by Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith who affiliates with the Maori Ngāti Awa and Ngāti Porou iwi, this book is a key text to consult when approaching research that involves First Nations people, knowledge, cultures or ways, and for First Nations researchers engaging with Anglo-Australian research practices. It provides case studies of research projects conducted with, for and by indigenous people and aspirations.

This article is useful for learning about Indigenous Women’s Standpoint Theory. Professor Aileen Moreton-Robinson is a Goenpul woman and a leading academic in Indigenous feminism and Indigenous rights. In this article, she points out that Indigenous women’s experiences are different to men’s, and that multiple aspects of personhood must be navigated in forming an Indigenous Standpoint, not just indigeneity.