Decolonizing methodologies, situated resilience, and country: Insights from Tayal Country, Taiwan

Abstract

This paper addresses the methodological challenges of working with Indigenous peoples in the Anthropocene. Drawing from the author’s geographical fieldwork with Tayal people, one of sixteen nationally recognized Indigenous groups in Taiwan, it argues that ontological shift is required in the dominant ways of thinking about resilience research. After reviewing a well-adopted Australian custom called ‘Acknowledgement of Country’, the paper addresses the concept of Indigenizing methodology and mobilizing the concepts of ‘Country’ and ‘situated resilience’ in Tayal settings. Finally, the paper proposes methodological principles for better engaging Indigenous knowledge in a more-than-human world on an ethical and constructive basis, as well as its implications for resilience research.