Category: Blog

• • “To illustrate culturally responsive methodologies is to acknowledge the local histories, traditions and Indigenous knowledge systems that inform them” Chilisa, 2011:161

This quote resonates with me because it signifies the importance of recognizing indigenous knowledge and customs within western research. It also shows that indigenous methodologies are diverse between the various nations within Canada. Culturally responsive methodologies are important because you are acknowledging the intricate relationships that indigenous people have with place and language. It is understanding that indigenous culture and methodologies is a cultural process within itself that is conducted by doing rather than researching and writing about it. Illustrating is by observing, rather than sitting isolated in an office and writing about it.

• • My inspiration comes from all the matriarchs of my communities who all have played an integral role in forming my identity as a Dakelh person. This includes my grandmothers, aunties, older cousins, older sisters and my mother. They have showed me the importance of the land by taking me hunting in the mountains, gathering medicines, picking berries and tea, and sharing stories of our ancestors while also sharing rituals of connections and rituals of condolences. Spending time on the land fostered a deeper appreciation for Mother Earth by learning about stories, medicines, animals, plants, clans, and all systems relating to those things.