(Re)Positioning the Indigenous Academic Researcher

A Journey of Critical Reflexive Understanding and Storytelling

Abstract

This article aims to explore, (de)construct, (re)affirm and (re)position my experiences in Indigenous-centred research through an Indigenous lens. Specifically, I look to highlight my experiences as a fourth-year undergraduate student who undertook a two-month Indigenous- centred research journey in Peru. This writing is an examination of my research processes to determine if I was able to maintain integrity with ethical Indigenous research practices and protocols, as outlined in my initial project proposal. As part of this reflection, I will explore how the qualitative methods of a critical Indigenous ethnography (re)positions research through the re-conceptualisation of these methods as natural configurations of Indigenous epistemologies and methodologies. Indigenous epistemologies encompass the same relational, political and storytelling processes described in critical, reflexive and auto-ethnographic research. Storytelling has been said to blur the discursive lines of research traditions, and as an Indigenous researcher, I believe I have a responsibility to share this story.