Co-creating and Decolonizing a Methodology Using Indigenist Approaches: Alliance with the Asheninka and Yine-Yami Peoples of the Peruvian Amazon

Authors

  • Andrea Milagros Vasquez-Fernandez University of British Columbia
  • Reem Hajjar Oregon State University
  • María I. Shuñaqui Sangama Member of the Asheninka people
  • Raúl Sebastián Lizardo Member of the Yine-Yami people
  • Miriam Pérez Pinedo Member of the Asheninka people
  • John L. Innes Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia
  • Robert A. Kozak Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia

Keywords:

Indigenous and indigenist methodologies, Peruvian Amazon, collaboration, decolonization approach, co-creation, Asheninka and Yine-Yami peoples, Indigenous peoples and federations

Abstract

In this paper, the co-authors discuss how Indigenous theories are operationalized using an indigenist methodology grounded in intercultural collaboration. We describe the specific methodological considerations and methods that were incorporated into a decolonizing strategy for conducting research and co-creating knowledge with the Yine-Yami and Asheninka peoples of the Peruvian Amazon, including: (1) working with Indigenous co-researchers; (2) considering community members and federation officials as allies or collaborators instead of participants or researched subjects; (3) cultivating relational accountability and creating a research protocol by reflecting on the assumptions, motivations and values for conducting research with Indigenous peoples; (4) having each community ally identify desirable outcomes of the research; (5) sharing control of the design and delivery of the methodology; and (6) having collaborators validate co-created knowledge as the research was conducted. We argue that indigenist approaches are more appropriate frameworks for interacting with Indigenous peoples than methodologies typically deployed by Peruvian public organizations. With some adaptation, the methodology developed here could be used to conduct more respectful, meaningful and culturally sensitive research with Indigenous and historically oppressed groups

Author Biography

Reem Hajjar, Oregon State University

Department of Forest, Ecosystems and Society

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Published

2017-11-08

How to Cite

Vasquez-Fernandez, A. M., Hajjar, R., Shuñaqui Sangama, M. I., Sebastián Lizardo, R., Pérez Pinedo, M., Innes, J. L., & Kozak, R. A. (2017). Co-creating and Decolonizing a Methodology Using Indigenist Approaches: Alliance with the Asheninka and Yine-Yami Peoples of the Peruvian Amazon. ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies, 17(3), 720–749. Retrieved from https://acme-journal.org/index.php/acme/article/view/1420

Issue

Section

Themed Section - Concrete Ways to Decolonize Research