Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Jan;98(1):22-7.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2006.093641. Epub 2007 Nov 29.

Indigenous ways of knowing: implications for participatory research and community

Patricia A L Cochran  1 , Catherine A Marshall, Carmen Garcia-Downing, Elizabeth Kendall, Doris Cook, Laurie McCubbin, Reva Mariah S Gover
Affiliations

Indigenous ways of knowing: implications for participatory research and community

Patricia A L Cochran et al. Am J Public Health. 2008 Jan.

Abstract

Researchers have a responsibility to cause no harm, but research has been a source of distress for indigenous people because of inappropriate methods and practices. The way researchers acquire knowledge in indigenous communities may be as critical for eliminating health disparities as the actual knowledge that is gained about a particular health problem. Researchers working with indigenous communities must continue to resolve conflict between the values of the academic setting and those of the community. It is important to consider the ways of knowing that exist in indigenous communities when developing research methods. Challenges to research partnerships include how to distribute the benefits of the research findings when academic or external needs contrast with the need to protect indigenous knowledge.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. National Health and Medical Research Council. Guidelines on Ethical Matters in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research. Approved by the 111th Session, Brisbane, Australia, June 1991. Available at: http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/ethics/human/ahec/history/_files/e11.pdf. Accessed September 20, 2007.
    1. Caldwell JY, Davis JD, Du Bois B, et al. Culturally competent research with American Indians and Alaska Natives: findings and recommendations of the first symposium of the work group on American Indian Research and Program Evaluation Methodology. Am Indian Alsk Native Ment Health Res. 2005;12:1–21. - PubMed
    1. Smith LT. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. London, England: Zed Books Ltd; 1999.
    1. Rigney LI. Internationalization of an indigenous anticolonial cultural critique of research methodologies: a guide to indigenist research methodology and its principles. Wicazo Sa Rev. 1999;14: 109–121.
    1. Cook D. The importance of ethically-sound health research to improvements in aboriginal health. Paper presented at: Forum 10: Combating Disease and Promoting Health, Global Forum for Health Research; October 29–November 2, 2006; Cairo, Egypt. Available at: http://www.globalforumhealth.org/filesupld/forum10/F10_finaldocuments/pa.... Accessed September 19, 2007.