Decolonizing Research: Indigenous Storywork as Methodology, Edited by Jo-ann Archibald, Q’um Q’um Xiiem, Jenny Bol Jun Lee-Morgan and Jason De Santo – Book Review

Decolonizing Research explores the power of indigenous story telling as a form of resistance against colonisation. This book highlights the unique importance in researching these histories, bringing together the work of indigenous activists in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

What I found particularly interesting, was that while this book compiles such diverse experiences of colonisation, it identifies story telling as a consistent and universal form of protest around the world. These stories, suppressed by colonisers into contorted myth, still hold law, governance and the voices of ancestors.

However, this book does not focus on mourning the past, the overarching theme is of an optimistic view for the future. Looking forward, how can story telling be re-encouraged with the young? How can indigenous stories be repaired to re-align families with their country?

Central to this idea of repair, is acknowledging the warped nature of stories told through the dominant lens of the Western story teller. This book discusses the ethical framework in which storywork research must be carried out. It is the responsibility of the researcher to protect indigenous stories and now work towards a mutually beneficial outcome for the community. The book embraces that this might put up limits for the researcher, but that the strongest commitment is to the community. The reader must also raise questions over how far an ethical ‘check list’ can go, as ultimately we must all hold ourselves accountable in what we have the positioning to write about.

This book is an excellent resource not only to researchers in an academic discipline, but to anyone interested in how we can look at history with a fresh perspective. As an illustrator, I found it an incredible insight into my own positioning within my work and how I should conduct research.

Review written by Alice Bartholomew