Common insights, differing methodologies toward a fusion of indigenous methodologies, participatory action research, and White studies in an urban aboriginal research agenda

Mike Evans, University of British Columbia
Rachelle Hole, University of British Columbia
Lawrence D. Berg, University of British Columbia
Peter Hutchinson, University of British Columbia
Dixon Sookraj, University of British Columbia

Abstract

In this article, we discuss three broad research approaches: indigenous methodologies, participatory action research, and White studies. We suggest that a fusion of these three approaches can be useful, especially in terms of collaborative work with indigenous communities. More specifically, we argue that using indigenous methodologies and participatory action research, but refocusing the object of inquiry directly and specifically on the institutions and structures that indigenous peoples face, can be a particularly effective way of transforming indigenous peoples from the objects of inquiry to its authors. A case study focused on the development of appropriate research methods for a collaborative project with the urban aboriginal communities of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, Canada, provides an illustration of the methodological fusion we propose.