Indigenous researcher as individual and collective: Building a research practice ethic within the context of Indigenous languages

Indigenous scholars can exercise more proactive leadership by practicing critical introspection and building strength and capacity from within our communities. The complex, vibrant, textured interweaving of a reflexive Indigenous research practice that examines our relationships with Indigenous languages can contribute to building self-determining communities. My Indigenous researcher self-examination project took place within the context of a critical ethnography, my dissertation research, which I conducted in my home community. I describe my experience as an Indigenous researcher and reflect on my practice of applied Indigenous scholarship. I focus on how my individual position, inextricably situated within the collective, informed my research process. I describe my self-examination process, using a critical frame of reference, in dialogue with community members. I discuss how I recognized and negotiated issues of translation, reciprocity, disclosure and reconciliation. I offer my perspective as I struggled to center Indigenous language and its teachings in my research. I discuss my view of our responsibility as Indigenous researchers in the collective to engage and act to make change that will serve our communities with Indigenous languages as our guide.