The weaving power of Indigenous storytelling — personal reflections on the impact of COVID-19 and the response of Indigenous communities

Abstract

The academy has always been a complex place for Indigenous scholars. In first entering as students and graduates in the mid-1960s, the growing number of those choosing an academic pathway and career is slowly, yet fundamentally, altering the way research is undertaken and teaching and learning is done. From seeking to find spaces within the Western disciplines with a goal of “Indigenising” the curriculum and through modules on “Indigenous studies,” there is a growing move towards the inclusion of traditional knowledges, not just as a way to fit in with Western sciences, but as a knowledge system in their own right. Research projects in the Indigenous space have moved from being “about Indigenous people” to working towards the concept of “Indigenous led-research.” Ethics processes and protocols have reflected these shifts. The privileging and valuing of the knowledge of Indigenous Elders and consideration of how Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property (ICIP) will be treated are now central to framing research questions and methodologies.