Research with Native American and Indigenous Populations

Books

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (2019) describes in-depth the facade of the US as a land “discovered” and focuses on Indigenous genocide, colonialism, and how Native Americans have resisted to US imperialism over centuries. Learning about the history and thinking critically about the Indigenous roots of this country has helped scholars understand the deep knowledge that Indigenous people have. Understanding that perspective can help when thinking about research with Native American populations.

Decolonizing Methodologies

Tuhiwai Smith (2012) describes how imperialism is embedded in knowledge and argues that decolonization of research methods will help reclaim control over Indigenous ways of knowing and being. Scholars report that this book helps bring to light the effects of colonization and imperialism in research when working with NA populations and revealing that Western related research treats Indigenous populations as the “other” for Western benefit.